Man I hope the Daniels deal doesn't fall through. He's exactly what we need, an athletic, battle-tested, big PG who can handle the ball.
Jones was not disappointed. If memory serves me correctly, Rudy released him as a favor so that he could have the opportunity to be picked up by a team that could offer him more playing time. Jones had no real shot at making our roster even though he played fairly well in camp. Releasing him gave him the chance to hook up with somebody else. He ended up making the most of his chances. It worked out well. I watched Jones play all through college. He is a good kid and a good athlete, but more importantly he is a very hard worker. He gives a solid effort every time he hits the court and will probably become a fan favorite along the lines of an Avery Johnson if he ends up here. That's my prediction at least.
Yeah, but the problem was the Rockets gave Moochie the guaranteed money after Jones was already in camp. Jones went through most of camp before the Rockets ridiculously overpaid and overcommitted to Moochie. They way overrated him. I never understood why they didn't leverage the fact that they had Jones in camp to put heat on Moochie. I was at training camp then and Jones, Francis and Mobley got along real well. I don't think Jones did extremely well in the preseason games though, if memory serves.
Damon Jones was signed by the Rockets to be used as a bargaining chip in the negotiations with Moochie Norris agent, who at the time was holding himself out of training camp for a new contract. During an interview after practice, Francis made a statement about the absolute necessity of signing Moochie, which moochie's agent had to love, and the next day they signed him to a ridiculous 40 million dollar contract. Damon Jones was traded soon after.
I am not sure why anyone would feel excited about getting Damon Jones, at best he would be a backup behind Tyronn Lue. CD has a history of throwing money after crappy points guards such as Norris, Maloney and Price. Unfortunately the majority of point guards out there on the free agent market are average. My vote would be for Derek Fisher or making a trade with Rudy for Gary Payton and hope that last year was a fluke. At this point Tyronn Lue is about as good as any other point guard that is currently still a free agent with the exception of Fisher.
Random and idle thoughts..... * Damon Jones filled in very well for the Bucks after TJ's spinal injury. * After a Feb 18 debacle against the Pistons, Jones never committed more than 3 TO's in game the rest of the season (save one 6 TO game vs the Cavs). Lots of 0 TO games.... http://www.nba.com/playerfile/damon_jones/game_by_game_stats.html * Rudy did Jones a favor, but Rudy wasn't all that impressed with how Jones handled (passed out of) traps in pre-season. I think Damon has grown up a little in the mean time. * NBA.com has Jones as unrestricted...meaning he can sign with HOU if he wants even though the Bucks can/might offer more $. * I don't live in HOU, but have the impression that Berman is usually on the money.
I thought the Rockets said they weren't going after a FA point guard? Does this mean the Daniels deal has completely collapsed, or hit a major snag? I hope not.
I don't believe Rox have said much, if anything. They are smart to talk with him, and others. Berman said he is one of several FAs Rox are talking to. How much of this is an agent promoting his guy?
I saw the report too- pretty much just a mention in passing, I get the sense this is one of a couple directions the Rockets are feeling out based on the cost. RocksMillenium- The Rockets never said that. The BBS tends to take things and run, and a 610 mention of "possible trades" got turned into that. The biggest negatives on Jones are defense and shooting (or quality of shots, at least, 36% 3P%). The guy hasn't had a FG%season over 41%. Not what you want with TMac and Yao. A guy who's bounced around like Jones will be looking for some financial security considering the season/playoffs he's coming off of, and the kind of deals being handed out. I'm not sure we'll be willing to offer him enough years to get that. We'll see if the lure of home is enough.
I'll tell you why you should be excited about Damon Jones: 1. As a reserve he was number 14 in the NBA in assists per game. 2. He was number 12 in the NBA in total number of assists. 3. He had the 2nd best assist to turnover ratio in the league. 4. He was number 4 in the league in assist per 48 minutes. 5. He did all of this only playing 24 minutes a game! 6. He has decent size at 6'3" and the athletic ability to play good defense with the right coaching. Van Gundy should be able to make him a good defender. Jones is a very coachable player. 7. He's young. 8. He's local. 9. He shot 53% in the playoffs, 47% from 3 point range. This guy has all the signs of a player who is just about to come into his own in the league. He's not a superstar, but you don't NEED another superstar on the Rockets right now. Damon Jones takes care of all the little things and does all the things a PG is supposed to do in the NBA. He would be a great addition.
Ah, ok. Jones is nice, but I still want Daniels. Payton has all but said he's staying with LA, so, outside of Van Exel, Daniels is our best trade option at the PG spot.
Pike, JJax -- Damon? So what would be so bad with a three year, 8 - 10mil offer? Still MLE $ left and the TE. I also don't doubt the possibility of AD for Ollie for Pike or the possibility of a Mo to Cleveland or TE helping make a Crawford deal with Hinrich the payoff. I don't believe any will happen, just that any could realistically eventuate in some form.
