#0 Aaron Brooks | G Roster: Full Name: Aaron Brooks Profile GameLog Season Averages SEASON MIN PTS REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF FG% FT% 3P% PPS 2003-2004 25.8 7.0 2.4 2.7 2.3 1.14 .8 .0 2.3 .371 .788 .368 1.18 2004-2005 33.1 14.7 3.3 4.6 3.2 1.44 1.0 .1 2.1 .429 .855 .371 1.35 2005-2006 32.4 10.8 3.4 4.4 2.4 1.81 1.1 .2 2.2 .406 .807 .336 1.22 2006-2007 36.8 17.7 4.3 4.3 2.5 1.67 1.4 .2 2.5 .460 .846 .404 1.34 Season Totals Rebounds SEASON GP MIN FG FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA PTS OFF DEF TOT AST TO STL BLK PF 2003-2004 21 541 46 124 26 33 28 76 146 11 39 50 56 49 17 1 49 2004-2005 27 893 126 294 94 110 52 140 398 19 69 88 125 87 27 4 58 2005-2006 32 1036 115 283 71 88 45 134 346 25 85 110 141 78 35 5 70 2006-2007 35 1289 213 463 115 136 80 198 621 31 118 149 149 89 48 6 88 Prospect Profile: John Lucas Baylor Season G GS FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT 3PM 3PA PCT REB AST STL BL PTS AVG 2001-02 30 27 143 330 .433 50 63 .794 59 158 .373 76 120 40 0 395 13.2 2002-03 28 25 135 310 .435 54 62 .871 47 151 .311 66 122 41 0 371 13.3 Totals 58 52 278 640 .434 104 125 .832 106 309 .343 142 242 81 0 766 13.2 Oklahoma State Season G GS FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT 3PM 3PA PCT REB AST STL BL PTS AVG 2003-04 35 35 183 402 .455 86 97 .887 75 192 .391 97 158 37 0 527 15.1 2004-05 33 33 204 452 .451 76 84 .905 100 232 .431 82 135 36 1 584 17.7 Totals 68 68 387 854 .453 162 181 .895 175 424 .413 179 293 73 1 1111 16.3 I can only compare their college careers (apples to apples, oranges to oranges).
I can't believe people are suggesting that we spend the MLE on someone just based off of height and athleticism. Most people here have never seen him play, but just want the rockets to take chances on unproven talent. If he were still 6'9", no one would be clamoring for him. But now that he's 6'11" he our potential savor! And he dominated the D-league, that's gotta mean something! If that's the case, just give the MLE to Malick Badiane. He's 6'11" with great athleticism. And he's got a jumpshot! Would that make you all happy? No, I imagine it would make everyone here very upset. Why the difference in reaction? We could sign Chris Taft, who 6'10" and put up similar per minute production to Amir. But you'd all go insane. What makes Amir Johnson more worth it? He's a gamble. Big risk, big reward. But instead of having a Juwan-esque albatross contract around our neck for the next few years, let's look at some reasonable trades first. Is Drew Gooden on the market? Is Ike Diogu still in trade talks? Guys like them have already proven they can either play on this level, or come much cheaper. And don't tell me Amir's already better than Juwan because, again, none of you have seen him play.
You cannot possibly miss the point more than you miss the point. This thread is attempting to suggest an idea that is A: Possible AND B: Affordable which can help solve our PF problem. You have pretty much made it clear that you do not like Amir Johnson. Great. Fine. But don't make it sound like DaDa sat down and thought to himself "umm... who, out of every NBA player, would best fill our PF role?" and then he came up with Amir Johnson. no. He sat down and thought "Who is a realistic option at PF, and how would we go about getting him on the roster?" And for Bill Bradtzky's sake, the MLE is in no way compareable to Juwan Howards contract. And no, not everyone here is an Amir Johnson historian, but if the question is "who could we offer our MLE to, who might actually accept it, and help our PF situation?" one of the good answers is Amir Johnson. If you have other answers, please let us know. And for the record, Malick Badiane is already on our team. And do you really think we will get Gooden or Diogu for cheaper than 4 mill a year?
While I agree with you in principle, please don't compare Amir Johnson to Malik Badianne. Malik can't even get starter's minutes in a third-tier European league. Amir at least was dominant in the D-League, which is comparable to a top EuroLeague. Also, Taft has basically called it a career already due to severe back problems (I think). Morey has already made it clear that he will seek a PF via trade (read: Gooden, Diogu, etc.) over free agency. He will wait and see if there are any other possibilities out there before attempting to tie up most or all of the MLE on a restricted free agent. Remember, he's got all summer to consider Amir, since restricted free agents typically don't re-sign until late August and September.
One week ago, hardly anybody knew who this kid was... this week, he's the Golden Child and we must get him.
The main reason I like the idea of using the MLE to get a PF is that I don't want to lose Battier. Battier is an ideal 3 for us, and he plays D and rebounds enough that our 4 would not have to be an all star for us to succeed. Amir is one of the only FA's on the market that might take our MLE and plays PF. That's all I see in him. We need a PF and I would like to get one without losing Battier who seems to be in every trade idea I have seen for a while.
Did you even read what he posted? He was making a point that a bunch of people want to throw the WHOLE MLE at a player who has barely set foot on an NBA court. It's not about like or dislike of a player. It's about using resources on players that are PROVEN commodities. You don't just throw your whole MLE at anyone and hope it sticks. You either use it on a guy PROVEN to be a good, consistent NBA player, or a guy that has shown to have so much potential that you feel he will warrant the money with in a couple of seasons. Amir is neither. Seven total NBA games and a bunch of YouTube highlights doesn't make a good player. I don't think anyone is arguing that he shouldn't be a Rocket at all. It's an argument about how much of the small available assets/resources you are willing to throw at the guy and how it effects bringing more talent the rest of the offseason. Not to mention, there are a ton of realistic and affordable options the Rockets could sign or trade for that could help at the position. The only difference is that they are not some young, athletic kid who had a couple of good games that people view as big time potential. And it's not a Juwon-esque contract? Everyone makes him out to be a sure thing. He has just as much or more of a chance at being a scrub than becoming the long term answer at the 4. Then what? We then have a player at the end of the bench making $6+ mil. in a couple of seasons. Yea, great use of resources. Oh, that's right, then everyone will be b****ing about how Morey is the worst GM in the league for giving out such a bad contract. Here the organization is, trying to make all the right moves to surround Yao and TMac with players to make a championship run during this window and then we waste a key asset. Basically, wasting an offseason. I also remember another young big man who showed some real flashes for a few games and the Rockets decided to throw a nice contract at thinking he would be a long term solution in the front court. Again, how did Kelvin Cato work out? Remind me if he ever was worth his salary? Oh, and did the Stromile Swift thing work out? And for the record, Badiane IS NOT part of the team. He is not on the roster and, here is the real clue, is NOT being paid any salary by the Rockets. Oh, and by the way, Gooden makes $6.4 mil. (not that significant jump from the MLE) and, whether you like him or not, has actually played a few years in the league and has proven he can play at this level. Diougu, well he is a different story. He hasn't proven very much (though a little more than Amir), but he is ONLY making $2.3 mil. That's right, at least half of the MLE and less than the $3 or $5 mil. people suggest paying Amir. And, DaDa wasn't suggesting throwing the whole MLE at the guy, he said $3 mil. There is a difference.
Johnson very close to re-signing in Detroit and, apparently, no one else has shown legit interest. Likely to be a deal around 3 years and 10 million dollars. http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070708/SPORTS0102/707080353/1127
No, I get it. Fans want to throw the MLE at Johnson in hopes that Detroit won't match. If they don't match, people here will consider it a great success instead of an expensive gamble, which I have issues with. People here assume he'll be a contributor instead of a prospect. What's that assumption based on? I don't like Amir Johnson. I don't hate Amir Johnson. I have never seen Amir Johnson play. I watch an insane amount of league pass and don't even know what he looks like. Obviously, I didn't make it clear enough that I haven't seen him in action. Maybe I'm taking the wrong approach when scouting, but I generally like to see a person play before forming an opinion on them. I take it you like Amir? If he has your endorsement for the MLE you must have a pretty well-researched take on his abilities. I'm sure LeGrouper wouldn't want to sign people he's never seen before. That would just be silly. Juwan's contract was MLE. MLE deals usually come with raises. The last two years remaining on his contract are for 6.9 and 7.4 million. If we signed Amir to a full MLE contract, the last two years would be for 6.9 and 7.4 million. How is that not comparable? It's the exact same contract. 1) Who says we have to address the PF situation via free agency? 2) A lot of other veteran PF's are on the market and would happily accept the MLE. We just don't want them. 3) How do you know he would help our PF situation? You want my answer? How about trading some of our PG's for some roster balance? We'd have to sign Badiane for him to be on our team. According to some people in this thread, he deserves an MLE contract just based on body measurements and athleticism. I don't even like Gooden, but he's proven he can play and contribute on this level across multiple seasons. Diogu is on his rookie contract, so yes he would be cheaper.
Mogrod, thanks for coming to Mr. Buttock's defense. Unfortunately, your post was too long for me to read, but I kind of skimmed through it and what I got was that you think the entire MLE is too much for Amir. That's fair. It probably is too much, but we need some PF help this year and signing Amir is one option we could pursue without losing a valuable player to a trade. And on the flipside of the coin, it is true that we haven't seen enough of Amir to say that he is worth 3-4 mill a year. However, I think I have seen enough of Gooden to say that he is not worth 6-7 mill a year. With Amir, there is the possibility that you have found the next Billups or Diaw, gem in the rough.
MrB has some legit concerns. Johnson didn't get any PT. Further the Pistons actually turned to a guy picked in his same draft, Maxiell, in the playoffs, so if Johnson was ready to be a presence at either end he would have played. Makes Blatche (Wash RFA) or say Renaldo Balkman, Sheldon Williams, Maxiell and Ike Diago (not FAs but maybe attainable) all look like proven commodities by comparison. And none of them are proven starters. To outbid on Johnson or Blatche is pretty risky. Could work out, but more than likely wouldn't because if they are that special their teams match.
Maxiell is more experienced and physically stronger. Johnson has more talent. It looks like the Rockets interest level in Amir is either low or none,however on the other hand they might feel that the Pistons will match their max offer and have decided not to go after him.
I even remember a team that took a risk and offered a max deal to a young guy that was coming off a career best year of 15.4pts, 6.3 reb, 3.3 ast, 45% FG% and 27.7% 3pt pct. Everyone said that the young guy had potential, but that the team was way overpaying by offering him a max deal. After the fact, it turns out that they made a pretty good decision. Sometimes gambles pay off.
Too bad you weren't a GM when the Rockets were trying to get rid of Dan Langhi. You would have loved his stats.
Johnson's stats are better than Blatche and I do feel that he is better than him too. I like Ike,Sheldon,and even Balkman.I think Morey is trying something like that but without any success so far. My expectations for a PF at 26 were to get a solid role player because of the depth of the draft and I felt management would have all sorts of trouble in getting anyone in either free agency or by trade. That's why I was unhappy when they didn't go after Splitter despite having him to stay one more year in Spain. I'm not optimistic but let's hope something good will come out of the process.
Maxiell would be a great choice, unfortunately he is not a free agent, so if you are going to suggest we bring him in, we need to know what we are giving up to get him in order to evaluate the transaction. TMac to Orlando was definitely Ballsy Aelliot. You have to take risks to succeed. The fact of the matter is, we can't afford another big name player. We need to no name guy who has potential. It doesn't have to be Amir, but he is a good suggestion, and that's all I'm saying. I just can't figure out why people want to trade our best defender.
