Hillboy makes some good points. We need to find our identity as a team and get a core group of players. Our roster has been changed so much that we don't know what we have especially with the few young guys who didn't even play last year. Rockets need to get their group and stick with them and let them learn in the playoffs together. Kind of like the group that just went to the western conference finals the Jazz. Their young players will come back battle tested next year and down the road when old teams like the Spurs are fading these battle tested young teams will go on the finals. Also, kind of like the Cavs in the east just did after losing in the playoffs together for a few straight years.
^ yea true. it seems like we have made some changes to our starting lineup the last 3 yrs and now coaching. i think we should shore up our role players more than any of the starters (except for getting mike james for howard to push rafer to the bench). i think this team can go a long way not just w/ our role players being better, but tmac regaining his J and conditioning and yao improving even more. again, i dont think our 2 stars were great last season at all. tmac could have played much better and more consistent.
Are you saying that we play Lewis at 4 and Hayes at 3 on offense? Sure, Lewis would create mismatch at the 4. But Hayes would be more useless on offense than he already is. Our perimeter offense is going even thinner. Hayes is an offensive liability, anyway you slice it. If Lewis plays PF, you need someone better than Hayes to play SF. If Lewis plays SF, the PF problem is still there. I am not against a Battier-Lewis trade. If you can get better talent, go for it. What I am saying is that Lewis won't solve our PF problem.
If you want to strictly look at talent for talent then I'd see it more as a wash. You'd be strengthening and weakening the team at the same time. You'd gain Lewis' offensive talents but you'd surrender Battier's defensive talents at the same time. The trick would be to get Lewis without sacrificing Battier and that's not possible IMO. I simply don't understand this sudden interest in Rashard. I mean, didn't they (Rox) pass on getting him when they had the chance? At any rate, I am not sure that the answer is to get rid of Battier especially after they gave up a lottery pick to get him. To me, that just looks bad.
HillBoy: With all due respect, I could understand if you didn't think Rashard was a good fit, but can't figure out whether you're just trying to be obnoxious with some of this other stuff. You don't understand the sudden interest in Rashard when they passed on when they had the chance? It looks bad trading Battier when they gave up a lottery pick for him? Are you kidding me with this stuff? The sudden interest is that he's blossomed into a full fledged All-Star. While it was a mistake passing on him, he was still an unknown commodity at the time. Not to mention the fact that it's a totally different management team. Adelman and Morey instead of Rudy and CD As far as Battier - I thought the draft day trade was as bad as anyone here but turning around and trading Battier for an All-Star doesn't look bad in the least bit and I'm pretty sure that's the least of their worries. Hell, if anything, it even justifies Battier's value from a trade standpoint that they were able to reel in such a big return.
Hillboy, either your comprehension skills are lacking or you arent paying attention. Gater laid it out as laymen as you can get! There isnt anyway to explain it any better. No one (that I have seen anyway) is saying he is a sure thing. It is a possability though. Trades happen every year where one team seems to rape another. Remember how we felt when the Gay trade went down? Who knows we could trade TMac for him in a 3 way and end up with a PF and a PG to boot. Stranger things have happend.
no, it doesnt look bad. obviously, we traded for an asset which might lead us to acquiring Rashard. in my opinion, the trade for Battier looks even better now if we can pull this off. this is a business...not a popularity contest
Obviously, I'd like someone better than Hayes on the floor, but I don't think Hayes would be as useless at that end as it would appear at first blush, especially with that many solid scorers on the court with him in an offense with a great deal of movement. Hayes got pretty good at cutting to the basket for layups on passes from McGrady. With Lewis to help open the paint by pulling his man out, and actually seeing Yao some on the high post, you have Tracy still, of course, and if we got James at the point... sorry, but I'm drooling, even with Hayes in the picture.
no that would be dumb to get rid of battier he had a great season and he is a better player than rashard lewis but i have other trade options 1.k.snyder+j.howard=r.lewis 2.j.howard+b.wells=r.lewis 3.y.ming+ k.synder= r.lewis+c.wilcox i like the number three option next years lineup Rafer Alston PG Tracy Mcgrady SG Rashard Lewis SF Shane Battier SF Chris Wilcox PF/C
I got a better trade Jake Tsakalidis+K.Snyder+J.Howard=Rashard Lewis+Chris Wilcox 07-08 Lineup Starter Rafer Alston PG Tracy Mcgrady SG Shane Battier SF Rashard Lewis SF Yao Ming C Bench John Lucas PG Luther Head PG/SG Bonzi Wells SG Chris Wilcox PF Dikembo Mutumbo C
Deckard, I don't understand your reasoning. Looks like you are expecting Hayes to do pretty much the same things (cutting to the basket) on offense. And you want Rashard to pull his man out. If Rashard is pulling his man out and is guarding the SF on defense, he is not playing the PF. What's the difference between that and having Battier doing the same thing? Just that Lewis is a better scorer than Battier. If you believe Hayes is a good enough defender at the 4 to compensate for his offensive deficiency, then you don't really believe that we have a PF problem.
I'm only assuming we still have him. I'm not the least bit hung up on having the guy do more than come off the bench, if we do. I'm just pointing out that if we trade for Lewis and McGrady plays the 2, Hayes can play and not kill us at both ends of the floor. Would I rather have another 4? Of course. And instead of my own idle wondering about how we might use Lewis, why don't you give me your ideas? How do we use Lewis if we trade Battier for him? And what if we trade Howard for James? Assuming we sign Hayes, we will use him some at the 4. How would you use Hayes with James, McGrady, Lewis and Yao? (sorry, but I just enjoy typing James, McGrady, Lewis and Yao)
after reading clutch's comments on the rashard "potential", i desperately want adelman to start pitching rashard as the next great shooting 4... i think he'd make a terrible 4 for houston. i don't want this team to rely on him playing defense rebounding and shot blocking from the 4 spot, but if pitching the idea of getting les to spend the $$$ on lewis means they say he'll play the four, then so be it! adelman wins my vote of confidence if he can pull off this deal in addition to a few other basic moves this offseason.
I'd definitely use Lewis at SF. We'd give up some defense, but gain a lot more on offense. He can run the floor, can score from anywhere. He can overpower the smaller SFs. And he can get his own shot. Lewis is a better overall talent than Battier. I have no problem trading Battier for him. But it is just trading a SF for a SF. We still need to fix the PF problem. Hayes is not good enough as a starter. If we do trade Howard for James, which I think is another talent upgrade, then our PF position would be even thinner. (That would leave us with only 3 true "big men" in Yao, Deke, and Jake.) Rashard is not a natural PF. Playing him there full-time is not a good thing. The Battier for Wilcox deal would fix the PF hole and make the roster more balanced. But I think the price is too steep. I believe Battier is a better player than Wilcox. And I don't know if I can trust Wilcox's work ethic. So I'd be torn if that trade materializes. We should at least demand Seattle to sweeten the pot if we are serious about it.
man, i really am torn here. on one hand, battier was like my favorite player this year, and hes that intangibles player that the rockets sorely needed. I guarantee that the rockets wouldnt have even sniffed 52 games without him. on the other hand, lewis is someone we really could use. (nevermind the fact that we couldve drafted him!!! arghhh) isnt there some other 'asset' the rockets could give up instead of battier?
I agree with you about Lewis. What I'd like to see us do is address the 4 spot with the MLE (although I'd really like to snag Barnes, who could play some 4, but is really more of a 3, himself), if the two moves were made (Lewis and James), and resign Hayes as a rotation player. I like that we address not having a 3rd scorer and improve the depth at the 1 (a lot!). We have more potential mismatches. There have to be some decent options out there at the 4 for the MLE.
My response to this trade idea can be found in <a href="http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=2964695#post2964695">this thread</a>.
