JeffB, First, those are not quotes. The quotes where that Rudy apologized profusely to KT and said that the signle EG start in question was a situational, advantageous match-up to get EG some minutes against a weak starting PF. After that, Rudy began starting EG and KT together. B, KT is the starting SF right now. You are talking in the past. Thirdly, KT's attitude last year about taking himself out for a nagging injury is a rule that Rudy applied, and many coaches do. If you are the starter, and you take yourself out for a nagging injury, you will get you spot back. IV, KT has shown zero attitude problems with EG starting as the PF in every preseason game. bottomline: KT gets what he deserves, and so far he has deserved everything he gets. Trading him for a future, protected is a serious crap shoot...and vastly more risky worrying about a Rudy coached team having Chemistry problems.
I now have my question for Jeff's next apperance on 610. Jeff, why are you a KT hater? KT is the hardest working guy on this team and doesn't deserve those kinds of shots.
The point is that, last season, KT didn't accept his role when asked to come of the bench. Regardless of why Rudy did it, starting someone over KT pissed KT off enough to concern the coaches. Of course KT doesn't mind EG starting at the 4, because KT is still starting and it is the starting that matters. My concern, like that of some other posters, is whether or not KT will keep a relatively healthy mindset even if he isn't starting at the three. This is another contract year for KT, afterall. Just to be clear, I am not suggesting they trade KT as a preemptive strike. I am merely speculating on whether KT will have a different attitude than last year should he be benched again.
JeffB, my point is that KT was never explained the role you suggest. You are assuming (like the article assumed) that Rudy made EG the starter. EG had great games against the Lakers, Milwaukee and Phoenix in a row. Each of those teams have very soft PFs...an ideal situation for Eddie. Rudy never declared EG the starter. Rudy said EG was on a roll against poor PF teams and there was one more to take on (Phoenix), and he wanted to take that opportunity to milk EG's two game string. Rudy was adlibbing, and apologized for not explaining that better in light of the fact he broke his own coach's rule regarding taking yourself out for nagging injuries. There is no soap opera here that has anything to do with KT battling EG *THIS YEAR*. KT is once again competing for a starting spot like we all want...and it appears he is going to own the starting small forward spot.
Kenny is not going to have an attitude problem. Kenny has been nothing but a hard working player intent upon helping the rockets and improving his game since he got here. He's done everything Rudy has asked and more. Yes he wants a new contract and if he shows he can play the 3 this season, I think he'll get one.
I never said KT had any attitude problem. I said Rice did, which is a known fact given Rice's history in LA and in NY. Of course, there is a chance that he has changed his attitude after being out almost a full season. I used to worry about KT simply because I didn't think he could successfully move to the 3. He would have been caught in the PF logjam. Now, he has proven me wrong (and I'm glad), I think he should be our starting 3. Since we only have 2 PFs now and one of them can play significant role as a backup 5, there is no logjam there. The logjam has moved along with KT to the 3 spot. If Rice plays a lot, then KT, Boki, and TMo, any two of these three will suffer in terms of PT.
I personally like our roster and believe Rudy & Carroll will put together a winning team. The possiblities are exciting! But many posts want to move : Collier -- saying we do not really need him & will lose him next year anyway. Thomas -- saying he is a tweener & we have a log jam at both 3 & 4. Rice -- saying he is not the player he was and hurt alot. You could all have your wish by trading all three to New York for Sprewell. I would hate to see this happen, but New York might want to do it. They need big man help due to injuries and Sprewell and they are not getting along so well right now. I personally do not like this idea, not wanting to lose our chemistry and possible corrupt it. Although many I know would love to have Sprewell. I would rather stay with our present team, till we see how they all work together with Ming, then re-assess any moves.
One yr can really change your outlook right. Last yr when Eddie played well in Thomas absence and Rudy wanted to bring Thomas back slowly, he was not pleased at all. When Rice went to NY and was coming off the bench, he wasn't pleased either. None of these pro atheletes will be happy about limited time or not starting unless they are in definiton , bench players. You can look at situations when Portland went to the wcf and lost. The very next yr with pretty much the same cast, they were a 7th seed. Seattle of the early 90's had the same problem until they got rid of Eddie Johnson and Ricky Pierce and solidified their rotation. Griffin,Taylor and Thomas wouldn't be happy playing 25 mins per night in high school , more less pro's. Someone compared the ego's nRudy had to go through with Barkley,hakeem,pippen and Clyde during the latter yrs, but none of those guys played the same position and all those guys were accomplished as far as endorsements and all stars. Lets not get it twisted, all pro atheletes have some kind of ego or bravado or they wouldn't be the top .0001%. Rudy may be a good coach and a ego soother, but one thing he can't do is make the game longer than 48mins.Hell glen rice was complaining about minutes on a team that had Shaq and Kobe and the rockets don't have anyone evn close to that stature so now he's going to be happy playing 20mins? What rudy has is 3 positions and 8 players and 48 mins. The Rockets aren't the only team that will have this problem either. Indy is in the same boat with Bender,Harrington,croshere,mercer,and Artest all battling for 1 maybe 2 spots,2 of which are in contract yrs. No way Artest,Bender and our Kenny Thomas will be happy getting 25mins going into a contract yr. What really hurts is if rudy decides to play small ball to appease moochies craving for game time? Hungry young players playing the same positions just isn't a good mix. "The thing about trades is that you will not find a taker for Cato (and why trade him); you will not find a taker for Rice; you will not find a taker for Maurice until next summer; " If Baker ,Kemp and guys like Howard can be moved, then Cato,Taylor and others can be also. I'm not going to say Cato is the best center if he was in high school, but some gm are still high on his "potential" Taylor also has gm's high on his "p" also. Really is just finding a taker and not taking too much contract back for them similar to what they did with baker. Thats why if any trade is considered, a player like Thomas will probably be included because of his low salary vs good production just like Kenny Andersonin the Baker deal. Its going to be a problem, but hopefully the team will still make the playoffs and the issues will be dealt with next season once taylor is healthy and rice is in the last yr of his contract. Hey p, if you've done any reading, you would know that Hedo really wants to start in Christies place, but I would be surprised if Rick pulss the trigger. What will probably happen is Hedo will take most of Christies time and christie will be on the bench. Remember after this season, Hedo will be open for a contract extension.
<blockquote><hr>Originally posted by leebigez Remember after this season, Hedo will be open for a contract extension. <hr></blockquote> Leebigez, dude, you really are the laziest fact finder on this BBS considering how much you try to state facts. First you called Scoreless a 6 rpg player who never once produced that and in fact is a 4.2 rpg player...but now, you are soooo wrong about Hedo's contract. Hedo is going into his 3rd yr. He will not be open to contract extenion next summer. The Kings will be decided on exercising his 4th yr team option. Do you ever check your facts before posting???
Actually, I think that if Nachbar really comes on and KT becomes the backup 3/4, he may instantly become one of the best 6th men in the league. There is no denying that KT is not a prototypical SF or PF, but who the hell cares? As heyp said, if all three (KT, Mo and EG) are playing well, they won't lose minutes, CATO WILL! Rice is a temporary gunner that can be like a high-rent version of Eddie Johnson for us. Honestly, if we had a solid defensive backup at the two guard, some more experience and just a BIT more age, this is a championship contender. Depth at every position, stars and role players, defensive stoppers and scary offensive weapons. You fill that hole at backup 2 and get shooters like Nachbar and Rice time on the floor, this is a REALLY talented team.
Hey P , i think you need to get you facts straight. YR TM G GS MIN FG FG% 3P 3P% FT FT% STL BLK TO PF DQ OFF DEF TOT AST PTS 95-96 Sac 53 3 11.5 2.4-5.1 .466 0.0-0.1 .000 0.9-1.6 .560 0.2 0.2 1.4 2.2 0.0 1.1 1.1 2.2 0.4 5.6 96-97 Sac 79 31 25.2 4.7-9.4 .498 0.0-0.0 .000 2.2-3.2 .689 0.8 0.6 2.0 3.3 0.1 1.8 2.4 4.2 1.6 11.6 97-98 Sac 79 75 35.7 7.1-14.4 .495 0.0-0.1 .000 3.5-5.6 .630 1.0 0.6 2.5 3.2 0.1 2.1 3.6 5.7 2.9 17.7 98-99 Sac 50 50 27.5 5.4-11.1 .485 0.0-0.1 .200 2.4-3.8 .638 0.6 0.2 1.5 2.4 0.0 1.7 2.4 4.1 1.3 13.2 99-00 Sac 76 76 22.5 4.1-8.2 .500 0.0-0.0 .000 2.1-2.8 .769 0.5 0.3 1.4 2.5 0.0 1.6 2.2 3.8 1.1 10.3 00-01 Det 27 9 29.6 6.4-11.9 .534 0.0-0.0 .000 2.5-4.0 .626 1.3 0.3 1.7 3.2 0.0 2.0 4.3 6.3 1.0 15.2 … Tor 42 31 21.1 3.6-7.7 .471 0.0-0.0 .000 2.0-3.1 .646 0.4 0.3 1.5 2.3 0.0 1.4 2.3 3.7 0.8 9.3 Season 69 40 24.4 4.7-9.4 .502 0.0-0.0 .000 2.2-3.4 .637 0.7 0.3 1.6 2.7 0.0 1.6 3.1 4.7 0.9 11.6 01-02 Det 78 7 21.8 5.3-10.3 .510 0.0-0.1 .200 3.1-3.8 .805 0.6 0.3 1.8 2.9 0.0 1.5 2.6 4.1 1.2 13.6 G GS MIN FG FG% 3P 3P% FT FT% STL BLK TO PF DQ OFF DEF TOT AST PTS Totals 484 322 24.6 4.9-9.9 .497 0.0-0.1 .074 2.4-3.5 .685 0.6 0.4 1.8 2.8 0.0 1.6 2.5 4.2 1.4 12.2 I'm not going to turn this into a name calling session because i'm a 6 figure n***a and we don't waste time becuse time is money.
leebigez, WTF??? You just proved me right? no? Like I say, Corliss has never produced a 6 rpg season, and is a 4.2 rpg career. His rebounding and defense does not warrant enough minutes to surpass 6, and even with 36 mpg he couldn't surpass 6. You said he was a 6rpg player for the Kings. That is wrong. What are you trying to say by those facts. You proved me right. Look at your damn stats, dude. And if you say you are a "6 figure n**ga"...fine....I say you are a no-stat-finding fool yet stat-monger n**ga, nonetheless. Leave the stats out of it, because you suck at it. Stick to your story that you were a stud in college, and know basketball. You are better at that.
17.7 pts and 5.7 rebs in 35 mins is close enough. then the 13pts and 6.2 rebs when he was traded is cool too. Those are the same numbers thomas would put up if he was playing 21 minutes per night like he did the season before. How did you even get to what you were trying to say. First you talk about the celts and lakers of the 80's which proved what i was trying to say. They had bench players and maybe 1 guys who start for another team or their own team.When the celts decided to start mchale, cornbread was gone. How many starters the 80 lakers had on the bench? 1, Cooper. Even the 80's pistons didn't really have anyone on their bench besides rodman who could start for their team or another team. If you can read, thats what i was saying from the outset.
leebigez, Corliss is a reknowned no rebounder/no defense player. Kenny is not that type of player. play with the numbers anyway that makes you not feel wrong. No matter how you slice it you called him a 13/6 player. He has only had one year over 5 rpg....and that year was on 36 mpg on a 27 win team. He sucks at rebounding. Corliss is a 12.2 by 4.2player. Face it. Those are his career numbers. He has never come close to rebounding like Kenny, or playing defense like Kenny. you are wrong.
I agree Codell, Artest would be a great pick up even though his natural position is the SF, he would make a great back up to the SG or SF. But we would have to give up Kenny Thomas & Oscar Torres to get him due to the salary cap. But his defense would be a great pick up.
