youth, look for youth and only youth to build around the solid core of mcgrady, yao, and james. sure sura, wesley, barry all have played up to expectation, but their age is showing with this run/gun style of round one. jho will be back and that will be nice, but perhaps a young 4 and certainly either a solid 2 or 3 to play opposite of tmac. see cuttino mobley for your answer.
you can find A LOT of very good players in the late first round and even second. examples: Cuttino Mobley Josh Howard Udonis Haslem (undrafted!) Tayshaun Prince Ronald "Flip" Murray Tony Parker Gilbert Arenas Bobby Simmons Michael Redd Kenny Thomas Andrei Kirelinko Manu Ginobili (pick #57!!!) Al Harrington Nazr Muhammed Rashard Lewis Rafer Alston Bobby Jackson Derek Fisher Jeff McGinnis Malik Rose Michael Finley Eric Snow Marquis Daniels (undrafted!)
Everyone fails to realize that if Juwon Howard were playing this series would have been over a long time ago. I still think with another year of Yao, T-Mac and our role player ++++ a healthy Juwon Howard this team can take us into a Championship. I say give them all one more year.
Here is my personal 'realistic" offseason plan: 1.Draft Wayne Simien with #24 pick. 2.Either sign Donyell Marshall or a S&T for Howard and some picks, or some expiring contracts. 3. Resign Barry and Deke for a vet. min. deals. 4. Bring in Spanoullis as well. 05-06 Lineup: Sura-James Wesley-Barry TMac-Spanoullis/Bowen Marshall-Simien Yao-Deke Spoon, Baker, Wesley, and Mooch's contract come off the books just in time to resign Yao and maybe have enough for a big FA.
Yeah i agree with that. Seems like a realistic offseason plan. I think you could substitute SAR for Marshall and maybe still get a deal done. I would much rather keep Howard than trade him for Marshall but i do agree that Marshall is an upgrade over him (although its not a huge upgrade). Also i want to point out that Spanoullis is a PG so i dont see how he could backup T-mac at the 3 spot. I do, however, want him to come here. He could get some junk mins and probably get alot of mins when Sura goes down (I am almost positive that Sura will have to miss a few games because of his knee and back problems). If all goes well we should have alot more depth at the PF position which I feel will basically put us up there with the Suns and Spurs for contenders in the West.
I think we only have two real needs: (1) a bomber from deep (Wesley's too streaky, Barry's too limited) (2) a living, breathing rebounder at PF who can hit from 12
What's wrong with what we have? We're giving a 58 win team with a billionaire owner and a little "help from their friends" all they can handle with Scott Padgett and Ryan Bowen at PF. I 100% agree with the following minor tweak below except to add the adjective "athletic" to both....
I think an "athletic" PF is a must. Someone that can use their feet and guard quicker PFs. I really dont think we need a "bruiser" PF. We just need one that is quick. And ideally that person would also have some semblence of an offensive game so people wouldnt always double off this person onto Yao. Swift would give us the defense and a jumper on offense. And Swift's weakside shot blocking could be huge for us! Someonline like Donyell Marshall would be decent defensively and at the same time be a huge weapon offensively stretching the defense. Adding either of those guys PLUS a healthy Howard makes our PF position much stronger. Keep in mind that when old man Cliff Robinson was traded east Dirk said he was "happy" about that since Robinson always gave him trouble since he had long arms and was quick. And that's exactly the TYPE of PF we need on this team. The "new generation" PFs aren't bruisers...they are quick guys that play on the perimeter as much as in the post. I think we also need to add more athelticism at the 2/3 position. Just someone that can get out on the court and run, defend, get some rebounds. Maybe we find this player in the draft. As for Badiane and Spanoulis.....I get the feeling that Badiane just isnt ready yet and is going to need another year. But Spanoulis might be ready to come over.
There should be 3 priorities this offseason. #1 is to get a 3rd go-to-guy on offense so Mcgrady does not have so much on his shoulders on those nights when Yao is in foul trouble or when he decides not to show up. Just look at how well Dallas has been able to play despite Dirk struggling all series. That's what the Rockets need. #2 The backcourt MUST be upgraded with a young, athletic swingman with size. The Mavs guards have really abused us this series with their size and athleticism (Terry, Finley, Howard, Stack, Daniels). They've been able to shoot over our short guards, get offensive rebounds, penetrate and get Yao into foul trouble, and create open shots for others. Barry can be resigned for cheap and Sura and James are solid at the point. Wesley is the odd man out. The West is loaded with tall athletic 2-guards and 6 foot David Wesley just isn't going to cut it. #3 Find a 4 with guard-like athleticism that can guard the quick mobile 4's like Dirk so we don't have to depend on Mcgrady or Ryan Bowen to do it.
I think we also agree this series would definetly be over if we had JH, though whether it would be a NBA finals team is an open question question. I think we all are saying to basically stay with the same horse. Also remember JH can't exercise for what another 4-5 months and is 32. We don't want to be in a position again where he is the ONLY legit NBA 4 on the whole team, get him some help. Adding another legit NBA 4 to share the burden with Howard (whether he starts or is the 1st back-up he will get plenty of PT) and returning the key 05 RFAs (Deke/Barry) IS staying with the horse. It is just getting the horse in a little healthier shape and more endurance before the strech run. --This year's starters are all under contract they will definetly be returning: Yao, JH, Tmac, DW, BS --Of the 3 central bench players, MJ is under contract. Deke, since we have his early bird rights, is all but assured of returning. JB, and UFA with no bird rights, is only question, and will be returning if he will sign for the vet min. If he won't take the vet min it gets more complicated, he may or may not return depending on alternatives for the 1.6 exemption. --Padget and Spoon are also under contract and will be returning unless used as expiring contracts for a trade (e.g., SAR). I see only two unknowns this offseason. Who is the best 4 we can get with the MLE or S&T (Spoon or Spoon/Padget) to share the load with JH, and whether JB or another swingman becomes the primary back-up 2. We will see the same team this year just a little deeper and enhanced.
Necessary Players: Tmac Yao Keepers: Juwan Howard (for backup) Deke Jon Barry Wesley Mike James Maybe trade: Sura (Not true PG or SG, plus makes some bad decisions) Scott Padgett (defensive liability) Trade: Vin Baker Ryan Bowen (yes, sadly, he doesn't really have much more skills than "hustle") Moochie Norris Charlie Ward Clarence Weatherspoon
This is absolutely what needs to happen. I love this Rockets team, but we need some more athletic players. We are getting burned night in and night out by quicker taller players. We need some length. Our team is basically undersized PFs, TMac, Yao, and a bunch of 6'4 and under guards. This isn't gonna cut it any more. We need a better backup SF, a new starting SG, and a better mix of players at the PF (preferrably a new starting PF). I'd like to see players like Stromile Swift, Hakim Warrick, Zaza Pachulia at PF. Some combo SF/SG like Bobby Simmons, Gerald Wallace, DerMarr Johnson, Raja Bell. And give Spanoullis a chance for backup PG duties. If we don't address this problem, get ready for 2nd round at best for the rest of the Yao/TMac reign.
Can we get Hakim Warrick with our draft pick? What is it like #20? Is he a 4 or 3? Offense? And does anyone know anything about Badiane? I want him as our 3rd string guy..Padgett also kept around to play at the 3 or 4..but yes get an athletic 4 like Swift or Chandler. Then a swingman/scorer/defender/all around guy Sprewell or Cat (don't know if he'll return) or people like that. We all have good ideas about what we should do..and yes I agree if we can add some youth/good players then we will be contenders CD will have to work!!!! and do his best scouting/negotiating/whatevergmsdo and have some luck
all they can handle probably isn't going to get us out of the first round. the goal isn't to make it to the playoffs, it's to win a championship. both padge and bowen aren't legit 4s to start on a championship caliber team.
Highly unlikely. Not because he could not help (I may be in the minority--but I'd take him back in a second), but because we need to save the full MLE for a PF. It could only be considered if he would take the 1.6 mil exemption OR we got our PF through a S&T. Sura should be in the keeper group. He is a good role player for us. Far more valuable than anyone you could trade him for. Bowen is an UFA who is not tradable. Either we keep him for the minimum to round out the bench or find another minimum player who we think is better. For the rest of the guys "trade" is kind of misleading, none of those guys are assets for trades except to the degree their contracts facillitate trades. I see nothing wrong with keeping Padget as the 3rd PF and about the 4th or 5th bench guy, he also has zero trade value but is not a bad guy to have deep on the bench for emergencies and blowouts. . Maybe 50/50 we can get him at around #25. Depends on his workouts. I'd say he is a 4/3 tweener. Very athletic, defensive oriented, yet good offensive game within 15 feet. His lack of game outside of 15 feet is why he is not a lottery guy. I'd sure be happy to give him a shot, he certainly is athletically superior to all Rockets except Tmac.
