[ClutchFans] The fascinating trade for Terrence Williams

lol...I can't argue with those comments...

 

I know it's hard for a T-Mac fanboy, but try to do your research. Morey has nothing to do with T-Mac. It was Carroll Dawson who engineered that trade for him. Looking back at all those non-existent rings and all that money well spent, I am sure CD and Les feel like geniuses. Unfortunately, hindsight is 20/20 and T-Mac does a real good job selling himself and his highlight reels. Unfortunately, like you said, highlight reels don't win games, so it is only expected that T-Mac has not anything meaningful.

 

This may upset some people, but I see T-Will as the next Marquis Daniels. Having versatility and talent is great, but you need a brain to put it together.

 

Naw man. He's much quicker, much more athletic, and has ten times the handle Daniels has. No comparison.

 

He isn't stupid. He is just out of control and reckless in his passes due to his immaturity.

 

We should consider trading a couple assets for a young center with big potential (I still think of Hill as more of a PF). I like that Morey is building for the future.

 

From the article...

"Too bad there aren't women who take their clothes off for money in Houston."

I think Htown has Williams covered in that department.


As for the trade, Williams has the tools obviously, is he willing to work hard to become the better overall player on the mental side of the game and for the team. Or will it just be about numbers and a gaze into the looking for a future fat check...

 

DD, Always worried about shooting, never worried about defense...

 

I don't know much about Williams, but I'm thinking he could play a role that perhaps Daryl Morey envisioned for Jermaine Taylor. Not the best jump shooter, but someone who looks to drive to the basket and put pressure on the opposing team's D, and maybe pass well enough to set his teammates up for open shots.

And if Williams takes the backup SF spot in place of Budinger, the second unit loses a perimeter threat, but it still has Lee, Miller, and to an extent, Lowry.

Anyway, I can see some interesting possibilities with Williams in the lineup.

 

Hmmm...or perhaps he's meant to take Battier's place and mesh his talents with the starters, leaving the second unit with Bud's perimeter threat.

 

Make no mistake about it T-Mac had superstar talent. It was just his unsuperstar heart that began his downfall. Unrecognized talent like TMacs is a waste. He is and will always be one of the biggest NBA disappointments of all time.

 

I'm sticking to my belief that Battier is more valued by the Rockets than Budinger.

Williams will have to prove himself good enough to take the starting SF spot from Battier in the future. The backup SF position, however, is more attainable at this point.

 

Yup. 6'7" extremely agile SG-s with 40 inch verts are quite rare so to say. Especially with the vision and skills T-Mac has. Now he is a slow, 20 inch vert guy and he is still a contributor in the NBA. It's maddening to see his talent go to waste.

 

Go look at the 50 greatest players in NBA history and you will be astonished at how many poor defenders are on that list.

DD

 

DD, you make a great point, but I would argue that the "50 greatest players list" is not truely the best indicator of what constitues great all around basketball. It is def. slanted towards scoring. To build a successful team, I think you have to have all the ingredients. I think we've been reminded over the last 5 years that good defensive teams win championships. Whether we are talking about Boston, Miami, or LA, all these teams were at the top in defense; and furthermore, I would argue that when we took LA to 7 games in the playoffs without our best player, it was our defense that gave us a chance to win.

Part of the problem is that Houston is not exactly comprised of scoring machines either, so I give you that we need to be thinking about ways to get shooters on the floor and make our offense more dynamic. But playing good defense, getting more opportunities through turnovers, keeping games close so we dont have to force shots; all of these things will go far towards helping our offense. I really believe that if we are going to turn this thing around this year, it has to start with defense. Brooks, Yao, Scola, and Martin (with Lee off the bench) should provide all the offensive firepower we need. We've got to stop teams from droping 115 on us.

 

I agree with balance being important, but I think the most important thing you can do is be efficient at scoring the basketball, it puts so much pressure on the other team to keep up.

I believe if you are decent on D and great on O, that is a pretty potent combination.....

Look at some of the best players in the league now, how many of them are also known to be great defenders?

Our problem in Houston is the mix, we have a mix of good defenders in Chuck and Shane etc...but we lost the balance when Yao and AB got hurt as they are the offensive threats that allow the defensive guys to come in and up the pressure on that end.

Houston needs a better mix of players to win, and that means better offense and defense....

I do like that TWill can be both, that is a huge advantage, but his numbers suggest he is not that efficient on offense and that can be a killer too...especially if he is a chucker, and the limited time I watched him play, that was exactly what he was....

DD

 

About 20-25 of them were elite - I mean top 100 ever - defenders.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/dws_career.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/def_rtg_career.html

 

Uh, those are not the 50 greatest players lists, come on now, but of course it would be awesome to be great at both...like Hakeem and Michael....

DD

 

I think you're severely underrating the 50 greatest players' defence.

Most of them are by no means great defenders, but they certainly aren't poor.

Larry Bird for example is by no means a good defender, but the guy never backs down, never gets pushed around, and plays mental games with his opponent (which is probably a skill no NBA players have nowadays, and is an underrated defensive skill).

 

The point being is that if you are elite at scoring the ball, you can still be very successful at D, even if you are just an average defender, because when you score the ball you put so much pressure on the other team to keep up.

Look at last night for example, the Rox were right there with them through the first half, and then OKC kept scoring and we had our inevitable drought and boom, game over.

DD