Of course JVG doesn't want V-span, he does not want to have to develop a player, when he knows his job is on the line next year. He needs GUARANTEED players, not hopefuls. DD
Bla bla bla .... Bottom line.... As long as Juwan is starting for this team or getting significant minutes off the bench, this team is going NOwhere. He is THE cancer that needs to be cured.
Little side story... When The Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings in overtime at home 2 years ago (!st home game of the season, Ward hit two clutch threes) I happened to be right outside of the Main Rockets players' area and I was yelling at them as the team passed by. I remember saying... actually yelling, "Coach! That's what I'm talking about!!" and he simply looked at me, made eye contact and gave me the finger point...as if to say "I got you homie..." I felt a rush... Even T-Mac smiled as I said, "Yo T, that's why you came here to Houston!" A great moment in my life... Go Rockets!
So, you are prepared for us to just waste another prime year of Yao and TMac in favor of bringing back players like Juwan and letting our rooks come along slowly so they can contribute in a year or two. There's a reason why I'm speaking out on this. Van Gundy has habitually done rookies this way, making them "earn" their minutes and his method of "earning" is riding the pine, and busting butt in practice, until those grizzled vets break a leg and have to be shot. No rookie has ever earned substantial minutes their first year under Van Gundy. And don't pull out Luther Head as evidence that he will give rookies minutes. The ONLY reason Head got minutes was because of injuries. Van Gundy said so himself. It's a constant theme with him. And I do understand where he's coming from to a certain degree. But we are in no condition to do that with a lottery pick on a team that is as thin as a piece of cellaphane. We aren't the Pistons or the Spurs. If we draft a kid and he can't start at the 2 or 4 spots for us, then we've flat out made a mistake with the draft pick. If he really can't play good enough to get into the starting lineup, given what we have right now, then we need a new GM. If it is not a lock that we should be able to pick up a player at #8 or possibly higher that can perform better at the SG position than Frahm or Bogans, then we need to trade the pick. Because there are other teams in the league that would think that they could get a much higher immediate impact rookie at #8 than a Bogans or Frahm. Now, granted if he thinks he can get a significant upgrade at the 2 or the 4 so that we don't NEED the rookie to start, that's fine. But that's pulling a bigger rabbit out of the hat than just finding a good value with the lottery pick. We're actually going to turn Howard, Swift, Bogans, Bowen, Lampe, and little Chuckie into a significant upgraded starting SG or PF? I doubt that a whole lot more than I doubt we can find value at #8 or trade the pick for value. Chuckie was our best PF last season and we all got sick of seeing him playing 4 minutes a game while Juwan was getting his head handed to him every night. One final point. I NEVER implied there will be some massive drop off in Juwan's game. It's impossible. He already dropped off. It's kinda like the last 3 drops of brew in a beer can that you are having to shake out the morning after the party because there ain't nothing else to drink. Juwan is only going to get worse. And last year was bad enough. All I'm saying is for us to realistically be competitive with the Spurs, Mavs, Clips, Suns, etc., we are going to have a new starter at SG and a new starter at PF PLUS DEPTH to go along with both of those. And our #1 PRIORITY this summer has to be acquiring a 3rd primary scoring option and a bigger, longer SG that can defend the perimeter. That piece should not be a guy that has to "develop" and play spot minutes here and there until he "learns" how to play. If we draft at #8 or better, we've got to get a kid that we can throw out there that will make positive contributions immediately and let him play through his mistakes. Otherwise, just trade the pick. We have to have starters now.
Well that should lay to rest all of the "Spanoullis being the next Ginobli" talk. It should be clear that if he was a legitimate NBA player, he'd be over here playing in the league.
While his sense of bravado is admirable he's certainly not being very realistic. They can win 43-48 games next season and that could be considered "coming back strong". Anyone watching the Mavs-Spurs series knows that even with a healthy TMac & Yao, this team simply doesn't measure up and is no where near that level of basketball. Given their current cap situation as well as the state of their players' contracts, they are going to have to bank on making enough internal improvement to pull them through but I am deeply skeptical that it will be enough to make a big enough difference. But he's right about one thing: If they wind back up in the NBA lotto next year, he will most DEFINITELY be gone...
Juwan is definitely NOT a cancer because he played hard all season without creating any problems for this team (For a definition of a "cancer" player, look in the dictionary under S. Marberry) but he is at that point in his career where he is at best a bench player who should be playing no more than 10-15 mins a night. His physical limitations (lack of size and speed) coupled with his declining offensive productivity create far more problems for this team when he's given a starter's minutes. I don't blame him for the continuing problems at PF, I blame Dawson & the organization. As much as it pains me to admit it, that position has been a disaster ever since Kelvin Cato was traded. Cato wasn't in any ways great but he brought size and rebounding to this spot that has been absent ever since his departure. Expect that situation to continue next season because Swift has shown that he's not the answer there as well.
Whatever, JVG hasn't done a damn thing with T-Mac and Yao. I applaud him for talking the talk in the offseason, but mere talks can't get me to support him as the coach that can win it all. It was more humorous to listen to JVG yapping about how great a corner Moochie Norris turned last off season, all but a big smoke screen.
Thanks for reminding me of these great moments because they are the only moments that one can say that Padgett played great since he left the JAZZ! What I am trying to point out is that we should be shooting for higher grade players, not continuing with our present level. If JVG thinks that shooting for Padgett level players we are not going to improve our play. Because when we shoot fora certain level we hardly ever get what we are reaching for. If we shoot high and drop a couple of levels we can still make a decent improvement.
You want some cheese with that whine? Come on! JVG mentioned Padgett for about 5 seconds during the whole hour. He said it was a mistake to let him go. This is a TRUE statement. Padgett would have been better than the worthless Rybo. JVG DID NOT say he was "shooting for Padgett level players" to improve our team for next year. Quit taking a magnifying glass to the dot of an "i". Some of you guys are so full of venom about JVG it's ridiculous.
I didn't say JVG was shooting for Padgett level players .... I said IF Jvg was shooting for Padget level players, there isd abig difference. By the way there is no hatred of JVG on my part I just dont want to see the team produce another year like the last season. I do my best to discourage thinking on the Padgett level. I want us to be shooting for the best players that we can find, not another year with Yao & Mc Grady surrounded by has beens, over the hill, just not good enough role players.
appreciate the more non-flippant post. No, I am not prepared to "waste" a year, but I am prepared for the possibility that it happens anyway. It would be nice to fill the holes the rockets have and upgrade the roster, but they just don't have a lot to work with to get it done. I don't want a slowly developing rook, but if he isn't ready to play starter's minutes, then so be it. I'd rather get a guy from the draft that can develop into being a great player in one or two years than get a scrub like Alston that can start and log in minutes but not really play a meaningful role in games. I'm not a big fan of JVG, but he's never had a rookie worth playing. If the team was healthy and contending for the playoffs, I don't think Head was worthy of getting the minutes he did. I am in total agreement with this. I am a big advocate of trading the pick. If the rox don't win the lotto, then shop the pick hard. Only problem is, other teams may not be willing to give up the players we want or need. I understand what you want, but once again, I'm not sold on the rockets having the tools to do it for this upcoming year. Upgrades? Yes. Significant? Don't think so. I think the rockets can be competitive with those teams in the playoffs if TMac and Yao play like the dominant players they should be, but title contenders? I don't think so. It's certainly possible that the rockets hit a homerun this offseason and achieve everything you want them to achieve, but I think it's highly unlikely.
