Can somebody explain the advantages of Houston showing absolutely no interest in Jay Williams? Wouldn't it be in their best interest to leave or pretend to leave all their options available to them? This ignoring of Jay Williams seems to fail that mission. Ideas?
I generally don't question CD and Rudy's actions regarding the draft considering the moves they have made (Francis, Griffin, Horry, Cassells and Mobley.) They've had their Buck Johnson and Derek Chievous drafts, but have generally done well. (their signings of Maloney, Norris, Cato and others are another story.) But, I completely agree. We should be taking a hard look at JW, if for no reason other than to make Chi and Golden State panic. Both of those teams clearly want and need JW. If we can get Chicago to believe that we are willing to trade our pick to GS, Chicago will be forced to trade up to No. 1 to ensure they get their man. I'm not sure if there's anything on the Chicago roster that we'd want, but I'd package our No. 1 and Moochie for Chicago's No. 2 and Travis Best. The point is, we should be trying to create value. Personally, I still want to draft JW and Amare Stoudamire with our picks.
What Rudy-T and CD should do is ring up some teams that would love to have Jay Williams, and see what those teams would offer for him. And if Rudy-T and CD don't like the offers, they just draft Ming. I want them to shop around a bit, just to put the fear of God in other GM's. Oh, and there's my 500th.
It's hard to coerce Chicago in this instance because they win either way. The Bulls covet Williams, but they also would like the marketing appeal (translate "dollars") that Ming would bring from Asia.
I think the Rockets perceived lack of interest in Jay Williams is a combination of the following: 1) Not wanting to confuse an already difficult negotiation process with China who clearly wants Ming taken #1. 2) A desire to keep trade conversations about Ming OR Williams at a very private level. Do I recall that the Rockets have a history of leaks to the press damaging their position? Anyway, if there is a team making a legit offer for Williams I don't think the Rockets management will hang up on them without a good long listen.
With the availibilty of 2 top flight pg's with 3 season's under their belt (Miller and davis) the rockets really can't make chicago or gsw sweat or make a deal. I'm pretty sure if the Rockets draft Williams to hold chicago hostage or to try to get something out of gsw , the could be stuck with him. Chicago would take Ming and be happy and gsw could offer the #3 to cleveland for miller and they would probably go for it. Next we move to memphis who doesn't or wont offer anything for Williams, i could go on, but i won't. They should just pick Ming and not try to get cute.
Honestly, I don't think so.... Bibby showed he was a leader in college, that's not something I saw out of Jwill this year.
I actually think Coach K might agree with me. I guess it depends on what you'd call a leader. I see it as a player who can elevate other people's games just by being on the court. Battier was a leader in my mind. He made his teamates bring their game to a higher level, through his actions, encouragement and example. All I saw from Jason Williams was his ability to make his teamate's jobs easier by the respect he commanded from the other team. When the game was on the line, JWill would try to elevate his game to beat the other team. And sometimes he could do it and others he couldn't. I see a leader as someone who tries to rally their team and get everyone to elevate their game. That's something I saw out of Battier a lot, and out of Dixon this year. This year I saw things that were pretty out of character for Coach K. Most notably his play of the "All the other teams don't respect us..." card. He's never used that before, and if he has to say that publicly to motivate his team, he's clearly not getting motivation from any leaders who are players. Once again clearing out the locker rooms and takeing away the extraneous niceties as punishment for not playing hard enough? K's never had to do that before, at least in recent memory. Once again I see it as him using a motivational tool because he has no one else helping him do that type of work from his players. Jay Williams is a very very talented basketball player, but honestly I don't see him as being a leader out on the court.
<b>Jaybird</b>: You marshall a good argument but I still don't know that I agree... for the following reasons: 1. Jay Williams was not the Senior that Battier was 2. Jay was not the defensive player that Battier was 3. Duke was not as good a team as the previous Nat Champs 4. Duke was not as respected by the opposition because they were not as good 5. Duke was thin on the frontline (who respects that!) 6. Battier is EXCEPTIONAL -- wish the Rockets had him! I can't argue that it wasn't a disappointing year for Duke. Did Battier make Williams that good?
Thx but I don't concur with some of your points.... 1. Jay Williams was not the Senior that Battier was True but Williams has played 3 years as the cornerstone of their offense. Battier played 2 years as a role player, and 2 as crucial aspect of their team. So in their time of being relied upon they're close to even. 2. Jay was not the defensive player that Battier was Also true, but you don't have to be an individual talent on defense to be a leader. That's kinda out of the scope of the argument. 3. Duke was not as good a team as the previous Nat Champs This one's debatable too. Losing Battier hurt, but Dunleavy stepped up and filled those shoes on the offensive end, and Dahntay Jones filled the role of defensive stopper. Losing Nate James hurt for leadership, but the play of Dan Ewing was on par with James' scoring abilities. They lost 2 leaders, because arguably last year's team was as talented if not more so than their Nat Champ team. What was lacking this recent year? Leadership 4. Duke was not as respected by the opposition because they were not as good LOL I highly doubt that, I really only think there was one team not afraid of Duke, and that would be Maryland. Simply because Dixon, Baxter and Blake all went through a lot of games with them and felt deep down that they could beat them. The whole idea that all the teams Duke played didn't respect them is smoke and mirrors. Just something K created to get his players to stop coasting through the season. 5. Duke was thin on the frontline (who respects that!) When has Duke not been thin on the front line? Ever since K's gone to his 3pt barrage offense they've always had a very thin front line. The problem exploiting it was that you had to be diciplined on your offensive end and patient if you got behind big. Not many teams are able to do that when you're down 15 and Jwill is getting a hot hand. 6. Battier is EXCEPTIONAL -- wish the Rockets had him! Battier is a great player and a great leader, I can't say more as a MD student. If I said anymore they'd revoke my student ID I can't argue that it wasn't a disappointing year for Duke. Did Battier make Williams that good? I can't say I'm disappointed with their season, but I think Battier helped Williams find his way in games at times. Made sure he kept in control and balanced things out. I didn't ever see Jay Williams do that.
Jaybird, you've ruffled my feathers a little bit... First, your memory is awfully short-sighted to believe that Bibby was a 'leader' in college. His championship team was really Miles Simon's, and if he (Mike) had such tremendous leadership abilities, why did he wait until he got traded to a playoff caliber team before he blew up?... In other words, there have been plenty of 'leaders' who have been undaunted by going to a hapless, lottery team and have utilized the immediate losing as a learning experience and fueled a turnaround. You could argue that Batttier did a better job with that task in one year with the Grizzlies than Bibby did in the previous two. In 2001, Battier was a senior, and there was no doubt that the Blue Devils that year were his team. J-Will (and Dunleavy) as juniors in 2002, did not have the clear 'leader' role that Shane did (in fact they were asked to share it), and they didn't have the additional year under their belt (and trust of the coaching staff) that Shane did... That's all to say that if this is your only knock on J-Will (perceived leadership abilities), then it's a shaky one. I would also take issue with 'giddyup's assertion that last year's Devil squad wasn't respected. There is a difference between thinking someone is beatable (which Duke opponents rightly did this year) than thinking they aren't worthy of your respect. Whomever the Rockets draft this year, this is Francis' team. So, what you and Rockets' management should be concentrating on, is someone who can come in , work, and contribute right away... In my mind Jay fills that criteria better than anyone else in this year's draft... It is foolish for the Rockets to not show more interest in Jay, even at the risk of pissing off the entire Asian continent, or Stevie...
I always seem to ruffle someone's feathers.... If I'm not mistaken, which I could be, I think Bibby and Simon shared that leadership role on their championship run. As for Bibby's leadership abilities in the NBA, I personally think they're pretty good and he has the potential to develop them even more. Please don't try to put words in my mouth like "tremendous leadership." You point to Battier and the Grizzlies with a leader going to a poor team. I think their success comes in part from having 2 young talented players who were ready to come into the NBA; Gasol and Battier. Do you honestly think that the Grizzlies would have done no better with Bibby at the helm instead of the white Jason Williams? Personally I think Bibby would have made that Grizzlies team better if he was on it. Jason Williams was the nominated leader the moment Battier stepped off campus... It wasn't like Duke was searching to find that elusive team leader. Everyone knew it would be Williams and Dunleavy to a lesser degree. How did Williams not have the trust of the coaching staff. He'd been their hand picked player since his freshman year, to play the point and to be their star. If K didn't trust him at that point then there's something wrong. I've never said J-Will wouldn't be a good NBA player, the question I answered was will he be our Mike Bibby, or in other words be our team leader. My response is no, because I question Jwill's leadership abilities, not his basketball talent. If we drafted Williams this year to be our team leader, then it wouldn't be Francis' team. It becomes Jay Williams' team. You're right that the managment should be concentrating on on someone who can come in, work and contribute right away. But the 2 spots we have open where that can happen are the 3 and the 5. Francis is going to be the starting Point, and Cat's going to be the starting 2. With Francis playing the backup 2 in the 3 guard lineup, where do you see Williams getting the minutes? Jason's more valuable to the Rockets as a potential trade than a player in my opinion, unless Francis or Mobley gets moved somewhere else. Why is it foolish to not show a lot of interest in Jason Williams? We've got the #1 pick in the draft so we don't have to play cloak and dagger games to try and make sure he's around when we're on the clock. Plus he's pretty much made his case for why he should get picked, what more do the rockets really have to see outside of a workout? Why go out of our way to piss off the China if we don't really need to, in case we pick Ming?
Rather than stray off the topic, and continue to discuss the intricacies and comparisons of the 2000 Blue Devils vs. the 2001 squad, or Bibby vs. J-Will, let me get back to the core of the matter: I believe the reason you (Rox) show interest in Jay Williams, is to keep your options open. In other words, some rumors have Jerry Krause optioning Jamal Crawford to the Rockets to ensure that they don't trade the #1 pick---allowing the Bulls to lose out on J-Will. Or the Warriors giving up an Adonal Foyle and their #3 for J-Will, and maybe the Bulls draft Dunleavy???...It's entirely possible, and once again the Rockets still gain a serviceable player, and Yao, while playing the 'cloak and dagger' games you seem unwilling to support. Whether those specific possibilities are true or not, there are any number of teams that value Jay higher than Yao, regardless if that's a need issue or a talent identification. The Clippers, Warriors, and Bulls, are just 3 teams with high enough picks that the Rockets could explore options adding value to their roster, and still end up with Yao...Nevermind any 3-team deals... No matter how much loyalty the Rockets, or any other team, try to show Yao and his country, there will come a time where the Chinese government will be upset at his usage and development, or will exert their power and recall him at inopportune times at the Rockets and the NBA's expense. I believe the only reason that China has softened on their 'Only N.Y., L.A., Golden State, Chicago' stance, is the possibility that Yao be drafted #1 overall... I agree with you that there aren't a lot of minutes available for a player of Jay's talents with Stevie, Cat, and even Moochie on the roster. However, what if Stevie's headaches get worse? What if his contract negotiations take a turn for the worse?... Had the Rockets not won the lottery, the possibility of adding this year's top rated point was unfathomable... While it's still an unlikely option, there are certainly numerous reasons why it doesn't hurt to explore them all...
J-Diddy, I agree there are a lot of options with trades regarding Jay Williams. But all those options don't hinge upon overt and public statements about how we like Jay Williams and may draft him. A few quiet words between GM's on a call can do every bit as much for keeping those options alive, while keeping China in the dark. That's a win win situation. I guess my take on the Rockets managment, from what I've read from the "insiders" of the board. The rockets are going to listen to all offers, and wait till the find one they really like. If that offer doesn't present itself then they'll pick up Ming. The only benefit we need to cultivate is the possibility we might not take Ming. And for that all you need to do is mention it in passing to the teams below you when they come calling.
