Rudy is not going anywhere. There is so much excitement over him here that i'd guess there is no one on our roster that they'd want- except tmac or yao (and not sure about yao).
Before the Artest trade, I'd jump on it. Rafer to the Blazers for Outlaw. Then swing a deal for Delonte West. West starts, Brooks backs him up off the bench. But after the Artest trade, I'm not so sure. I think they'd bite on a deal for Rafer, especially with the glut of scoring wings they have. They'd want a steady hand to feed them the ball and Rafer does that. Problem is, our swing positions are pretty set, and Outlaw probably wouldn't crack the rotation behind McGrady, Artest, Battier and Barry taking up all the minutes. I probably don't see us looking at this deal. But it is surprising that they're so willing to look at offers for Outlaw, given how high they were on high not too long back.
who is gonna play defense out of those 3? at this point trading for fernandez makes no sense when you already have tmac, artest, battier and barry sharing minutes at the 2/3
I'd even go for Rafer and Luther for Frye, Blake and the rights to Peteri Koponen. Blake could step in now while Koponen develops, and Frye serves as the 4/5 we really need (no offense, Deke). To me, Frye is the key player in the trade, not Outlaw.
The Rockets aren't trading Rafer (unless someone offers up a better pg in a deal). By better I mean enough to make them break up the Artest/Rafer tandem. While he loves TMac and Yao he has a bond with Skip. That's his hero and a guy he will listen to. That means a lot for our team. We are good the way we are. If Morey wanted to move Rafer he would have long time ago. Brooks isn't ready and we need a backup pg still (hence the Strawberry trade and Morey saying "if he can play pg it will be very interesting" ).Strawberry is athletic and good defensively. We'll see if he can handle the point. If so , he moves ahead of Brooks.
King1 is right. Lee and thumbs,I feel that both of you are being too optimistic about the chance of getting the proposed players from Portland.
And you get a starting PG who is decent from 3 and point blank but horrible from everywhere else, and coming off the bench for instant offe...oh wait, the backup is horrible from everywhere. Except maybe point blank. I don't see how he moves ahead of Brooks in the pecking order when his lack of O probably hurts the team more than Brooks' lack of size on D, given that we already have a spotty-shooting starting PG in Rafer. That's not counting the fact that Brooks already has a one-year headstart in Adelman's system. Strawberry has a long shot at best of making this team. Probably just training camp and he's done. I do agree that we're not moving Rafer unless we get something better in return though, which any deal with Portland won't provide.
Defense and athleticism. We don't need him to score. If he can't play pg he will have an extremely hard time making the team but Brooks isn't ready. Strawberry fits the team persona better if he can handle the pg duties. They don't need him to score. We have Yao, TMac, Artest, Scola, Battier, Rafer (he will still produce some offense) plus whatever Barry gives us. Add to that we may have Landry and we don't need our pg to score really. Hence the additions of Artest and Barry all while holding onto Battier.
I have to agree with you. AB is a very poor fit at PG for the Rockets. We need someone who can run an offense, punish defenses who ignore him and play good defense. I don't know if Strawberry is good enough, but he has the tools to fit our needs at PG more than AB. For the record, I doubt Strawberry makes the team, but he has a chance.
How is brooks a poor fit with his speed and quickness? There isn't anyone that can close out on him from out a double a stay in front of him. I don't believe Adelman watched brooks play in college and draft the guy and not thinking he'll fit. If he shows he's stronger than last yr, he'll get more minutes than some expect.
Obviously speed and quickness are good things, but it's all AB has. IMO, we need playmaking (setting others up), defense and the ability to hit open shots. AB is 0/3 on those. On offense, he hasn't shown the ability to use to his speed and quickness on a consistent basis. If AB suddenly starts using his speed to get into the paint and dish for baskets next season, I'll eat my words. But as it stands now, backup PG remains a huge concern for the Rockets. I think a move to fix the problem could happen before camp.
Outlaw was a backup PF last season. Buddy Baker flew over to China but no deal came out of that. If it comes down to this: S&T Landry (QO) for Fernandez Alston for Outlaw Alston, Blake, Rodriguez Roy, Bayless, Jackson Webster, Landry, Batum Aldridge, Frye, Diogu Oden, Przybilla, LaFrentz Fernandez, Brooks, Francis McGrady, Barry, Head Artest, Battier, Harris Scola, Outlaw, Dorsey Yao, Hayes, Deke Worst case scenario McGrady or Barry start at PG. With GSW looking like they may be falling out of the playoff picture early maybe Blazers make a push for that eighth spot?
I'll give you credit for trying hooroo,but I doubt if Portland will want Rafer even with his experience. Look at this way,Rafer isn't a very good passer or shooter period.Conley can't shoot but his passing skills are more advanced than Rafer's right now,and he can only improve. Starting Barry at the PG will be risky to say the least,all he can do is shoot and make the occasional pass. His defense is worse than Rafer's. McGrady will have to become the starting PG if Rafer is gone and we can't afford that. Portland are excited about getting Fernandez too.
Currently, the Blazers have these guys who can man the point posisition Blake, Fernandez, Rodriguez, Bayless, Webster, Roy If anything, they need to trade some pgs which they started doing by trading Jarret Jack. Out of all the guys who can play pg above, the only person Rafer is better than on that list is Rodriguez, and he is not even in rotation. Portland needs consistent scorers now, so why take on Rafer especially considering their youth movement
Webster is definitely not a PG. Rudy Fernandez isn't either. If he and Roy are in the game at the same time, Roy will play PG in their half-court offense. But with Blake, the ability of Roy to slide over and Bayless (& Rodriguez bringing up the rear), it escapes me why they would want another young PG.
I did not say Webster is a pg, my post said he can play the point and he has played the point in the past depending on who is on the floor. Rudy is a combo guard, plays both pg and sg
