http://www.houstonchronicle.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3502588.html Rockets changes coming Van Gundy is ready to make 'hard decisions' By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy spoke of the need for change, which would seem the inevitable conclusion for a team staggering to a 4-12 record and coming off perhaps the worst loss of the season. He did not specify if he meant the change must come in the caliber of play of the players he is putting on the court, or if he must change the players. But he said he has "hard decisions" to make. That could mean many things, but the Rockets have reached the point where they believe there will be changes to the rotation, the roster or both. "I would think the only people I can be sure they won't change would be Tracy (McGrady) and Yao (Ming)," Rockets guard David Wesley said. "Other than that, it could be me, it could be anybody." Veterans have seen enough not to be surprised. That was how Wesley got to the Rockets last season when they got off to a poor start that showed little signs of imminent change. They were never this low last season, falling to 6-11 at worst. But the return of point guard Bob Sura and trades for Wesley and Jon Barry helped turn things around. This season they can hope for the return of point guard Rafer Alston and of Tracy McGrady's good health and usual prowess. But there is a sense that greater change could be coming, again. "I would assume," guard Derek Anderson said. "The way the league is going, you change the lineup. Some things you see you can accept, but some things you can't. I've seen it before. It's a business. Things change. You can't be surprised. We'll see what happens." If they are looking to retool again, the Rockets will not be dealing from a position of strength. They are not 4-12 because many players are playing so well. Wesley, Barry, Anderson (who has an option for another season) and Moochie Norris are in the last season of their contracts. But teams shopping for short-term contracts usually offer players with long-term deals who are not typically long-term solutions, and those deals are more common around the February trade deadline. Players signed last off-season cannot be traded until Dec. 15. But even if the Rockets are not looking to trade or trade for a player signed in the off-season, deals become more likely after the Dec. 15 date because teams wait to see what else might become available. Adding a free agent will also be difficult. The Rockets are over the salary cap and slightly over the luxury-tax threshold. All filled up The roster is packed to capacity and then some. Besides carrying the maximum of 15 players, with the only player with a non-guaranteed contract (Dion Glover) hurt, which keeps the Rockets from releasing him, they have four former players (Vin Baker, Clarence Weatherspoon, Charlie Ward and Zendon Hamilton) on the payroll. But if they can carve out a roster spot, there are free agents who could get consideration. Latrell Sprewell, who had some of his best seasons playing for Van Gundy in New York, George Lynch and Darvin Ham would offer the competitiveness sometimes missing. Rodney White has shown catch-and-shoot abilities. The Rockets could also solve their own problems. They won't be getting younger and quicker in the next few days, but they were relatively old and slow last season, too. But last season, they shot well enough around McGrady and Yao to overcome shortcomings. This season, they rank 29th in scoring, 28th in shooting percentage and last in assists per game. Defensively, the Rockets are statistically among the league's strongest teams, holding opponents to 42.5-percent shooting, third-best in the NBA. But they have broken down so dramatically at the end of close games that the defense cannot be considered a strength, either. "We may get along well in the locker room, but we have no chemistry because we have no accountability or a feeling of responsibility to one another to give maximum mental and physical energy for the cause," Van Gundy said. Van Gundy's responsibility The Rockets do not play selfishly. With things going badly, they have not pointed fingers or demanded playing time. But whether they need greater commitment, ability or time to turn things around, Van Gundy insisted that he find solutions he has not found yet. "No, no, no, it's really on me," he said. "It's on me to make some hard decisions right now about how we're going to play, who were going to play and what we're going to stand for. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. "Right now, it would be very hard from the outside looking in at our team and say what we stand for. That's a coach's fault. You should always be able to watch a team practice and/or play and tell exactly what the coach and the best players stand for. "It's my fault and my responsibility for us to stand for something that our fans and the people who pay good money can be proud of." Van Gundy said he has some players playing as well as they are able, others not at their best. But whether they improve or are dealt, he seemed certain to seek changes. "I have to be able to get out of some (players) more," Van Gundy said. "If you think you are getting all you can out of some and you are where you are, you better get more out of others or you're going to be where you are."
Well that pretty much confirms what Doc and IC2000 have reported The players know that some of them will be gone soon...
i wouldn't mind a sprewell or lynch at this point. this team needs a hardass or a tough guy to stir it up as long as it's not destructive. unfortunately who we really need is bob sura. if you look at this team last year, when he was hurt, we were really really bad. that's obviously carried on to this year. i don't know who we can get that brings similar intangibles and hustle but jvg needs to find it soon if we're going to salvage this season.
I wouldn't have agreed with this a month ago, but be damned if this team doesn't need some sort of spark. Come back soon Sura.
Among the names you mentioned, Harrington is the only one I would consider. Rest are garbage. Spree is old and rusty, Q Rich is an overpaid chucker, hudson is a shorty chucker, J rose is a ball hogger.
We are NOT good right now. With the talk of change circling around the team, and guys like Wesley and Anderson worried about whether they will be moved, I would say the morale is down. We can see that in their expression during games, there was just no fire and emotion. I would say, since everyone is expecting some move, we just make some move quickly, even just do it for the sake of move itself. Because once you are done, you can announce it's finished, and make sure the rest play with some security and confidence, instead of worrying about mistakes before doing anything at all. We can't change the roster too much, but at least we can their energy to another level, there is still time to do the catchup, but it's running fast. If we don't see dramatic performance change in the next 10-15 games. Maybe we should just tank the season, try all different crazy plays, play Yao more in high post; do all kinds of possible crazy trades, even trade Yao and TMac. This team needs to be b**** slaped to light a fire inside of them, just way too many nice guys.
The only player i wouldnt trade is Tracy. everyone else are up for grabs if the right deal can be made.
I am not sure. TMac's back really worries me. I seriously doubt how many good years he still has left in him.
His talent is way too good to passup.i dont think it will be a chornic problem. hopefully it'll be sortedout by sometime soon.
Well, if he can avoid falling on it in practice like this year, I think he will be fine. Although on the flip side, a bad back took away Larry Bird's final years. DD
I am utterly amazed that ANYONE would think that Sprewell is the answer. My word, people he is 35 going on 100. His best years are way behind him. This is the mistake this team has made over and over. Why again? How many retirees have we had in here? Good Grief! I can't believe another old-timer would even be discussed.
Anybody else catch the Sports Xtra show on Fox last night? They had a little section of the rockets woes and they had tmac make a few comments. He said that everybody gets along with each other great off the court but on the court, we can't get it done. His next comment he made scared me a little, "It seems like I been in this league for a long time. I'm 26 but I feel like i'm 36." After the comment you can see the look of dissapointment in his face and then puts his head down. I really feel for all the rockets. Everybody on the teams seems like great guys and I'd hate to see anybody go so early. But hey, if it's for the better of the team, it has to be done. We were suppose to become contenders this year and now we're at the bottom of the West.
People in shock don't use their reasoning skills, they grasp at the closest available life preserver.
The Rox brass are not going to throw this season away. So they are going to opt for a quick fix to make this team competitive ASAP so that means bringing in a free agent like Spree, White or Lynch. I would love to get Harrington also but it isn't realistic that we can keep him next year and they would probably want someone like SS or DA in return, so I don't see that happening. I want to see what the Rox do with the new guys, if we trade SS or Alston someone in the organization is going to be eating crow.
