I know this idea has been hashed around over and over again, but as an Yao-only fan (I've only recently started watching the NBA again because of Yao) I feel I can offer an objective opinion since I haven't suffered through the previous coupla years of mediocrity with the rest of you rockets fans. 1) PG- Bring in a real point guard. Francis is NOT a point guard, nor will he be effective as one anytime soon. The role of the GM is to play to your team's strengths. Asking Francis to play point is like asking Michael Vick to become a pocket passer... Moochie is useless, I'd rather have Avery Johnson be a player/coach than moochie. 2) SG - Steve Francis. It's simple. He rebounds, can create his own shot, can nail the open 3, and can finish. It's everything you'd ever want from your shooting guard. If cat wants to stay with this team, he's gonna hafta do it off the bench. Actually with cat and taylor comin off the bench, that's a pretty formidable offensive tandem. 3) SF - Although Rice and Posey appear to be perfect complements to each other, this combo isn't working. When I heard the Ray Allen trade rumor, it's appears Houston is looking for a shooter and not a defender. Thus I think Posey will be gone and depending on the progress of Nachbar, either he or Hawkins will take his place. 4) PF - I am one of those that think cato can have success playing as a PF with Yao on the court, thus allowing their minutes to overlap. You may say he's too slow to defend opposing PFs, but Griffin and Taylor don't exactly hold their own either. IMO Taylor is and always will be the superior player to Griffin. Griffin has no explosiveness and no post game. Some of you say he will be a stud, but who really cares, the best that Houston can hope for is for Griffin to become more of a defensive player ala Ben Wallace, but he just doesn't look the type. 5) C - Yao Ming and Cato. The team is fine here personnel-wise, but I really think Yao needs some physicality to his game. When he's fierce and throwing his elbows around, he usually has his best games. BTW, if the rockets do eventually become a power in the west with yao and francis, but are unable to win the big one, can't you totally picture phil jackson jumping ship in LA to come to Houston? hehe
Okay. Yes. We need a true point guard......JASON KIDD!!! w00t!!! Well of course not. But should we sign Tierre Brown or Kenny Satterfield? Or some NBDL guy? Shooting Guard. Francis cannot be. He can't even guard Tyronn Lue. How can you expect him to guard....MANU GINOBOLI's and people like that and better? He is just too....well he doesn't try I guess. He can't. But on offense....it would be good if he had a good partner who can run the point. Small Forward. I believe Posey will be gone. You forgot about Terence Morris!
If Kidd goes to SA, can we please trade somebody for T Parker. He is just 20 years old, young, and learning fast!
I don't really understand that line of logic. From what I've seen, francis's problem is that he allows too much dribble penetration. Shouldn't he be better matched up guarding slower 2's than having to stay with the quicker 1's? Plus he has the hops to defend them in the post game. Is Terence morris a SF or PF?
No Phil Jackson! Please! He never built anything and he is very negative about Yao Ming. Next season.....Parker, Arenas, Taylor, Brand,Yao Ming. Backups....Maddox, Hawkins, Nachbar,Morris, Cato Outside sharp Shooter Piatowski. Gone:- Francis Mobley Griffin Posey Rice
I don't think we need to replace three fifth of our starting lineup. I don't think Parker/Arenas tandem is an upgrade over Cat/SF. I think the only change we need to make is to find a good outside shooter to alleviate the pressure on Yao. And yeah, Rudy needs to go.
Unless you were expecting the rockets to bring the championship home this season, there's no reason for a complete overhaul. What's the point of getting Arenas? Francis will always be a better scoring PG than him. Parker is making the spurs think twice about grabbing Kidd, I doubt they'll let him go that easily. If the rockets were to trade, they need to buy low, sell high, not the other way around...
Agreed on the first couple of points. All the rockets really need is a point that can play good D and knock down the open J. (J. R. Bremer?) The doubles on Yao usually come from the opposing 2 and 3 and cat is streaky while posey just cant shoot. I think Rudy should get another chance, but he needs to wisen up and realize where their weaknesses are. He's not the kind of coach that will risk tanking the rest of the season just to experiment with different lineups, but some changes do need to be made in the offseason or if the rockets are completely out of contention for the playoffs.
The rockets financial situation is in quite a bit of disarray. With the huge debacle sigining of Mo Taylor a couple of years ago, the Rockets have really put themselves in a bad position, since no teams are willing to take Taylor--a PF with good offensive skills and no defense or rebounding ability-- at that price. Along with Glen Rice's big contract, the Rockets do not have much cap room for next year, so you can throw away those Gary Payton dreams. However, if the rockets are to make a move, taylor will have to go for cheap--maybe in a deal along with cuttino. A sign and trade although improable would be nice if any of the coveted players (kidd, payton) decide to do this. The rockets do need a true point guard with both scoring and passing ability mirroring the system devised in Dallas and Sacramento. The addition of shooters such as Person would be very beneficial. The future for the rockets is very unclear, what is clear though is that for the Rockets to improve, Rice, Taylor, and Mobley must all be shipped out of Houston.
I can agree with that. Rice at this point is just a contract waiting to expire. You can't depend on him in a game and the Rockets badly need guys who are dependable. I've never been a fan of Taylor. I'm skeptical of his work ethic and maybe I'm traditional but I like power forwards to be primarily good for rebounding and defense. A PF who's an offensive specialist isn't to my liking but in this particular case, I don't think it's what the Rockets need anyway - they really do need a tough b*stard, preferably a veteran, to play that position. And as for Mobley, I do like his talent a lot, but I don't believe he's going to come around mentally and I don't know that the team could ever develop real chemistry if that's the case. I think he'd be good trade-bait. So yeah, I'm willing to wait for Rice to expire (or maybe the Rockets could trade him to a team that's preparing to clear cap room after next season? Haven't really thought about that much...), but I feel that when the off-season comes, the Rockets should do everything possible to get Cat and Taylor out of there.
