How would you rank our roster from most to least important?

Yao Ming - must return and prove himself as the new team leader
Aaron Brooks - must learn to be a good playmaker
Luis Scola - Stronger than ever
Kevin Martin - Fully recovered, finds his legs early, big scorer
Chase Budinger - big improvement- must be on our team
Shane Battier - the heart still pumps but on another team
Kyle Lowry - We need him if he isn't too greedy
Trevor Ariza - should be more comfortable once Yao returns
Jordan Hill - shades of Hakeem by season's end, must be on our team
Chuck Hayes - wish he was nine inches taller- gone
Jared Jeffries - 6.8 million dollar becomes filler for our big trade
David Andersen - trade filler
Jermaine Taylor remains with team and shines in the second half of the season

 

About time we started talking about something new....

Yao, Martin, Brooks, Scola, Budinger, Lowry, Hill, Ariza, Battier....the rest are all expendable....

Off subject/ Watching the eastern conference semis tonight thought to myself that if i were lebron i'd go play for the magic forcing a S&T and convince D-Wade to come play there too (great place to raise a family, close to miami beach, and with wade's custody battle, wouldnt be all that far from kids)

 

Yao - #1 times 2
Martin - #1 and #2
Brooks = 0

Scola
Ariza
Budinger

Lowry
Battier
Hill

Hayes

Taylor
Andersen
Jeffries
Harris

 

Ya like he is going to be a rocket next season.

 

1. Yao
2. Martin
3. Brooks
4. Scola
5. Ariza
6. Lowry
7. Budinger
8. Battier
9. Hill
10.Hayes
11.Andersen
12.Taylor
13.Jeffries
14.Harris

 

It's my count on the difference between their expected true value and their earnings.

1. Yao Ming - big risk and big reward
2. Luis Scola - big winner and leader
3. Chuck Hayes -definitely a winner and leader
4. Shane Battier - big winner and leader if not old
5. Kevin Martin - if healthy, can play the similar role of Tmac
6. Chase Budinger - may have a huge upside
7. Kyle Lowry - a fire ball. a fighter.
8. Aaron Brooks - in his highest value. not a high BBIQ player
9. Jordan Hill - a risky choice.
10. Trevor Ariza - he's who he is.
11. Jared Jeffries - 6.8 million dollar contract expires next summer
12. David Andersen - He's an experienced tall shooter
Jermaine Taylor

 

this^

 

Alexander Johnson is more important than David Andersen. No, he didn't play one minute but he's still better than David Andersen.

 

Yao Ming - He's the key to doing anything
Kevin Martin - He's the single best offensive player on the team. We've not seen ANYTHING from him yet.
Shane Battier - He's the lynchpin to the team's defense (calls out opposing teams' plays, always takes the toughest assignments, etc.). He's also the team's central leader.

Luis Scola - Rebounds, gritty in post, can average 16-6. Team NEEDS him to succeed; his worth went WAY up in the Landry trade (the value of my Scolandry jersey went down).
Aaron Brooks - Great offensive player. Constantly improving. Needs some strength as long as he keeps his speed.
Kyle Lowry - Houston's answer to Deron Williams. Probably the only 1 with the strength to guard him. His (and Martin's) talents getting to the foul line will greatly help out Yao.

Trevor Ariza - Will truly show his worth once he's the 4th/5th option. Hopefully learning from Battier. His biggest strength is his willingness to play D.
Chase Budinger - What can I say that hasn't been said? Rookie contract, great shooter with athleticism, smart player. Great trade chip (BOSH BOSH BOSH).
Chuck Hayes - Should be shooting technical FTs. Extremely smart player. Fantastic defender. Was better on O than we've ever seen this year. NEED.

Jordan Hill - Like a worthwhile Joey Dorsey. Can become a serviceable rotation guy (maybe starter). Needs a quicker jumper and Scola's post game.

David Andersen - Showed he can at least shoot.
Jared Jeffries - I don't see him as any better than Andersen. At least I feel Andersen can improve after playing in the US for a year.

Jermaine Taylor - Great handles, meh everything else. Upside?
Mike Harris - Couldn't crack the rotation. Has apparently added some range. Could start for the T-Wolves. Then again, so could DD.

Draft Pick? We all know Johnson won't be here.

 

Yao: Nuff Said.
Brooks: Speed, a great scoring touch, now with talent (besides Scola) to dish to and a willingness to improve his weaknesses, could make him one of the best young PGs in the NBA.
Scola: It was originally a toss up between Scola or Martin, but given some thought, Scola is usually getting double doubles and more importantly is more of a leader then Martin given all I've seen of Scola, on and off the court. Which just leads to Scola edging out Martin.
Martin: A pretty good scorer and once fully healthy and with help from the others, he is primed for a breakout season... I hope.
Battier/Ariza: Man, people hate on Trevor. Granted, I lean more toward Shane because he is obviously the superior defensive talent and obvious leader, but Battier has lost a step and Trevor's offensive game while not perfect is pretty good. Love Shane, but for better or worst, Ariza is the future for us at the SF position.
Lowry: Don't believe he is a better starter then Brooks but his strengths are great counters to Brooks.
Hayes: With the absence of Deke, Chuck has kind of taken the role of post defender and heart of the team. I think even off the bench, he will have a positive effect on the team.
Budinger/Hill: I put them both on the same level, because right now they are both strong (but not extraordinary) rookies that one day could be starters for us. Hill gets the nod up to the same level as Chase only because we need bigs and he has shown great strides for someone that spent most of the season on the bench. Bud may over take him in the long run but for now I consider them almost equal.
Taylor: A potential solid rotation player, I think given time, he will help us out a great deal.
Jefferies: I mainly see him as potential replacement for Battier if we pull the trigger on a trade.
Andersen: You let me down last season David, I can't see you as anything other then a bench warmer now.
Harris: I feel for the guy, he tears it up in the D-League and probably overseas but apparently doesn't have the skills to earn time at SF and lacks the size to be a legit PF. He is like the Darius Walker (former Texans RB) of the Rockets.

 

How I see it:

Untradeable: no one.
Cash cow: Yao Ming
People that we rate higher than other teams do and would require significant assets in return to part with: Kevin Martin, Kyle Lowry, Luis Scola
People that are actually rated higher by other teams (and most fans) than the Rockets FO likely is rating them behind closed doors: Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier (yes, all the publicity has pushed him into this group), Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger
People that we rate highly but would trade away for the right price: Jermaine Taylor, Chuck Hayes
Contracts: Jared Jeffries

 

Yao: This team is built with him in mind. It's built to complement him when he's healthy and run when he's not healthy. If Yao left the team, we'd be in a new era. You can't say that about any other player on the team right now.
Martin: A great scorer, hard worker and good complement to yao as well as a guy that seems to play well with brooks.
Brooks: Speedy point guards are hard to come by, and harder to guard. Brooks is not only fast, but he also is a high character guy and hard worker. He's also starting to take leadership of this team.
Hill: I know this is really high, but Hill is also a great fit for this team. He is that super athletic body guard next to yao that we always wanted, who can block shots, clean up his misses and take midrange jumpers. At the same time, other teams betting on his potential could be what nets us a star upgrade.
Budinger: This is really high too, but Budinger is a perfect fit for this team. He can spot up and pass well when Yao's on the floor and run like crazy when Yao's out. Toward the end of the year he became much more productive, he just needs to be consistent.


The way I see it, the 5 list above would be our ideal starting five if we don't make any big trades (emphasis on the word ideal). If Budinger and Hill capitalize on the potential they showed last season, they would fit perfectly with yao, brooks and martin. This makes their potential extremely tantalizing. I think that's why you don't trade them unless you are getting a clear upgrade in return.

On the other hand, their potential is also what would give us an opportunity to trade for another star. Thus, Hill and Budinger will have a huge impact on how good the Rockets are next season, either as players or trade bait.

Scola: I love Scola, he has so much heart and has a great post game. I'd love to keep him, but at the end of the day a starting frontcourt of him and Yao is going to have a lot of problems against very athletic frontcourts. He's a good fit next to yao, but not the best fit.
Lowry: We won't find a better back up and complement to Brooks. They combine for the best point guard production for the money. I really hope we resign him.
Battier: The heart of this team, but he's been getting hurt, has not been as effective, there are two younger guys in front of him and he has an expiring contract so we can't get too attached. Best case scenario is we trade him and he gets bought out and comes back to Houston.

Ariza: He is what he is, an athletic small forward who can defend and sometimes make spectacular dunks. Although he's starter material, I don't think the Rockets would hesitate to look for upgrades at his spot.

Hayes: his defense is sometimes just awesome, which is why I feel bad for him every time he has no answer for a taller guy going over him. He's a nice end of the bench specialist and hard worker.

Taylor: He's still young. He could be good. Probably not, but maybe.

Andersen: Kinda sucked last year, but don't forget it was his first year in the NBA. I wouldn't be surprised if his numbers improve next year (but hopefully he doesn't get much playing time).

Harris and Johnson: have non-guaranteed contracts for the express purpose of being traded so they can be waved and save the other team some money. If they aren't traded they'll be waived.

 

Yao - Building the team around him.

Brooks - Best player on the team last season.

Martin - Brought in to play with Yao, fits well with Brooks/Ariza/Scola.

Scola - THE glue guy on the starting roster.

Lowry - The most important player off the bench.

Budinger - The Rockets organization sees a bright future and will not give him up easily in a trade.

Ariza - Compliments Brooks/Martin/Scola well.

Battier - Glue guy off the bench.

Hayes - Will be much better suited coming off the bench as a PF than starting C.

Hill - If he is still here, will be an excellent player for years to come.

Jeffries - Nice player to have but only a contract at this point.

Taylor - Showed something when given playing time. Will be tough to get minutes behind Martin/Ariza/Budinger/Battier.

Andersen - Has to step it up and be more consistent or won't be here.

 

This is my list:

Yao Ming
Aaron Brooks
Kevin Martin
Luis Scola
Kyle Lowry
Trevor Ariza
Chase Budinger
Jordan Hill
Shane Battier
Chuck Hayes
David Andersen
Jermaine Taylor
Jared Jeffries
Mike Harris
Alexander Johnson

I put Battier low because although he is the team leader, it looks like his role could be reduced going forward depending on the development of Ariza, Budinger, and Taylor.

Brooks has also emerged as the new leader of the team, especially towards the end of the season so that also reduces Battier's leadership role. Yao and Scola are natural leaders as well of China and Argentina so although Battier is important, he could be replaced going forward more easily.

 

I think kevin martin is being a little over rated. He can score, but I think his deficiencies in other areas are a negative for me.

YM
LS
AB
KM
SB
KL
TA
CB
JH

 

1. Yao Ming
2. Aaron Brooks
3. Luis Scola
4. Kevin Martin
5. Kyle Lowry
6. Trevor Ariza
7. Jordan Hill
8. Shane Battier
9. Chase Budinger
10. Chuck Hayes
11. Jermaine Taylor
12. Jarred Jeffries
13. Mike Harris
14. Alexander Johnson
...
...
...
2539. David Andersen

 

This is about our team and Bosh is not it.

 

Healthy Yao would be first spot, but right now, the best by far is Luis Scola....

After 08-09 playoff DM himself said that Luis was the playoff MVP for the Rockets....not me....

Scola when given enough playing time, showed that his stats per minute could be kept with more playing time, being a near 20-10 PF, adding a lot of intangibles also as contribution, coming from his very high Basketball IQ, leadership and team awareness....

He's by far the most winner guy in the roster, even ahead Yao, both in Europe and commanding the Argentinian NT....And always being the team leader and MVP at the same time (in 04 olympics, sharing the role with Ginobili, go figure)...

Brooks and Martin could score more, but they're not near as leaders, team players or intelligent (specially Brooks) as Scola....

Besides, Scola's D is way underrated here, as I said b4, despite him not being athletic, he makes up with IQ.... I saw him defend pretty well guys like Dirk or Amare....his team D is far above average....In D, he's also far better than Boorks or Martin....

That's why I really don't understand why Scola appear that late in these rankings, ask experienced coachs or people with Basketball knowledge if they'd consider Martin or Brooks being more important than Scola for the team, and let me know what they say....

 

Forgot to add, since arriving to NBA....he has 100% of the games playing healthy,pre-season, regular season, playoff......

In a team with such story of injury prone players, a so durable player like Scola is not appreciated as he deserves?

Players like him can be seen in action until his late 30's at least, with no noticeable changes in their production....

 

You are all putting Shane B too low on the list...
He is the core of this team, one of the few players that is here from 2006, everything changed except Yao being the main guy.

However, no GM is a fool, only cornerstone of this team is untradeable and that is Yao