Wilcox is not a role player...he is going to end up being one of the best 2 or 3 players to come out of this draft if he declares
I guess my definition of a role player is different than yours. To me a role player is just someone who does something besides scoring. We all know that in most cases the most popular and featured players (the All-Stars) are those that score. A role player to me is someone who plays good defense, hustles, grabs rebounds. If you don't think the Rockets are in need of role players, then I don't know what to tell you. And who knows, maybe Wilcox will eventually develop a decent offensive game. I also think your assessment of what a top ten pick is severley inflated. By your assessment there's about 6 or 7 busts every season. Hell, Shane Battier was one of the best picks in the draft, and he's definitely never going to be much more than a role player. Are you saying he should'n't have been taken in the top ten?
My ideal summer situation for these Rockets would be: NO PICK UP GAMES!! Don't play any sport that would risk you getting hurt and not playing for the season. Hey, if you get hurt on the court during the season, well... that's the way it goes. But when you get hurt playing pick up ball with a bunch of kids from the 'hood, that's a different story.
The doll has a name. It's Keith Jones. Ever since they booted out Falsone they've had tons of injury. Initially the explanation was that they were an old team, what is the explanation now? The whole thing is that players hated Falsone, while Keith is a soft and friendly guy. The problem is he's incompetent.
You're going to have to give me some proof before I believe that. I think migraines and a player injuring himself at his own leisure, are things beyond his control.
Ideal situation - 1. Trade Cato for ANYTHING. 2. Draft Ming without having to give up Francis, Mobley, or Griffin 3. Get Moochie plastic surgery to make him look just like Buckwheat
You can't an evaluation on 1 game-Wilcox was also surrounded by other fine defenders. Besides 15 & 9 (Gooden's line) isn't exactly shutting him down. Gooden is a much better offensive player than Wilcox. He is a much better FT shooter, better passer and understanding of the game, has more range, and better footwork/moves/touch inside. Gooden isn't the weak side defensive freak Wilcox is, but he is a fine defensive player as well. It would not be an easy choice, if you are looking for an immediate NBA starter Gooden is your man. I do think Dunleavy isn't near as desirable as either of these guys because he isn't in Gooden's, let alone Wilcox's, league defensively. I would try to trade KT and the hopeful Toronto pick to an Eastern team with a sub-8 pick so that we could land the following players with our two picks: Butler or Gooden (developed player who immediately starts and improves us on both sides) + Ming (if we get so lucky), Wilcox (only if we pick Butler with the other pick) or Bordchart (say if the rest are gone and the best we can do is like a second lotto pick in 7-9 range).
My "Ideal scenario for this summer": Baseline Assumption: Memphis gets the #1 or #2 pick and drafts Ming for Houston. Rockets trade Cato and our lottery pick to Memphis. (We can add Toronto's pick if its a deal breaker) Memphis trades Nick Anderson and Ming to Houston. Nick Anderson will be useless, but he only has 1 more year left on his contract. In FA, we sign Jerome James. C - Ming and James - 24 mins each F - Taylor - 32 mins, Griffin - 16 mins F - KT - 32 mins, Griffin- 16 mins G - Cat, Steve, G - Steve, Mooch Therefore, we have two 7+ footers platooning at the 5 spot; We have a 3 man rotation at the 3/4 spot with Taylor, KT and Griffin logging equal minutes. (While an Odom or Lewis would be nice, I believe that Kenny can match up with most true 3s in the L) We have our existing 3 man rotation at the guard spot with Steve, Cat and Mooch. IMHO, my ideal scenario addresses our most glaring need, someone to defend the paint.
My ideal scenario would be a steal of a trade. Getting Lamar Odom without giving up more than KT plus change. (Not Steve, Cat, Cato, EG or our lottery pick). I could go lottery pick alone , not with KT for Odom. More realistically my ideal scenario would be to draft two young super potential big guys.I think this is the time to go for highschoolers or real young physical guys My thinking is that it is like the stock market. People always overreact. Last year the value of highschoolers or youngsters was nuttily high, this year it could be stupidly low. So we might be able to pull off the trick of getting two young studs, say Wilcox and either Stoudamire or the next best big highschooler (from LA forgot his name) with our pick and Toronto's. Let's face it, none of them will play much with a healthy Cato, Mo T, EG and KT playing well. I think we will still make the3 playoffs and the future would look incredible if even one of the two young big guys turns into the real deal. This should be enough to keep Steve happy enough to resign. It should be enough to even keep ClutchCity posters from calling for trading Steve, firing Rudy or cleaning house etc. for another year.
My ideal Rockets offseason: Draft: Hopefully, get a top 3 pick. If so, trade it (+ player(s)) for a veteran star on the block like McDyess. I do NOT want to trade for Odom. While he's very talented, he's a poor shooter, turns the ball over too often, and plays terrible defense. We already have Francis, Mobley, Taylor, and Rice to score, anyway. I would really like the Rockets to get Caron Butler if we're stuck with a 6-8 pick. Ideally, we could trade down to get him. I think he'll be the most NBA-ready rookie next year, after Jason Williams. With the 14th pick (please keep winning, Toronto!), I'd count my blessings if Chris Marcus was still available. Otherwise, I'd probably want to include that pick in a trade for a veteran. Our Free Agents: I'd probably say goodbye to Walt (unless he will return for the veteran minimum of ~$1.1M) Also, Langhi (as much as I like him) doesn't appear to have a future with the team. Willis will either retire or catch on with a title contender. Tierre Brown will likely be replaced by a second rounder or by a training camp invitee; he'll at least have to fight for a spot in training camp. Torres is a more intriguing prospect who the Rockets will likely bring back. Hopefully, OT won't ask for too much. Free Agency: The Rockets need a veteran. As it stands, the only player returning next year with any significant playoff experience (or even substantial NBA experience) is Glen Rice. And if Rice gets injured again, the Rockets will be left without a veteran presence (filled by Walt and Hakeem the past 2-3 years). A locker room presence (a la Avery Johnson) would be a valuable addition. Also, the Rockets should look into finding a scorer to come off the bench. Other than Moochie, the Rockets don't have anyone right now that can change the tempo of the game off the bench. Hopefully, they can find someone good to nab with their mid-level exception. A realistic roster that would definitely satisfy me would be: PG Francis/Norris SG Mobley/Torres SF Rice/Butler/Morris PF Taylor/Griffin/KT C Cato/Marcus However, I'd gladly trade KT + the 14th pick for a good veteran.
My ideal scenario: Be it trade, draft, or FA, the Rocks will obtain more well-rounded players, or better yet, a difference-maker at either F position or C. Collier, Griffin, and (since he's most likely to remain a Rocket) Cato become monks at the 'Pete Newell Big Man Camp' this summer. Don't go for just one session, attend them all! Collier & Griffin do extensive quickness & footwork drills, Griffin gains more confidence and effectiveness with his dribble, and Collier loses at least 20-25 lbs. Steve conquers his migraine problems. Rudy & Co. scraps the current 'system', puts in the passing offense that Calvin dreams of every telecast, and formulate a defensive identity for this team. Mo & Rice come back healthy and get out to good starts....so the Rocks can move them during the season. But I must admit, barring a rash of injuries and bad play, the West could be even tougher next year, and the Rocks may miss the playoffs again despite any improvement. - Strong as usual - Lakers, Mavs, Spurs, Kings, Wolves, Sonics, Blazers - Improved - Suns (now here's a team with a short SG @ PG!), Clippers (if they can keep Kandi), Grizzlies (if they hit it big in the draft)
Lets say the Rockets get LUCKY and get the #1 pick in the lotto.... who do we draft? Ming, Williams........? I say pick Ming. The Rockets need a big man and it wouldnt be the first time a foreigner has come to Houston to lead us to victory. You cant teach 7'5 and he is dominating where he is.. give him 1 or 2 seasons in the NBA and he will be exactly what the Rox need for years to come. Even if we don't get one of the top 3 picks.. we have to get a SOLID center. Next year we will have KT, Mo, and Griffin all trying to get time in at PF(Ofcourse Griff might play some 3 if Rudy pulls his thumb out of his butt and stops playing small ball). I wouldnt mind packaging KT and our 2 draft picks to get Ming.
This isn't my ideal scenario, but a fun one. Trade Francis to Cleveland for Andre Miller and Cleveland's lottery pick. Trade Houston, Cleveland and Toronto picks (#5, #6, #14) for the #1 overall and draft Ming. Ming/Cato MoT/Eddie KT/Rice/TMo Cat/Oscar Miller/Moochie We lose Francis, but get a very good point guard, and pick up Ming. If Ming lives up to most of the hype, we could have a long-term starting lineup of: Ming Eddie complementary SF Cat Miller Say you can get an all-around player, tough defender like Battier at the SF, and you got a lineup that could contend with Shaq and the Lakers for the championship right now IMO.
As we are stuck with Rice and Mo (although, if healthy, they'll give this team a lot), we should look for a good center. (Duh.) So we look to the draft and see if Wilcox is the answer. How big is he really? How heavy? Would we rather have him or (heeding Clutch's hint from weeks ago) Kwame Brown? Is Kwame worth the price of the draft picks? Or KT + #6? Kwame has the talent, he just needs to calm down, and some tutelage. A center who can put it on the floor? Oh yeah.
Honestly, I don't think Kwame is "for sale." Do you think Jordan would let him go that easily just after 1 season? C'mon, the guy is a potential 10 time all-star. He will be a Wizard for years to come.
My ideal off season scenario would be for us to get the #1 overall pick, Chicago gets the #2 pick, & Washington gets the #3 pick. We then send the #1 pick to Chicago for the #2 pick & trade Taylor for Curry/Fizer. We would also cash in the Drew obligation for Chicago's unconditional #1 pick next year. I've been reading lately that Krause has a real woody for Yao Ming (could be a smoke screen though). This is also assuming that Taylor could pass the physical without any problems. Chicago picks Ming with the #1 pick. Next, we send the #2 pick to Washington for the #3 pick & trade KT/Collier/Moochie for Kwame/Whitney. Washington then picks Jason Williams. With the #3 pick, I now have several options to pursue. A) I can draft the best available athlete. Someone that I can wait on to develop for the future. B) I could trade it to the Clippers, in a trade of Odom/#13 pick(Clipper's pick)/#8 pick(Atlanta's pick) for what player?. The problem being that, after the 2 previous trades, we wouldn't have anyone that would match up salary wise & it's highly unlikely that Sterling would accept Rice & give up 2 #1 draft picks in the deal. Besides, as athletic as Odom is, I don't believe that he'd be the ideal SF for our current offensive system. If we did this trade, the Clippers would select DeJuan Wagner. C) If we did "B", we could then take a chance & trade the #8, #13, & #14 picks to Denver for their unconditional #1 pick next year. After having acquired Curry/Fizer/Kwame/Whitney/Odom, we probably wouldn't want to take on the salary of 3 guaranteed #1 picks. D) Or, we could do this deal, which is the one that I'd do. We could send the #3 pick/Rice to Portland in exchange for the #22 pick (currently)/future unconditional #1 pick/Davis/Barkley. Davis's contract expires after next year & Barkley's contract has a team option after next year, which we wouldn't pick up. That would drop Rice's $9.6 million off the books at the same time Francis's new max contract of $10-12 million shows up. This move would keep us at or below the salary cap. Thus, giving us future flexibility. After the draft, Rashard Lewis would agree to accept a 6 year deal using the Mid-Level exception (with a player option after the 2nd or 3rd year) in a wink-wink deal, in which we would take care of him when he opted out. The final piece to my ideal off season, would be that Cato spends the entire off season working with CD on his offensive game. He then comes back with a deadly hook shot, a sweet mid-range jump shot, & a consistent free throw shot. You did ask for the ideal scenario. This would give our new look Rockets a lineup of: C: Cato/Curry/Davis/Kwame PF: Griffin/Fizer/Kwame SF: Rashard/T-Mo/Langhi(IL) SG: Mobley/Torres PG: Francis/Whitney/Brown(IL)/Barkley(IL) Giving us a team salary of approximately $46,192,000 in 02/03 & approximately $49,310,000 with Francis resigned for $12 million in 03/04. Whitney has a team option in 03/04, which we could let expire & drop his $3.3 million off the books. Doing that would offset the salaries of any draft picks we've acquired between now & then. We'd also have Chicago's unconditional #1 pick next year & Portland's future unconditional #1 pick. I just love dreaming, don't you?
