One of the more significant Rockets' offseasons are on the horizon, simply because the team is in the midst of a transition...gone are Van Gundy's days of slow, plodding basketball focused primarily on the halfcourt...now, range-shooting bigs and quick, big guards are the of the need... I still see Van Gundy employing a somewhat slow pace...you have to with Yao in the paint...but what this team needs more than anything right now are shooting bigs who can spread the floor and quickness in the backcourt...so here's my plan: DRAFT First, this draft is week so there's no reason to move up...no one's going to make a dramatic impact and what this draft can do is add stable depth...with the 8th pick, I'd like us to draft UConn's Marcus Williams...he's quick, can shoot and score, and also can defend...he'd be ideal if the Rockets ever wanted to press... With the 32nd pick, I'd pick Kevin Pittsnogle...I'd originally thought Novak would be great, but Pittsnogle can play both frontcourt spots, is 6'11" and, along with great shooting range, also has a nice jump hook inside... FREE AGENCY With that said, I'd like us to use 1/2 of our MLE to pursue Jumaine Jones in FA...he's 6'8", is a nice 3-point shooter and a nice rebounder who can play 3 spots -PF, SF, SG...he'd be a perfect backup to McGrady and also can run the floor....plus he wouldn't cost much... No reason to go after Mike James because he'd take minutes from Head...Head is quicker, a better shooter and slasher and a much better defender... with the other half, I'd like us to go after Van Exel, who I believe signed a 1-yr deal with SA (I may be wrong)... As far as our own FA, Wesley is a goner...I do think we'll resign Bogans... so our lineup looks like this: C: Yao/Deke PF: Howard/Swift/Pittsnogle SF: Jones/Bogans SG: McGrady/Head PG: Alston/Van Exel/Williams
I agree with your premise but don't see how drafting Marcus Williams gets us there?? He is not big. Maybe I'm wrong and he is the next Chris Paul, but I'd rather go after someone with size. Either a PF or tall SG/SF type player. I'd be fine with either Pittsnoggle or Novak. I'd rather try and see if you can get a top tier player with the full MLE. Target #1 being Bonzi Wells. There is some thought, though, that he has priced himself out of the MLE range, which may be true given his playoff performance, but based on regular season only, MLE is probably fair. If you could get him, then I'd go ahead and try and re-sign Wesley. As a back-up, he should have another effective year or two in him. If you couldn't get someone like Bonzi, then splitting it up and targeting guys you mentioned seems good. We'll likely still have holes at the PF, but it is really hard to comprehend how Swift can play any worse next year.
he can make a thread if he wants. i think its a good post. at least he had something to say and not some immature little remark to make. i really like pittsnogle; he is long, has range, and can play servicable defense. and at # 32 he would be a cheap project....i can see him as a bullard/paggett type player. with some training he will make an alright back up PF.
Just joking around. I never said it was a bad post though. Instead of having everyone make a thread, why can't we just have one giant offseason thread? That's all I'm trying to say.
Head isn't any of those things. Maybe a better defender, but that's debateable. And Van excel is done.
You don't think Head's quicker? I think he is... As far as shooting, they're both equal but Head has much better shot selection... And I dont think there's any question that Head is a better defender...but that's my opinion... I'd just much rather let Head develop and become a valuable sixth-man type than to go and get James...
I do not think Head is quicker than James. James is one of the very quickest players in the whole league.
James Vs. Head: Side to side lateral quickness: Toss up. I think James has the edge, but it's probably not a big enough difference to really mean anything. Quickness with the ball: Big edge to James. I can't believe you would actually debate this. Slashing: Another huge edge to James. James is so much better at penetrating, it's not even close. James can go either way, left or right. He's got a quicker first step and he is much more aggressive at using it. Whereas Luther tries to be crafty with jab-steps and pumpfakes, James just explodes and takes it right at the defender. James can also finish much better in the lane, while Luther really struggled mightily in this facet for most of the year. Shooting: James gets the edge, in career percentage and decidedly in recent history. Also James' shooting percentages have constantly risen every year, while we're yet to see what Luther has in store for us. Don't get me wrong, I like Luther. I think he has the capacity to get better and can be an extremely valuable contributer. But to say that he currently holds an edge on James in all those categories is just not true.
luther head is far inferior to james in every single one of those categories. the only thing he's probably better than james is at stealing the ball but i'm not even sure about that.
Very good post I agree with all of what you said. I would like to add. I dont think Head will be our 3rd scorer. But I do think that James has the ability to be our thrid scorer. Providing of course he can stay: 1. Humble 2. Hungry 3. and ready to play team ball
Offense won't be our problem next year. Our problems this year was lack of shooting, depth, and rebounding. Aside from Yao and TMac, I expect Alston and Swift to give us at least 12 apiece. Head should be able to contribute 8-10 ppg. And I'm not saying Head is better than James. I just think it'd be wise not to stunt his growth when I think, when it's all said and done, he will be better than James.
I agree with your introduction, but you forgot to trade Sura,Howard and Swift, you forgot that Mutombo is all about washed up, so a coachable replacement needs to be sought after [Possibly Cato or Prizbilla]. I like Jones but we will need him and James and Head, if we are intending to build a future championship team. Players like Bogans,Hayes & Frahm are only good enough to occupy positions 9-15 on a Championship seeking team.
Hayes and Frahm are FA's. It's unlikely they'll be back. I see Hayes spending time in our NBDL team next year. I think Howard and Swift are competent. I think Swift deserves another year to see what he can provide alongside a healthy McGrady and Yao. I think Mutombo will do fine in 10-15 minutes per game. He's still an aggressive interior defensive presence,plus he can share some time with Pittsnogle. Hopefully he can help develop Pittsnogle's inside game more. We need to quit going after the "blockbuster" move and just add suitable pieces for chemistry purposes. More than anything, Yao and TMac just need to be healthy, period. But add in an offseason of Jones and Van Exel (or another veteran who'll take half of our MLE), and draftees Pittsnogle and Wiliams, and I think that's a good summer of work.
I wouldn't be suprised if we picked up Marcus Williams in the draft, but I'd rather go w/ a guard with more size and athleticism (Carney, Brewer). Novak or Pittsnogle would be good picks at #32. I do hope we make more signficant moves w/ the MLE though. Jumaine Jones is a decent player but he isn't worth moving TMac back to SG IMO. NVE is all but done IMO, I'd rather bring in Spanoullis to tell you the truth. My offseason wish list goes something like this: Plan #1: 1. Trade Stro + #8 for Atlanta's #5 2. Draft Brandon Roy, Gay, maybe even Thomas (whoever is available) at #5, draft Tucker/Novak/Pittsnogle at #32. 3. Sign Wilcox for the MLE. 4. Send TE to N.J. for Padgett 5. Bring over Spanoullis Alston-Spanoullis Roy-Head TMac-Tucker Wilcox-Howard Yao-Deke Plan #2: 1. Trade Stro + Head for MoPete. 2. Draft Shelden Williams or Tyrus Thomas (if he falls) at #8. 3. Draft Mike Gansey at #32. 4. Sign Mike James for MLE. Alston-James MoPete-Gansey TMac-Bowen Thomas/Williams-Howard Yao-Deke
Mutombo is all but washed up. I have been giving this some thought. In another thread I wrote how I would like to see Nazi Mohammad join our ranks as a back up to Yao. Of course it was shot down as stupid. As are most trade/free agent signing ideas. However, I think having him as our back-up would be incredible. His defensive prowess is above average. He isn’t much to talk about on the offensive end but then again neither is Deke. Van Gundy I think could help him become a serious stopper! Yao and Nazi would a pretty good One, two punch. I really like the other 2 names you threw out there; Cato and Joel P. You can argue all day that we don’t have a need at Center. We need PG and PF and that would be true. But with Deke all but gone now, Yao needs someone to come in and play effective minutes at that position.
I'll comment on just 2 things: 1 Van Exel is done. He was on fumes this year and played well in only a very few games. He's an 11-12th man at best and is not deserving of anything more than the veteran's minimum. He's expected to retire. 2 I'm no Mike James lover or Luther hater, but you are so way off in your comparison of the two it's amazing. On offense, MJ does everything better except maybe pass. On defense it's not even close because MJ is a very good on-ball defender while Luther is terrible. He was constantly abused by both PGs & SGs. IMO opinion, Luther's career upside potential is along the lines of what MJ is right now, hopefully without the selfish mentality. I hope Luther gets better but I don't recommend putting a lot of faith in him as a key player in our future. He has so many areas that need improvement. How much better he is next season should provide a good gauge on his future worth. I'd package him in a heartbeat if it meant getting the starter we need at SG or PF.
I enjoyed your post but I have a question. Who do you think you could net with Head, and whom would you package him with ina deal?
I like Luther Head, but he is not NOW better than Mike James in virtually any category. He is certainly not a better shooter. I doubt he is any quicker. No contest.
