Off-topic response - I thought I had seen that idea posted toward the end of the season and the logic was that the Rockets just didn't want to take the risk. Getting reinjured in a meaningless game is almost as bad as getting injured in a pickup game..or did the end of the season look too much like a pickup game anyway?
Patience, To add to what GATER posted, I don't think the NBA would've looked very kindly on that situation, as well. I'm quite sure that would've pissed A LOT of people off. Just play by the rules, and let him serve his suspension.
My dream team would be....... Kandi Taylor/Griffin Odom/Rice Mobley Francis We trade our #5 pick, #15 and Cato for Odom and Kandi. The Clippers go on to draft Wagner. This would be a dream come true.
The Clippers wouldn't do that. That would mean they'd be drafting 5,8,12,15. A hell of a rebuilding project, but that's not where they're looking. Ideally, I'd like to get Kandi and Odom, while sending Cato out. But it's highly unlikely. Unless, we somehow include a 3rd team to facilitate the deal. Maybe If we trade 5,15,KT and Mo Taylor to the SUns, take Googs and Odom, while the Suns trade Penny to the Clippers?
If the top 4 goes Ming,Gooden,J-Will,Woods, we could trade 5th pick, Kenny for Odom and 8 pick. They pick up Wagner and we get Nicko. With the 15th we draft Hilario. Rockets: Francis, Moochie Cat, Oscar Odom, Rice, T-Mo Nicko,Mo-T Eddie ,Cato, Hilario
I'd like to see this roster. C - Chris Marcus (with 15th pick; just give me some defense from the center spot) PF - Taylor (hopefully he can give us 15 ppg) SF - Griffin (needs to work on outside shot) SG - Dunleavy (with first pick; we need fundamental sound play) PG - Francis (team MVP) 6th man - Mobley (offense off the bench, what a concept!) 7 - Kenny Thomas (quality off the bench) 8 - Moochie (above average backup point) 9 - Rice (3 point specialist) 10 - Cato (he is not a starter) 11 - Steve Logan (38th pick, someone to push Moochie) 12 - Oscar Torres (give him another year to get acclimated to the NBA) IR Morris (see Torres) Andy Ellis (with 53rd pick) send to NBDL: Langhi, Collier, Brown ( Idn't see these guys having futures in the NBA anytime soon) cut/release: Walt Williams, Willis (don't fit into future plans) This is what I'd like to see the Rockets do in their offseason.
This'd be a cool lineup imo: Francis/Mooch Mobes/Oz Gooden/Rice/Tmo KT/ Griff/ MoT Cato/Ely/ MoT Maybe make a move for a sf like signing Nailon or trading for Artest or Lamond with Kenny as trade bait even though I'm reluctang to give him up. I would be fine with sf by commitee however. KT, Gooden, Rice, Tmo, and Griff can all spot minutes at sf and give us different looks. Defense, rebounds, scoring and mucho versatility. Yummy.
If we just draft and everything stay staus quo, the lineup will look like this sadly: Cato Taylor Rice Cat Francis Even with depth which could be a bad thing, this is not a playoff team.
If the Rockets ended up with Ming and that is a big if you need to understand that there is practically no chance that he could start the season as a starter. China will not let him attend any summer leagues or training camp. He will very likely miss some of the first few games of the season due to obligations in Chinal. His country man Wang has never had the luxery of attending any summer leagues and has never been allowed to open the season with the Mavs. Now China is talking about not even letting Wang play next year because of some dissagrements with certain officials in China. Having Wang for 3/4s of the season has been a very tough political struggle for the Mavs the last two years.
I'd like to see Mo T get a look at center as well. 2 years ago he started a few games there and wasn't too bad. If Griffin can turn into the rebounder he was in college and we get a 3 that can bring down some boards then Mo wouldn't be a bad option at the 5. He was actually a decent one-on-one defender in the middle and at least wasn't afraid of contact (*ahem* Cato). He'll only get 5 or 6 rpg, but if we have enough rebounding to overcome that then we'll be alright. I was thinking Butler as our 3 because he's capable of 5 or 6 a game in the NBA (along with the obvious toughness and defense he would provide us). With our other pick hopefully we move up to draft a guy who could eventually be a starting C (Hilario, the Euro guy, or Borchadt). Obviously we'd have to give Rice another shot as the 3, but realistically we all know that he'll never play 62 games again moretheless 82, so once Butler gets a shot I think he'll impress. We really need to solidify the team we want to have in this draft, so they can have a few years to gel. I think we have 4 of the pieces right now in Francis, Mobley, EG, and Mo. Mo is obviously here because of how well he works with the other 2 and because his contract doesn't make him very tradeable. Cato realistically needs to ride the bench, but we'll have to use him until we find a C that can be a starter in the future. We need a SF of the future, which I think we'll definitely be addressed whether it be through a trade or the draft and we should try to deal up for one of the C's that might take a few years to develop (Hilario being my early favorite because of his big body, blocking ability, and the fact that he loves to hit the boards).
This would be the best lineup, in my opinion: Starting 5: Francis PG Mobley SG Griffin SF Mo T PF Cato C Bench: Mooch PG Rice SG/SF [5th pick in draft here] SF Kenny T PF [15th pick in draft here] C Wow, I don't know if that lineup could even make the playoffs, and that's the best one I could think of. Of course, had the Rockets been a little more realistic with spending their money on and drafting quality players, it could look like this: Starting 5: Francis PG Mobley SG Rashard SF C Webb PF Whoever C Now, THAT'S a lineup that would kick some ass.
I'm going off topic, but I'd like to see Mo T get minutes at center as well. Or rather, I'd like to see Mo T guard the opposing team's biggest player and have Eddie ready to come over and block his shot. I guess Eddie would technically be the center, but regardless, I'd like to see Eddie and Mo T at the 4 and 5 together. I think we will finally see some of this next year, contingent on Taylor's play. The problem with having Mo T play center or be the primary one-on-one big man defender is that he has trouble staying out of foul trouble. If he could adopt a bruiser mentality but stay out of foul trouble, Mo T could help our frontcourt out a lot. Here's a lineup I'd like to see: Steve Cuttino Dunleavy Mo T Eddie Everyone has range, almost to the perimeter. If Dunleavy pans out as a shooter, you definitely can't leave him open. Mo T is money from 18-feet out. The problem is we need Eddie to develop his post-game and really become Rasheed. Defensively, we're still pretty weak.
