So now that McGrady is down, and Artest is deferring to practically no one and is playing great in my opinion, it got me wondering who the best and worst hired mercenaries the rockets have had over the years. my definition of a mercenary is someone who signs with the rockets after they've established themselves in the NBA and no one expects to stay long. So McGrady doesnt count because he was expected to BE the franchise. Clyde doesn't count, because he was just coming home (the awesome years). Here's my best and worst. feel like there's a lot missing. Best: 1. artest. thought he'd work out like bonzi. so far, so good though. the yin to battier's yang? 2. barkley. i remember him having good games, but I always hated watching him play as a rocket. talk about grinding a game to a halt! 3. deke. sentimental fave. never expected to be anything but a backup, but grandpa routinely got it done. with a finger wag. but i don't think anyone will remember him as a rocket. worst: 1. glenn rice. his numbers were fine till he got here. then he stunk. 2. bonzi wells. uggh.
Word. Took Barkley's starting spot at one point. I liked when Nigue signed with the Spurs, he came from Greece. He put up like 35 on Houston, he was fat, overweight, slow, but man he was still Nique. Oh but ya, not a Rocket.
you can't put artest above Barkley until he proves himself in the playoffs. Charles made us legit contenders plus we suddenly got way more media coverage. Mercenary he was not, he was there for the long run . He retired a Rocket. Bad Mercenaries..plenty Derek Andersen, Stromile, Shandon Anderson
He wasn't a mercenary. He was making $11 million dollars. That's not mercenary money that's money for people who's suppose to be the 1st/2nd best player on the team.
Any former Knick sucked for us (Ward, Oakley) so did Mark Jackson... I liked what Jimmy Jackson brought to the table
mercenaries work for the highest payer, key word being 'work' tmac would be more like a pirate/bandit, robbed the rockets of all their money.
