Don't worry, man. I'm a 2-3 times-a-week ClutchBBS'er and this is the 1st time I've seen that info. And it's great to see a little bit more behind the scenes, by the way. Thanx!
i can't help but notice there is just so much wishful thinking in here. Any of these talents that have come up in mentioning, will most likely be resigned by their teams, meaning the teams involved would be stupid to let them go (chandler, johnson, etc.). Trade, rockets have nothing but draft picks to trade, and that goes against the whole getting young people, unless you limit that to the FA pool. I don't know the ins-and-outs of the finances and contracts with all the players, but what do the rockets have to offer as far as trades, and if not a trade, how much money do they have left over to get someone. MLE money?
To me, what JVG means is we should not rush to sign our own FA to keep our GREAT chemistry. We ought to sign and trade an impact player that can create his own shots before signing any FA, our own or others. Guard or Forward, good guy or bad guy, it does not matter, as long as the player is still relatively young with great talent/potential that can growth with T-mac and Yao in a couple of years, We should take chance. In my opinion, players such as Bonzi Wells, D-Miles and Kwame Brown fit perfectly in his criteria. Once we get that player, We then focus on FA. If the player we get is a guard such as Bonzi, we can use our entire MLE to sign a forward such as SAR or Swift, if the payer we got is a forward such as D-miles or Kwame, then we could use our MLE to get a guard such as Boby Simmons. If we address our need at PF from FA first, we may end up paying much higher price to trade for an impact guard since everyone in the league all pretty much knows we are one guard away to complete our roster and the price could be very high. The other concern on FA is current NBA labor negotiation situation. Teams won't be able to sign any FA if the new CBA can be reached. If we hold and wait to sign FA first, we may miss some trade opportunities. Bottom line, we'll have two new starters at the beginning of traing camp.
My highschool coach teaches us how to flop, its a part of the game and if u do it well u have an advantage so why not practice it?
Well then, how about no one teaches flopping and then its fair that way? It's considered cheap and bush league If you penalize flopping, it decreases the chances any player will do it.
Wow. Maybe one day we will see you in a Utah Jazz or Dallas Maverick uniform. In all honesty, flopping is such an eyesore on the game. Time spent developing a player's ability to "flop," could be spent in a better way developing skills that are useful to the sport. I know Karl Maolne was a great player and an even better flopper, but I feel that all of that overacting is why many of us fans dislike him to this day. The Sonics used to beat us all the time in the early nineties. I hated them for it, but they were truly talented as a team and I respected them. But, I had no respect for Malone and Co. Now I have the same respect for Dirk that I had for Malone. I can only hope that Dirk follows in Malone's footsteps and does not win a ring, because if he wins one it would only further validate the use of flopping.
Talking about flopping, I never seen so many flopping in a game as in the Spurs/Seattle series. It amazes me how Manu flopped, that gotta be the most dramatic flopping.
Thanks for the recap for those of us living outside Houston. I like that JVG still sounds like he wants to be aggressive in continue to build on this team. I love our chemistry but I think we are going to have to take a chance with that chemistry to move players to elevate our team. We just cant keep the same team and add a player or two. Clearly speed and athelticism needs to be addressed both on the wings (1,2) and at the PF spot. As much as we are looking at guys like Swift and Marshall at the PF spot we probably are looking at guys like Daniels and Sprewell at the guard positions to add more length and quickness.
I'm glad JVG pointed this out. But I also hope that he sees the same problem from the forward spots. We play in the Western Conference, so we're going to have to be ready to play with the hybrid teams like Dallas, Phoenix and Seattle that run guys like Dirk, Howard, Van Horn, Marion and Radmanovic at the four, just to name a few. We need a four with the lateral quickness to play closer to these guys when they play small and pass the ball on the perimeter. When we matched up against Dallas, it was either Howard or Daniels blowing by Padgett and getting straight to the basket (and often drawing a foul from Yao) or giving up an uncontested three. Bowen's quickness is perfect for this, but he can't hit the mid-range jumper so he's out as a long-term option. Rahim and Marshall give you the best of both worlds, as they can matchup on the perimeter and also relieve pressure from Yao with mid-range shooting. I like Swift's potential as a player, but I don't know about his fit here. He has speed, but he's not that quick laterally from what I've seen and won't have a prayer of playing any defense on the perimeter. His mid-range jumper is questionable, and there's also the issue of being able to create his own shot. He can be a good enforcer who protects the weak side, but I don't know if that's our most pressing need. More reasons that I'm on the Rahim bandwagon, and I think JVG could be as well. With the exception of this year, he's been one of the most durable players in the league, playing 77 games or more (except for the lockout, of course) in each of his seasons. He's still only 28 and has room to grow with our core. But most importantly, we know that he can create his own shot, which no other PF on the market can consistently do. That's what makes him the top priority to me. And I also think our expiring contracts make us an extremely attractive S&T option to Portland. I've made mistakes with wanting power forwards from losing teams with good offensive games (see Mo Taylor), but I think this the right call for us now. As long as he can rebound (that has to be a top priority), I think the ability to create shots along with good lateral quickness defensively should be bigger priorities than getting another shotblocker.
Good summaries. So resign Dikembe and Barry as backups. Sign Joe Johnson. Sign and trade for Shareef Abdur Rahim. Trade for Antonio Daniels. Sura, Wesley, and everyone besides Yao, Tmac, Dikembe, and Barry can go. Keeping Bowen, Padgett and Mike James would be nice. Then draft Hakim Warrick Yao/Dikembe Shareef/Warrick Tmac/Warrick/Bowen Joe Johnson/Barry Antonio Daniels/Mike James
Those are the first comments I'ver ever heard JVG make that really echo my thoughts. I wish he'd been asked about that expensive firesale that's going to happen in Portland, I wonder who he likes and doesn't.
You're back! (good to see you!) So you think Rahim has the lateral quickness to improve his defense under JVG's system? Interesting. JVG has worked wonders with the Rockets team defense. One would think Rahim could become a good defender here. Not great, and he's no shot blocker, as you pointed out, but I think he could play good team D and rotate well. His offense and rebounding would be a given.
Why does everyone think we can sign and trade for SAR? Portland doesn't have any motivation to take 'expiring contracts' back for SAR. SAR is an expiring contract! Unless Portland is getting Yao or T-Mac, they don't want $6-$8 million back in our contracts as they go into rebuilding mode. No, they don't want Sura (injured), Wesley (old), or Howard (injured & old). We can't afford Joe Johnson with the MLE. And that gets to the core problem with JVG's personnel plan. He wants to get players that are Yao and T-Mac's age, e.g. 25-27 and in their prime. You can get cheap rookies. And you can get cheap players over 30. But players in their prime are overpriced (see whatever silly contract Stromile Swift signs this summer). So, JVG is going to have to convince Les to spend big bucks on some risks if he wants his plan to work. And that seems unlikely from an owner that gave strict directives to reduce payroll at trade deadline three months ago.
The Rockets need to take another look at Eddie Griffin. He would be cheaper,in Yao and T-Mac age,can shoot the three and block shots. In JVG system he would definitely improve defensely.
Thanks for the welcome, Deckard. It's good to see y'all too. It's been a busy few months with classes and all that stuff, but it's great to have time to come out of lurk mode. But the deal wouldn't be expiring contracts for SAR. It would be expiring contracts plus maybe a draft pick or two for SAR and Anderson/Miles. The motivation for Portland would come from us taking a player like Anderson or Miles, long-term contracts that they do not want any part of. As you said, Portland is going into rebuilding mode, and as a result they likely want a way to get out of some of those awful contracts. This is an alternative. Yes, some teams will offer better talent in return. But unless that talent is substantial, the opportunity to unload a bad contract is as or more important for a team nowhere near contention and needing an overhaul.
He is. But there are a few factors that seem to indicate S&T. First, many expect him to command slightly above the MLE. He's also a valuable trading piece for Portland, so you can bet that Portland will sell him on the benefits of a trade (whatever they may be, additional money, more teams in the running, who knows?) so they can get something in return. Also, if the Rockets went the S&T route, they could save their MLE for a guy like Daniels or Sprewell. Also, while Anderson and Miles have worn out their welcome in Portland, the Rockets may actually prefer a scenario where they end up with one of them here. Both are athletic wing players with at least some degree of youth, which we desperately need. We did flirt with Anderson at the deadline, even if it was just for Mo Taylor. In the end, we just have to wait and see what the market is like. But I'd be very surprised if Rahim doesn't at least get a couple of $6-7 mil a year offers (through S&T) around the league, and imo we'll have to match that to bring him in. Plus, it would allow us to save our MLE for another spot, if Les is still willing to spend it.
