drew's main problem is that when he is getting in games it is generally when mobley is in the game....mobley flat-out does not pass the ball to drew... ------------------
Nobody is questioning Drews talent. But we drafted him under the impression that he would dump the ball into Dream and Charles and sit on the outside waiting to get the ball back for the trey. Now that that scheme has been scrapped, Drew doesn't fit in as well on this team. Ship him to Cleveland or Chicago. ------------------
I've never been too happy about the Rockets picking Drew in the first place. I agree with earlier posts that, without the low post double teams, the Rockets can't use him like they would want. Also, calling him an awesome shooter is not all that accurate. He's done a respectable job in the NBA but nothing I'd call awesome. It's a heck of a lot easier to get open shots in college than it is in the pros, and the speed of the game may be a little much for Bryce. He's shown a propensity to turn the ball over and he's not exactly king of the fast break (although he's Flash Gordon compared to Maloney). Unfortunately, I think it's time for Drew to move on. I'd be surprised if the Rockets can get anything decent for him though. I just don't think he's shown that much promise yet. ------------------
Do what they did to Rider in Atlanta. Give him his papers and say "THANKS FOR NOTHING BUT WE CAN'T GIVE ANY LOVE FOR A SCRUB!!! ------------------ TANK IT ALL AND PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS LATER!!! [This message has been edited by Rocket101 (edited March 22, 2000).]
Rider's contract was about to expire, so it only cost Atlanta the remaining money for this season. Bryce has some years to go on his contract and it is hard to imagine the Rockets eating his contract like they already have on several players this season. Mango ------------------ It could be worse ....... you could have been born a Jazz fan!!!!
Hey guys listen... I only think that y'all're "partially" right because at the time Bryce Drew was drafted, the Rockets got Scottie Pippen and Michael Dickerson, two former Rockets who were supposed to be the center of our Run & Gunners/Slashers-replacing-Clyde as part of the rebuilding that waived Mario and traded Willis. So it's not entirely true that Drew was drafted so he can dump the ball into Hakeem and Charles. That was Maloney and Price's job, not Drews. Sure maybe they play a similar type game, but that's not all that Bryce has in his game. We was drafted him because he can play. He can pass. He can shoot. And he can shoot the Money Ball. So just because he is capable of playing a half court game doesn't mean that we need to scrap him now that Francis/Mobley/Anderson's getting the ball and not Hakeem/Charles. And who's to say that we don't play the half-court game now? Since our defense isn't that great, people make shots on us... so we come back with the isolation (a half-court set). Here's where I think Drew can excel because we have a bunch of slashers, except that there's no one to pass it out to (other than Mobley if he's not slashing) when the defense collapse other than Drew. And you can tell the other team knows this because they will trap Francis/Mobley on the baseline OR collapse in the lane and steal/force a fumble in the lane. Just check out the turnovers that our slashers have. It's all about the kick out, and I'd rather have Drew shoot the three or bounce-step go for the two or floater, than Carlos Rogers spazz out when he gets the ball that's not within dunk range. I remember everyone was grumbling as to why we even bother with Harrington, and he turned out to be one damned good pick up and development. Everyone on the posts were all "let's get rid of him" and when we did get rid of him some people were all "damn, he was good." (I understand it was for Francis, so maybe not a good example) I don't want to see a good player like Drew get raided because we might seem desparate for a cheap W. ------------------
Problems with Drew's game: He can not defend most starting NBA 1s. He can not create on O like Francis. Unfortunately, the new O is built around Francis. He was a shooting guard in college, which may explain to some extent why his 1 skills are lacking. The pluses in Drew's game: He is a great shooter. His best pro position may be at the 2. Unfortunately, there are two better players (SA and Cat) ahead of him on the roster. Drew's future is not with the Rockets. The Rockets will be lucky to find a taker in a trade for him. ------------------
I suggest using Francis and Drew together and get the Cat out. The Cat turns the ball over way too much and forces shots. Sure he scores but if he touches it, its going up. That is easy to defend when he shots about 40%. Drew would bring some control to their game. His turnover/minutes played ratio --contrary to another posting -- is better than the current combination which is LOSING.
