Armstrong before Taylor surely? between Hill and Jeffries we can sort out the 3rd string C role (if required).
This^ Agreed, Budinger is the back up SF behind Ariza.....the odd man out is Shane "Old man rivers" Battier!!! --RB
Armstrong should be renounced for cap reasons, but then, if he has shown Adelman anything at all, then he can be re-signed at a reasonable cost. Of course, I would rather have Amir Johnson or some other TALL athletic true center to back up Yao. Armstrong is only 6-11 but has a huge wingspan. That's more than can be said for Jermaine Taylor. Taylor just doesn't fit the Adelman system. He doesn't pass the ball once he gets it. He can't dribble left or shoot with his left. His shooting is less than stellar. What good is he? Yes, I would take Armstrong and/or Andersen over Taylor every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Scola is an amazing talent, but he has been stretched pretty thin as of late. You can't really expect Scola to get the 11-12 rebounds per game that Bosh averages throughout the duration of the season. Also, Bosh is averaging ten more points per game than Scola. Scola has pretty much peaked in talent and is 6'9". Where as Bosh is listed as an inch taller, but obviously has a much longer wing span and can jump out of this building. Bosh would be the better player for our team! No matter how much I would hate to see Scola go!
It really disgusts me how people keep bring up Bosh over and over and over again in every single thread. Don't you guys ever get tired of dreaming? I know it's fun but c'mon, give it a rest for a while, at least until summer. I mean, it's like talking about how incredible the Rockets will be when LeBron signs here. It's that ludicrous to me. There's a dozen other teams out there that are gonna be vying for the #3 free agent, all who have their own little "we're the perfect fit for Bosh! We got the cap space, the right role players, the perfect sidekick, blah blah blah" Have fun holding your breath because I don't know CPR
Which of the wing players is going to be "the odd man out" depends on how Ariza will play with Martin. If Ariza continues to think he is the alpha dog, he will be shipped out. If he plays like what he did as a Laker, Budinger would be a good trade bait. I think the Rockets management values Battier a lot more than most fans here. With a young team growing, a smart and respected veteran like Battier is invaluable. Battier is sort of like Mutombo. Even if he can't walk anymore, you want him to just sit on your bench and be a role model for your young players. If Battier is traded, Morey is going to extract some serious talent in return.
Easy, I'm a big fan of Shane in every way except as a starter. My fondest wish is that he retire this summer (or after he is traded for more talent for the Rocks) and accept an assistant coaching job under Adelman. He obviously has the intelligence and the skills needed to coach.
I would love to have Shane as an assistant coach. But I think he still have at least a couple more years of productive playing time. If the curious case of Budddddinger improve on defense, my ideal situation would be to have Chase as the starter and Ariza backing up both Martin and Chase. Shane would do lesser minutes.
Bud is not going anywhere unless we are getting better in return. He is playing a lot of minutes and doing very well for being a rookie, a second round pick at that. There is always a drop after the All-Star game when these guys hit the "rookie" wall. No, I see a Scola, Battier with someone else type trade happening.
Keep Bud. Ship Battier. Anyway with Bud's ball handling skills, I can see him playing at big guard. Something that battier should never do and Ariza never should think of.
I know it won't happen but I would rather see Ariza shipped out. He doesn't defend as well as Shane and doesn't score as well as Budinger. I think a Battier/Budinger combo is a better one-two punch at SF much like the Brooks/Lowry combo at PG. As Battier ages, his role can be diminished to where he is ultimately picking up fewer than twenty minutes per game while Chase plays thirty+ minutes. I think Shane can be resigned for cheap after next season and if not we just sign another defensive minded SF who doesn't have Ariza's price tag. Ariza has some skills but I think if we are going to keep one offensively challenged SF it should be the one who has the better passing skills and who plays defense on every possession as opposed to half of them. If you think Ariza's attempts at driving the basketball are painful to watch now just wait until he does it with Yao trying to set up in the post.
Like I said, it really depends on how well Ariza plays with Martin. If he adjusts well, then they might want to keep him over Shane because of the age factor. But if he keeps taking ill-advised shots or having bad attitude, he could be the one out.
