One main needs that the Rockets have is a decent defensive small foward.With our power foward being a much better scorer than defender we a more defensive minded player on the other side. A small foward that can guard the taller and quicker fowards in the league. This foward does not have to score much, but must be a good defender and rebounder. Some people have mentioned Stacy Augmon, or Robert Horry. Any thoughts? ------------------ Life is but a dream
DaDakota, I'm with you on Langhi, but don't you think Lynch would be a nice addition, if we could get rid of Walt? I mean, we have so many offensive players: Francis, Mobley, Mo Taylor, Walt, Moochie, etc... that it'd be nice to get a good defensive, very good rebounding, hustling guy into that mix. ------------------ I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem. DREAMer's Rocket Page
Dreamer, You mean someone like Rhodrick Rhodes? DaDakota ------------------ All you MO-FO's better stop ripping off my lines !!
I have a few solid ideas. Can some of the CBA experts tell us if all of the $4.5M exception has to be used or can a portion (say just $3.0M) be used? ------------------ GATER
Guess we can sort the exception out later. Here you go - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: LaPhonso Ellis Hawks 2 yr/$3,675,000 2000 Walter McCarty Celtics 3 yr/ $8,000,000 2002 Eric Williams Celtics 6 yr/$26,000,000 2001 (player-opt) Lee Nailon Hornets ? MIN ? Cedric Henderson Cavs 3 yr/$8,100,000 2002 George McCloud Nuggets 3 yr/$6,600,000 2002 Ryan Bowen Nuggets 3 yr/$1,900,000 2003 (team-opt) Bruce Bowen Heat 1yr/$733,000 2001 Scott Burrell Nets 1 yr/$1,000,000 2000* Johnny Newman Nets 2 yr/$4,200,000 2002 Lavor Postell Knicks ? UNSIGNED ? Pete Mickeal Knicks ? UNSIGNED? Monty Williams Magic 1yr/$700,000 2001 George Lynch Sixers 6 yr/$15,000,000 2005 Jumaine Jones Sixers 4 yr/$2,800,000 2003 Antonio Lang Sixers ? MIN ? Todd Day* Suns MINIMUM 2000* Jerome Kersey* Spurs 2 yr/$2,000,000 2000 Chris Carrawell Spurs Mario Elie Spurs Free Agent 2 yr/$3,700,000 2000 Chuck Person* Sonics MINIMUM 2000* Lazaro Borrell Sonics MINIMUM 2001 ------------------ GATER
Do we have any money to sign Lazarro Borell? I'm liking Lynch's contract......and Houston should seriously start thinking about defense, cause offense hasn't ever won a championship........Langhi is a off the bench, instant scoring punch type player......we need a 6'7 to 6'9 SF that plays good to great D....... ------------------
Gater: I'm no expert, but everything I've heard says that we use it all or not at all. Not really a flexible option. But add Drew (and maybe Los OR Kenny if absolutely necessary) into the mix and we might have some significant options. That's why it would be such a waste if we didn't use it... ------------------
Hottoddie, NBAtalk has him listed as #2 SG (behind Quentin Richardson). This must be b/c there is a backlog at SF - Odom, Nesby, Miles. Maggette's contract is very reasonable - 4 yr/$6,131,524 2003(team-opt), but I don't know how we could land him. Since the Clips have at least 15 players under contract, maybe they would deal for the 4.5m exception for 2 players. They sure don't want/need Walt with Odom & Miles. It's a great thought but tough to do cap wise. Perhaps a 3rd team with $ - Bulls? ------------------ GATER
No one ever listens... ------------------ "I am an idiot. Admit that you are too, and we'll talk..." (response given to me by my cognitive psych prof when I asked him about mental maps)
Maggette is not a small forward. He is like a Shandon Anderson copy. Sane, we aren't going to contend this year. We are better off looking for the best option over the next couple of season. Lynch is a nice role player but he isn't the missing piece. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com
I think everyone knows my opinion on this... If not, its Troy Murphy in next years draft. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
Jeff: Then what IS the missing piece, in your opinion? (I agree on Corey and George, I just dunno where to go from there) A center maybe? ------------------ "I am an idiot. Admit that you are too, and we'll talk..." (response given to me by my cognitive psych prof when I asked him about mental maps)
Our "missing piece" will not be known for at least 3-4 years. Listen to Jeff. Teams don't plan out their rosters 10-deep and use the same players every year. All that should be certain right now is the core. The rest will take time to finalize. Just sit back and enjoy.
Freak: But Jeff just told us (me) not to bother with the 3-4 time span (not in those words, but close) on another board (East v West)? I'm confused - more so than normal... I'd just assumed that that "missing piece" was going to be present or available in the near-future... Ah well, we all make stupid assumptions from time to time. After all I AM an idiot... ------------------ "I am an idiot. Admit that you are too, and we'll talk..." (response given to me by my cognitive psych prof when I asked him about mental maps)
I think that the "missing piece" may not be who we expect. If we keep Francis, Mobley and Taylor and they continue to grow, we may not need an incredibly talented SF. I think that the player is out there but we just may not know who it is yet. The league has shifted in the past 10 years. The power forwards have more offensive skills and aren't the enforcers necessarily in the style of Malone and McHale. Now, power forwards are developing more offensive weapons - see Duncan, Garnett, etc. The two guard has gotten away from the traditional spot up shooter and to more of an athletic defender/slasher. Guys like Kobe Bryant and Latrell Sprewell are more like this. They can light it up offensively but not so much from the outside like Joe Dumars or Byron Scott in the past. The point has become a scoring position. With Francis, Marbury, Payton, Kidd, etc, it is becoming more and more important to get points from your point or at least have a guy that can defend well to stave off the scorers. With few exceptions, guys like John Stockton are becoming fewer and further in between. The center position has only really changed in that rebounding is not as important as before. You still want a center to score in the post and play defense like Russell, Chamberlin, Jabbar and Parish, but they don't have to rebound like Malone because the guards are so much bigger and aren't afraid to get in the lane. The small forward has remained fairly similar from the days of Dr. J. You still want an athletic guy who can score and swing to multiple positions. Like good centers, these guys are hard to come by. I think the Rockets will unltimately settle on someone at SF but it probably won't be this year. They want to leave their salary cap and draft options open for next summer. They still have to have cap room to re-sign Taylor and Anderson in addition to bringing in some drafted players. I don't think the picture will really clear up in the rebuilding effort until maybe as late as the 2002-2003 season. To rebuild completely in 3 years should be the goal of any good franchise. Then, when they move into that new arena in 2003, they can christen it with a championship. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com
