Artest in....Keep Battier or trade to upgrade pg position?

No That's not far fetched. Teams will often take a pile of utility players and older/overpaid players for a key component of their team. That way, they have a crowded roster, higher payroll, and a worse squad.

Why stop at Barbosa? Why not Stoudamire? Is that Far Fetched?

 

Keep Battier. He will be very good as a 6th man. Plus if Artest leaves next season, we are back to the same team that went on a 22 game winning streak.

 

trading should be a better option in theory but there is no proper pg availible.kirk and mo are too expensive compared to their real value.cp3 and deron are untradable,and nash and kidd are elderly.the other pgs are no better than rafer,so keep silent and wait for chance,genius morey.

 

I haven't seen this up yet but on hoopsworld they are talking about Luke Ridnour and the Rockets are one of the teams trying to trade for him.

 

I always thought that Rafer was a good, solid point guard. I am not buying into most of y'alls idea of having a superstar at every corner. I mean, most of y'all are talking about trading for Hinrick, or how about Nash, how about D Williams...oooaaahhhhh! Now that we are going to trade for Artest (awesome trade in my opinion), y'all go and get in a trade frenzy and EVERYBODIES for sale. I mean, heck, some of y'all guys want to even trade Yao Ming! I have a GREAT idea! How about we keep Rafer, keep Battier (since Battier and Artest ARE totally different types of players), and just build a deep team. We are going to have 3 stars and alot of good players, so lets have some common sense here and not be in a trade frenzy like a shark that smells blood! I'm so glad that Morey is the GM and not many people that post on these boards. This team would look different EVERY freakin year!!! Also, I really hope alot our our Rockets players don't read this message boards. I would hate for them to see how many fair weather fans they have. Go Rockets and have a great Air Force day (I am an Air Force cop so I can say that).

 

It's speculation with no rumor behind it. Look at the Luke Ridnour thread. Hoopsworld is making up stories as usual.

 

that's because many fans wanted to have different result other than first round exit.

You can not justify that Rafer is enough, or Rafer is "a good, solid point guard". The results and the game did not tell you that.

 

Soooooo, your saying if we had a different point guard we would have beat the Jazz in the first round. Riiiiiigggghhhhttttt. Hmmm, about that. Rafer= 1st round exit. Okkkkkaaaaayyyyyyy. I have to respectfully disagree with you. I think it was a combination of factors that prevented us from blasting off past the first round, not just Rafer. Not to mention, Rafer was a big part of our 22 game win streak. Hey, we are all entitled to our opinion though. Proceed with y'alls fantasy trades.

 

Rafer's absence in the playoffs against the Jazz is what did us in. He's a solid PG, and we're rudderless without him. Rafer isn't the problem; his backup is the problem.

 

This would be a good point if Andre Miller was in fact playing for the Hawks. Sadly, this is not the case. Miller plays for the Sixers. For the record, I'd think long and hard if someone proposed a Miller for Battier trade.

There's no way Philly would do something as stupid, though...

 

I think ppl undervalue rafer tremendously. He is a solid, NBA starting point guard. We aint getting Dwill, chris paul or steve nash. he shoots the three good enough and plays decent defense. And lets face it! not many ppl are going to steal the ball from him. he can handle full court presses. remember when we had bob sura trying to bring the ball up against devin harris in 05 playoffs? He would give sura fits. Sure it'd be great if we had him as a backup, but there is no one out there who is worth bringing in. Hinrich aint necessarily better, they're about even. and he's paid twice as much. He certainly aint worth giving up battier. lets just roll as we are.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself, jcmoon. Rafer isn't DWill, Nash, or Paul...he is Rafer. Provides good defense, low turnovers, a nice amount of assist, and can shoot the three. He isn't without flaws (i.e. fg %), but I think the will do well with Artest (another 20 pt scorer) coming to town. This team can be deep. We have a big three, now we need to retain our good surrounding players. We don't need an all star team like many on here are wanting. I guess some people we NEVER be happy with the make up of our team, even if we were to win a championship.

 

It is still not convincing to justify Rafer's game by the games that he was not playing. Those games only tell you Rafer's backup is worse, or how bad a team without a PG is going to be. A big part of the 22-streak was without Yao, I don't think anyone can say Yao is redundant to this team.

How solid is Rafer? that's my only question.

 

The problem with andre miller is that he doesn't have a 3 point shot which is necessary for any wing in our offense. Andre miller is most effective with the ball in his hands in the half court with his midrange J. The problem here is that TMAC is essentially are playmaker in the half court. Miller would need to play off the ball, but yet he can't shoot the three. Our point guard must be able to hit spot up threes to give yao and tracy...and now artest, the room to operate in isos.

 

Rafer is very, very solid. The only thing is he plays too many minutes. Please suggest attainable point guards you would rather have start over him.

 

With the addition of Artest, I think you will see Brent Barry Man the back up point position a little.. I have a feeling he might even start. I am more worried right now at the pf/C positions now. I do not want to be depending on hayes and dorsey as the only two backups at those positions

 

I agree with the OP, the Rockets do not need a scorer at point guard. We do need a PG who is relatively quick with good ball skills and can move the ball around the offense. Someone who wont commit turnovers and will find the open man. Alston should do very well in this role. Also we must consider its likely that Artest is only on loan for this season, after this year his contract is up and he will likely go wherever the money takes him. For this reason especially the Rockets should not trade Shane Battier because even though he's probably going to be coming off the bench for now, we will need him to start again when Artest is gone next year. But for now the Rockets can enjoy what looks like the best 9 man rotation in the NBA

PG- Alston
SG- McGrady
SF- Artest
PF- Scola
C- Yao

bench: Battier, Landry, Barry, Brooks


and here's a possible look at the full 15 man roster:

PG- Alston, Brooks, Francis
SG- McGrady, Barry, Novak
SF- Artest, Battier, Harris
PF- Scola, Landry, Hayes
C- Yao, Mutumbo, Dorsey


Wow.

 

I don't think the question is how solid Rafer is, its more of a personal opinion. If your asking me how solid Rafer is, I am going to tell you he is a very solid point guard. If I ask you how solid he is, you are going to probably say he is a scrub. I am sorry to say that your case that Rafer is NOT a solid point guard is not "convincing", as well. So far, you are just saying that he isn't, but without a reason behind it. Its okay to have your own opinion. I just believe that Rafer is a solid guard, and I think its crappy how some people just get so trade happy around here. That is why we have such a great GM in Morey that knows better. I am also not so high on how some guys become fair weather fans so easily. Sorry, just venting my frustrations. Its all apart of the game I suppose.

 

Anyone else think we need to keep battier just to keep the sanity ratio in the locker room?

 

Almost: Where's Head. If he's not traded, he will be on the roster. What's the 12 man roster. I think:

PG - Alston, Brooks, Barry
SG - Mcgrady, Barry, Head
SF - Artest, Battier, Barry
PF - Scola, Landry, Dorsey
C - Yao, Dorsey, Mutombo

I think Head, Novak, Hayes, Francis are all on the trading block. If you don't trade anyone then I think Harris and Novak are gone, maybe Hayes into the 12 man and Dorsey to the NBDL.