Contending this year? Yes we will be greatly improved but when all moves are completed during the next off season and Yao is surrounded by players who play the team game, then we will be certainly contending, not only to get out of the first round but at least to win the Western Conference Championships. When we win this, the door has been opened for us as we will enter a new era of the game in Houston! IMHO- Ariza -is a building block, if he keeps control of his temper he could become everything we expect of him. Battier- only occasionally do we see him play upto expectations, if we continue to speed up the game he might outlive his intangibles as age is now showing its toll and this next off season might be the most beneficial time for a trade. Scola- a very special player, one who plays with heart and inspiration and intangibles- very soon age could be a factor effecting his continued association with the Rockets. Chuck Hayes- A coaches dream, all strength and inspiration. A player who continues to improve but has possibly a fairly low ceiling. If we got an athletic back up Center would he still have a place in our hearts? Anderson- Still learning the NBA game, could be used as a filler in a big trade if a decent Center was in the package? Taylor- Full of potential, I hope the Rockets develop him. Cook- Going somewhere! Landry, Brooks, Lowery,Yao and Budinger should be our keepers.
There haven't been any true go-to-guys discussed in trade talks though. At least, not to our knowledge. Bosh is the best player that has been mentioned, and I don't know that he qualifies as a go-to-guy. Iggy? He's a hell of an all around player, but he's a 19 ppg scorer on a lousy team. I'd hardly call him a go-to-guy. Caron Butler? When the Washington Wizards are healthy, he's their third option. Not exactly what I'd call a go-to-guy either. At this point, I think Carl Landry is a better go-to-guy than either Iggy or Butler. So sure, if we traded for that missing go-to-guy without gutting our roster then perhaps we could be contenders, but we're not going to. I don't even think we're trying to. It simply isn't realistic.
Contending for a title through trades? Nah, I say no. Without inside presence in Yao, unless we could possibly trade for a big and reliable C, nothing would change except better winning record in the regular season.
I suppose Bosh + some other good player = contenders, really. Bosh+Butler, Bosh+Iguodala, Bosh+Martin. The thing I like most about Iguodala though, is that he's a 2-way player. He actually defends. I can't say the same for Kevin Martin, and I don't really know Caron Butler too well (he's been playing awful lately, too, but perhaps its a function of being on the Wizards with the drama).
Honestly I think Adelman can make any one of these players better then they are playing in their current situation. Everyone keeps saying Iggy has peaked and has no upside, but I think given a chance in Houston, Rick Adelman would utilize him more and make him a better fit in the Rockets system.
Does anyone think we can pull a trade for Iggy and in the offseason offer him up to say the Hawks or Heat as a sign and trade for D Wade or Joe Johnson? I mean Wade may be a long shot but Joe has already expressed his concern about staying with the Hawks and unless they win the title this year he is testing free agency, imo. Then it would totally make sense to get the younger & better overall asset in Igoudala over Butler. That would be a smart move on Morey's part imo plus we know ATL loves athletic guards i.e. Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and even Joe.
If Rockets are on pace to win 50 plus wins this season and a favorable trade goes down, I wonder if Yao could return this season? Even if he can only go 20-25 minutes a night, his presence could just be the shot in the arm we need to contend. IMHO anyway.
Raptors have always had a crappy team. Bosh comes in here with Brooks and Lowry (especially with Lowry), and Bosh will turn into a better player than he is.
Do Butler + Haywood makes us a contender? A lot of people on this board seem to have a mistaken view that our current team (with no changes) is lottery bound - it's almost as if they've missed the inspiring play of the team so far. The general consensus also seems to be that Ariza is total crap and can't play. I'd disagree with BOTH statements, Ariza is trying to do something that is beyond him, but I am completely amazed at the numbers he is putting up across the board. Lose the antics and bring in an 'offense creator' and we've got ourselves a heckuva option in Ariza. You bring in someone like Caron Butler, who can make his own shot in the half court offence, but also knows how to share the ball, and that takes the pressure off the rest of the team. You bring in Haywood, and suddenly we have someone who can protect the rim in the halfcourt set (Haywood is one of the best shot blockers in the NBA) Those are the 2 biggest failings of our current team. If you 'fix' them, then we can still watch Landry bringing the offence from the bench. We can still watch Brooks hitting boatloads of 3s. We can start to enjoy even more the wing defence of Battier and Ariza with a 'safety' in behind them. I'd love to make a McGrady/Cook for Butler/Haywood/ Stephenson deal. We'd only be peeling $14million off the Wizards salary for next season - not really giving them enough space to sign a max FA, but it'd open up a Jamison trade for expirings that would get them a LOT of space.
