Gasol, Garnett and Allen may not be the all-time greatest, but they are definitely star players. All of them are max level players.
What I am saying is that having a roster with 14 Scolas, Brooks, Lowrys, Budingers, and Hills aren't going to do it. Talent needs to be upgraded. You need to constantly upgrade to higher level players. Celtics didn't just say "We got Pierce and Al Jefferson, let's continue to develop big Al. He can be a future all-star." They kept upgrading. Even though Garnett alot more than Jefferson and Jefferson was still developing, they kept upgrading. They could have said the same thing about Ray Allen. After losing Shaq, Lakers didn't just say "We got Kobe, Odom and Bynum. Gasol is too expensive. Bynum is a future all-star and is way cheaper. We don't need to trade for Gasol. We will be in luxury tax hell." They upgraded the talent to Gasol, even though he is not a top 5 player and they have to pay luxury tax. They could have stayed with just Odom and continue to develop Bynum. Hoping he was enough for another ring. Heat could have said, "We got Wade. He's going to be an all-star. Let's just get some more talent in the draft and develop it. We don't need an expensive free agent that will cost more than Odom." They went ahead and got rid of Odom and talent for Shaq. Spurs didn't say, "We got Robinson. Let's try to win as many games as possible. Let's bring back Robinson for the final month of the season, even though we are eliminated from the playoffs. Who cares about Duncan?" They kept Robinson out and "developed" their players.
oh i see what you guys doing here...haha you guys keep tlkin about jordan hill's "unlimited potential" and hope that bryan colangelo reads this thread and trade bosh for jordan hill...you guys so smart
If he can get that Ray Allen Jumper, the Kobe mentality, and the Hakeem post moves....Were set to win the next few championships
Which has led to has been a bunch of roleplayers with 1st round playoff exits and the lottery. If the Rockets developed some all-stars and got out of the 1st round regularly, I would agree.
DD, Developing is fine, but you have been singing that same tune for years. They didn't develop Nachbar, Gaines, Lue, Wilks, Spanoulis, Novak into the kind of star the Rockets needed. It's a different story, if a player comes in shows off the kind of game that Yao or Hakeem did. It's something else, when they show off what Landry/Brooks did or what Spanoulis and Novak did. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=80632
Well they sorta just started this developmental deal.... Brooks as a first year starter 20ppg and 5+ assists. Budinger as a rookie 10ppg and good shooting percentages. Martin 20ppg - will get better as chemistry develops. Hill looked good Scola 19-9 once his minutes increased with Landry gone. Add in Yao's 18 points and 8 boards and that is a pretty stout team. I mean if you can upgrade, sure, but don't sell the farm for someone elses players when yours are developing quite nicely. Different year, and different team, we had a healthy Yao and Tmac, remember? Not at all apples to apples, we did not need a star player out of those, just decent play..... And you are mixing the "Develop players because we are not contenders argument" with..."we have players that are developing nicely" one. DD
I havent seen too much of Jordan Hill, how does he compare with JJ Hickson of the Cavs? I see Hickson finishing strong at the rim and moving well without the ball/running the floor.
I never liked Novak all that much, not sure why he gets lumped in, and my thoughts on Vspan were that I wanted him to play backup PG to see if he was going to be able to be part of the future, but it got blown way out of proportion into some mythical epic belief...lol. And I didn't realize the Rockets were going to be playing 4 on 5.....lol.... DD
You know what? I'm fine with the win now thing. But, it just isn't as easy as you make it sound. Why is nobody here talking about how NY will inevitably win the championship within a few years? They are not bound by bad contracts, they live in a city that is probably the most attractive city for star players, and they have a pretty good team president in Donnie Walsh. If it's as easy as some of you think, then they must have it figured out just like you guys do. What happens is, a team is on the way up, then they start reaching. They pay too much for somebody. 2-3 times. Or they get unlucky. Your star gets hurt, or gets fat, dumb and lazy once they get that big contract. Or, you just overestimated what they could do (see McGrady, Tracy). It isn't like taking your car in for a tuneup. It's very tricky. This is why it makes sense to take your time, make prudent moves. Yes, maybe you reach when you are pretty close. But it's still tricky.
Their team sucks and has no talent. They are a team made up of only young players that could be potential all-stars. Curry Gallinari(top pick) Chandler/Walker Giddens Douglas
They have no obligations to any player after this season. You think you know how to turn the Rox into champs, but not the Knicks? I don't mean to be a jerk, but if you know how to make a team into champs, then you must know how to do it with New York, which starts with a totally blank slate except for a few obligations this year. All I'm saying is, it's tricky, especially when you decide to reach, and make a deal for short-term payback.
They need to get more talent. 2 stars and a bunch of young players to develop into "potential all-stars" that you love so much isn't going to get anywhere. They need to trade off some their younger players and get a player that's already good. A bunch of young players on rookie contracts won't get it done.
If you want to see what works look at the Celtics, who traded Jefferson away and got Garnett and signed Allen. Look at the Heat who upgraded their talent by trading Odom for Shaq. Look at the Lakers who traded their young Kwame Brown for Gasol. Trade young roleplayers for stars.
The FIRST thing Jordan Hill needs to do is get in the weight room and become a PHYSICAL BEAST!!! After that, he needs to get with the coaches, Shane and Chuck, and become the very best defender he can possibly be. A shutdown PF, that can grab about 12 rebounds a game. He is certainly capable of that. ONLY after he has accomplished these things, should he even begin to think about development offensively. He can have a LONG career with the Rockets If he can be an imposing presence in the paint defensively. He needs to master the rotations so he can quarterback the defense ala Kevin Garnett...
Jordan needs to work on his hands as well. Agree with the OP. Ball handling would also be another ideal area. The guy is pretty athletic, it would be nice to see him work on taking his guy to the rack.
