Yeah, Sura may not even play (I sure hope he can play up to the level he played 2 seasons ago, but I'm skeptical). But he IS under contract. So he makes the list. As it stands right now, if we don't add any major pieces to the puzzle, I think the best-case starting line-up would be: Yao Howard Battier TMac Alston Second choice would be Yao Battier TMac Sura (if he can actually play) Alston Yeah, the flexibility Battier gives us is nice, but man are we thin! How many minutes can Deke log? Hayes? Sura? Shoot, even Head? Our starters will all have to average 35-40 minutes a game!
For crying out loud, Bowen is making the freaking LEAGUE MINIMUM!!! People are just pissed because Bowen's contract is guaranteed for this season. Y'all act like Bowen's making $7M this year. The Rockets still have five (5) open spots on the roster. I'll take Bowen as an end of the bench guy.
I would be shocked if Marcus Banks isn't a Rocket when the season starts. John Hollinger at ESPN says he's a lockdown defender at PG, which I'm sure JVG craves. Based on my assumption, the roster looks like this: PG: Alston/Banks SG: McGrady/Head (Sura?) SF: Battier/Novak PF: Howard/Hayes C: Yao/Mutumbo Bench: Bowen, Lucas You might add Ariza to that mix, especially if you see Battier getting a lot of minutes at PF. Still, not a lot of firepower outside of TMac and Yao. Very disappointing offseason. We'll have to win with defense.
Why are so many people insisting that Battier will play the 3? Didn't TMac himself say that Battier will play PF more. Also, I don't wanna see TMac wear himself out chasing around 2's on defense. I understand our 2 guard situation is no good, but I'd rather see us try and develop young guards rather than have Juwan get significant minutes again. Sure a VSpan/Head rotation doesn't sound so good, but There's a chance one of 'em will really step up. It's also the most realistic one that I see. Other options are: Ariza (played more 3, can't shoot too well, but young, long, and athletic - I like him as much as VSpan) Fred Jones (Athletic, got good ups, Indiana might keep him, not sure if he's a better fit than vspan/ariza) Flip Murray (awful 3pt shooter, needs ball in his hands to score, asking for near full MLE, please no) Unrealistic BBS ideas thrown around but not mentioned elsewhere... Stephen Jax for Juwan? - Great if Indy goes for it, leaves a need at backup 4, but a better need than starting 2. Jaric for Juwan? - same as above Steve Francis? - laff P.S. - my depth chart has 14 players, I guess we could go for a banger 4/5 type for cheap (Cato, Harzyaz?, other) Ideally Jared Jeffries if we can afford him also Or maybe add Ariza for depth if we can afford him too.
Agree with you, I also could see them trying to adding Cato at some point. Mutombo will be retiring after this season. Novak, Banks, Ariza and Cato would be a damn good offseason for me if I can forget about what the rockets gave up in the Battier trade.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...tmnotes13071306jul13,0,316383.story?track=rss I know Diener would be someone easily dismissed as just a scrub on this board, especially since he doesn't dunk but I hope the Rockets are one the teams who are after him. At this point of his career he's just an energy guy who can hit the three very well off the bench. He's one of those underdogs who when I watch I sense has the potential to step it up and play greater than he should be capable of.
Looking at the current roster should surely concern the Rox management. Centers: Yao (Please stay healthy) Deke (significant slowdown last year, probably shouldn't even play anymore) Power Forwards: Howard (possibly the most overrated NBA starting power forward ever) Hayes (love his effort but he is at most a backup) Small Forwards: Battier (damn, he better be the shiznit for what we gave up to get him) Novak (assuming he makes the team, assuming JVG even plays him) Bowen (unreal this guy got a guaranteed 2 year contract, the anti-athlete) Shooting Guards: TMac (God I hope his back holds up!) Head (decent young player, but at most a capable backup) Point Guards: Alston (actually I like him but we have no depth here at all) Sura (hmmm...I just don't see him playing this year) Nearly every player we have has serious questions. Our biggest concern will be health because we surely don't have any depth. Rockets will not win if they lose either Yao or TMAC or any significant amount of time. God forbid both go out again like much of last year.
"At this point in his career"??? He was a ROOKIE last season. I hope you just meant that he could become a better player down the road. I wouldn't mind Diener as a potential backup if Marcus Banks doesn't come here, although Diener's stellar summer league play could possibly open the door to the Magic making Carlos Arroyo available via trade. I really like Arroyo's game. He is a hard-nosed competitor who won't back down against anyone (reminds me of a smaller Bob Sura). He is a good shooter and runs the PG spot effectively. If the Rockets got Arroyo somehow, I'd be more pleased than if they had brought back Mike James.
Charl Ward. I still can not understand why Rockets take him after he chose Spurs first and play for them but not for us. And we pay him. Sucks our front office.
league minimums are allocated by how many years you've been in the league. if the numbers you quoted are accurate, $330K is [probably] for rookies, & $975K would be for a 7th/8th year player. but then again, i remember this being like a 2- or 3-year contract, so this may just be a 15%/20% raise from the minimum last year. who cares - this is chump change.
i like SJax, but it's unlikely they'll trade him now that they've lost Peja. *still holding out hope for Jeffries & Jones*
My perfect off-season would look like this (all assuming Sura is healthy) - Use the veterans minimum on Kelvin Cato ( if possible or sign Antonio Davis) - Since Indiana has a glut of guards and a possible new addition of Harrington who might play SF leaves them with no backup PF. Trade Howard for Jackson. Throw in a 2008 2nd if needed. - Use the 4.2 TE on Ariza. I know this is overpaying but he is a young very athletic good defensive player - Split the MLE on Darius Songalia and Rasual Butler - Sign John Lucas PG- Alston- Sura- Lucas SG- Jackson- Butler- Head SF- McGrady- Ariza- Novak PF- Battier- Songalia- Hayes C- Yao- Mutumbo- Cato
There are 2 positions I hope the Rockets can aquire players for this offseason. I only have a suggestion for one of the positions which is PF. As far as guards Im not sure: PF Jared Jeffries - I imagine that he is still can be aquired for the MLE or by way of a sign and trade for the TE. The only question is how many years will it take? Considering the Rox dont have much length or athleticism at PF, I think they can offer 3 to 4 yrs to him. He can be a good complement to Yao because of his versatility and face up game. He is a similar player to Battier in the sense that he can do many things but not outstanding at any one thing. The stats dont really tell the whole story with Jeffries since he has played so many different positions with the Wizards. If the Rox sign him and play him at the 4 he will be able to focus more on Rebounding and low post defense while using his offensive versatility against PFs that dont share his talents. Guard - Not sure who they should sign at this position. I am not a big fan of Flip Murray and Deshawn Stevenson because they are not good shooters. I would rather them bring back Frahm than bring those guys in. Fred Jones would be a decent pick up if they dont have to overpay for him. JLIII and Novak should be signed right out of the Summer League team. JLIII can be the third PG and can already shoot better than Alston. McGrady is essentially a SG on offense, so as long as he stays healthy the need for a big money addition is not big. Lineup: Alston/Sura/Lucas TMac/Frahm/Head Battier/Novak/Bowen Jeffries/Howard/Hayes Yao/Mutumbo More than any FA aquisition, I just hope that TMac and Yao can stay healthy. As long as they are healthy this team will not seem as desperate. I am really glad the Rox mgmt has not gone into crazy panick mode like most of the folks on the forums.
