We need to give the kid the right mentor to develop his game. It is not all on him, it is on the team, as well.
We should give up on EG simply because his stock is way too low. If we got rid of him now, it would be as a throw in. I don't think we should give him up for essentially nothing. He isn't really hurting us, he's just more of a non-factor. I just don't want to be the team that gave up on EG (future superstar???) when he was only 20 and not even average rookie age.
I disagree that EG's stock is low, ATL wanted to give us SAR for him plus a contract throw-in. To me that indicates that his stock is relatively high. The thing that scares me a little with EG is the lack of fire. If you want to be a stud PF in the west you gotta let your nuts drop, and not be affraid get in their and bang with the big boys. EG doesn't seem like that is what he wants to do. Also, I don't think that we are only missing one piece of the puzzle. We need inside toughness coupled with more consistent 3 point shooting. Brand would provde the toughness, but if all we add is Brand then we would still have some problems. We must add some consistent shooting, a la Jon Barry, Brent Barry (if obtainable), Piakowski, maybe Person, and hopefully the development of Nachbar. Oh BTW, the story with Nachbar is the Rocks thought he was a spot up shooter, and appearently this is not his cup o' tea. He is a good shooter, but more off the dribble. The Rocks desparately want a more athletic version of Bull, someone that can hang at the arc a consistently drop 3s on opposing Ds. They thought that Langhi would be that guy, but he wasn't and that situation probably wasn't handled well on Langhi's end. They thought Nachbar would be the guy, and form what I hear his spot-up shooting isn't as good as his off the dribble work. I think that the Rocks will figure out how to best use him for next season. I know that he also needed some work on his D.
When I watched J'Oneal in Portland just as I watched Randolph, the first thing i noticed was footwork. While Sabonis was down in Portland, J'Oneal was coming into his own, but the problem was Rasheed and Brian Grant were already solid. Even though he didn't have the strength and is still slight of build, he learned to play inside and used his footwork and explosiveness to score. I haven't seen any of this in Eddie. Also, they had Wallace and was competing for a ring, not the playoffs as the Rockets are doing. Fast forward to this yr. Even as people question his size and jumping prowess, as soon as Rasheed was out, Randolph showed himself to be a very capable and accomplished low post scorer and rebounder. I even said that Randolphs play will in turn make Wallace trade bait. Why do think the blazers will trade wallace? Its obvious that he has hall of fame talent but doesn't play up to it. There a good chance that they will exit the playoffs in the first rd again and really needs to break up some of the team. Watching Randolph play in the pivot vs Griffin is a clear example of how far back he is in terms of development. In terms of players right now, How many people would trade Griffin for Gooden right now? The point, Griffin is young and some players are late bloomers, but looking at griffins low block offensive game compared to other players his age and its not even close. You can watch a guy like gooden with his footwork and craftiness aroound the glass and tell he'll be like 18 pts 11 rebs type of guy. You can look at Amamre and tell he'll be like 18 and 12 also. You can look at Randolph , if given the time and can predict he'll be 17 pts and 10 or 11 rebs, but with Eddie, most people can see at best Donyell Marshall in 14pts 10 rebs, but nothing special. I'm afraid 3 or 4 yrs from now, we'll still be talking about Eddie's potential like they still do with Tim Thomas,Larry Hughes, and Marcus Camby.
LEE- That is a gamble I am willing to take. The real risk is giving up on a 20 year old. The main difference between Randolph and EG has to do with the lbs. I have recently lost 10 lbs and boy does it make a difference when I play. That 10 lbs allowed me to stand my ground much easier in the post. Yesterday, I exerted so much energy trying to keep this substantially heavier guy out of the post that it took away from my offensive game. I was relegated to the perimeter with an occasional offensive board. It makes a difference. IT IS TOO EARLY TO GIVE UP ON THE KID!
His D is not that good if you watch the games and his O is killing Yao and this team. Teams just leave Griffin and collapse on Yao because who's more likely to burn you. Yao will not develop into the monster he could be under ANY system as long as Griffin is out there. You need someone who can make them pay if you leave him alone. He doesn't have to be a superstar just someone who can put the ball on the floor or hit the jumper - Griffin can do neither.
The Rockets do not need an all star at "every" position, but they need ONE more all star type player. The West is getting tougher and tougher. Let's look at the landscape. Bibby, Webber, Peja Kobe, Shaq, does it matter? Duncan, Parker, (FA this offseason) Dirk, Finley, Nash Marbury, Marion, Stoudamire See a trend here? The GOOD teams have THREE guys. It is a nice mixture of all star type talent with solid role players. Having a third all star type player allows this team the luxary of having nights when one or even two of our all stars are having bad games and still gives us a chance to win. (Minnesota is also in the same boat as the Rockets. They have Wally and Garnett but need that "third" guy. In the playoffs this year they are getting a "third guy" performance by Troy Hudson). As for Brand. I really think he is the missing piece of the puzzle. If the Rockets get Brand they automatically have one of the best front lines in the NBA for years to come. Could you name a better C/PF combo than Yao and Brand? What Brand brings to the table are all the things we need from the position. Great rebounder (#1 in offensive boards) very good shot blocker, toughness, able to score on rebound put backs thus not needing a lot of touches, a great attitude and a smart player. I also don't think Brand will demand the max. He may demand it from the Clippers, but to go to a decent team. He has said a few times that money will NOT be a factor! He is a blue collar worker and wants to win. If he got traded to the Rockets in a sign and trade I bet we could get him for a contract similar to what Rashared Lewis got which is around 8 million a season. I still love Eddie and wish he would improve but I admit that I am in love with Brand's game and the numbers he has put up every year he has been in the league. Brand is a "sure thing." I would take the sure thing if I could get it, especially if you think that Eddie, even at his best, will not put up numbers as good as Brand is doing now. Plus with Brand, he is still relatively young so you are not giving up too much in age!
EG needs to move to another team to realize his potential, and I think that is the bottom line. He also doesn't have a killer work ethic, and I have witnessed it first hand. He isn't bad, but it ain't good either. For him to show the improvement he is capable of, he will have to put in some serious work in the weight room and on the court working on post moves etc.. I don't think he has it in him. Maybe a trade to a different team will send him a message and get him jump started. Remember, work ethic and fire were a couple of questions about him before the draft that year.
The thing is, just like if you had a older sibling who was bigger and stronger than you, you don't give up playing inside because you're not strong enough. What you do is learn the tricks of the trade like most people do. You learn the up and unders, the head fakes and step throughs and for all intensive purposes a move like the jump hook. we have seen none of this from a Griffin. His footwork is terrible even for a 20 yr old big man. If he had shown some consistent progression from last yr to the next, it would be different, but I don't see anything in Eddie game to make me think he'll be anything more than 14pts 8 or 9 rebs on top of that he'll be a low % shooter.
