What are you talking about? McGrady didn't miss anytime last year. Mike James played with Tmac the whole time he was here. And in the Dallas series when he and jon barry came him we played extremely well, when Dallas was finally able to stop james and barry in gm7 we failed.
I am not going to say anymore about Gansey over Redick. I will post about Redick but I will not address the ridiculousness of Gansey being just as good as J.J.
Sure, I am open to that. In fact, I was all over Maggette when the rumors started floating around that he might be available. I think if he was used right that we should be able to run up a lot of fouls with him driving and creating fouls along with Yao and McGrady. However, I have cooled on Maggette slightly because of the fact that he really wasn't in the rotation for the Clippers that much during the playoffs and just watching him, he isn't a very good defender. On top of that, we are going to have to move some salary to get him. That means in all likelihood we are going to have to give up Stromile plus our pick. So, then I got to really thinking about Redick while watching the playoffs. I was originally like most of the other posters here, and was thinking that Carney made a lot of sense for us or I preferred a trade. I was looking at Redick as a desparation pick if Carney was already gone. But the more I watched/am watching the playoffs, and the more that I think about our team with Yao in the middle, the more I became convinced that J.J. was really a great fit and would be low cost in comparison to Maggette and would still allow us to retain Stromile Swift for another trade. When you watch Redick, he is not given enough credit to me for his basketball knowledge. No, he's not a great athletic defender and never will be. But he's a very smart defender. He's just a very smart, highly skilled basketball player. Watching these playoffs, the game still comes down to who can execute the best in the half court. Unless some team is incredibly stupid and doesn't slow the ball down when they are playing the Phoenix's of the league. Even Dallas, who are an uptempo tempo team, realized that they had to slow it down to beat Phoenix. Now Dallas realizes that they have to play uptempo to beat the Heat because if the series turns into a half court war, Miami wins. And Miami is slowing it down, and if they play smart and work the ball through Shaq, then they should win, as long as their SHOOTERS hit shots. We have Yao on our team. He is 300 lbs and 90 inches. Our best chance of winning championships is to run this team through him. And the best thing for Yao is to have space to operate in. And we've already got two slashers on the floor in McGrady and Rafer. It is so obvious that our weakest link is outside shooting. And it is so obvious that the one area of our team that we need as a strength is outside shooting, because of Yao and the style of play that we need to play to be effective. So, I'm still open to a trade. But what deals are out there to be made? For us to even get a Maggette, we are going to have to find another team to dump salary on? We're going to have to find an under the cap team who wants Stromile and they will probably want a first round pick to replace the pick that they are sending to the Clippers. I just don't know how feasible that is. And then at the end of the day, we've got a guy that is an outstanding slasher with questionable outside shooting whose defender would cheat low on him to protect against the slashing. Or better yet, the opposing teams start pulling the zone out and zoning up and forcing Maggette to throw up bombs and make it hard for him to drive and for Yao to be able to receive the ball. On top of all that, we've lost our depth at PF and are now stuck with an untradable Howard playing another 30 mpg for us next year. And that is a huge negative to me. If we are going to make a trade, the player that I would like to see us target is Mo Pete. I'd give up Stro and the #8, #32, and another player for Mo Pete and a re-signed Mike James. Because Mo Pete can shoot the 3 ball, and he can defend. By the way, this is is the last year of his contract if I remember right. He's a FA next year. That's another reason if we can't pull off a trade that I like the idea of taking Redick. Because Mo Pete should be sitting there as a FA next year and if Toronto doesn't get out of the blocks strongly and make a serious run, then he could be hanging out there looking to move to a championship caliber team. I think we all agree that we have multiple needs on this team. We all agree that we need upgraded perimter defense. We need upgraded PF play. We need upgraded shooting. And we need upgraded bench play in general. We need more athleticism. What we disagree on is what needs are most important and we disagree on how to fix those needs and how we view the talent that is available to us. We do not evaluate talent the same way. So I would be for a trade. But just knowing how hard it is to make a trade, I think it would be much easier to just take J.J. in this trade, plug him and let him rain 3 balls, and at the very least create value in him as a player. Worst case scenario, if we do that, he then becomes a highly sought after asset, just like Ben Gordon. He becomes a proven player. And keep Stro to trade another day. I guess I feel like we can get more for Stro and the #8 than just Maggette and I feel that Maggette might not be the ideal fit for us.
Valid points for discussion, but don't you think comparing Redick to Ben Gordon is a stretch? A VERY HUGE stretch? Forgetting the fireworks with Scott Skiles this past season, do you remember just how good Gordon was as a rookie? To me the main point of disagreement is your absolute certainty that Redick will be an impact player. Most of us just cannot agree with this and we also feel he has a limited upside potential. In addition, the idea that any of the players available at #8 will step in and be our 3rd scoring option this season is a pipe dream IMO. If this turns out to be true, it probably means the Rockets have failed big time in free agency & trades. That said, I do expect this year's pick to be better than Luther.
Trade the #8 and our 2nd round pick and Luther Head to New Orleans for their #12 and #15. Then draft Redick and Brewer and sign Mike James. PG: Rafer, MJ, Sura SG: Sura, MJ, Redick, Brewer SF: T-Mac, Hayes, Bowen, Brewer PF: Swift, Howard, Hayes C: Yao, Mutombo, Lampe I expect Sura and Mutombo to retire after next season, Brewer will develope quickly to become our starting SG, Redick to become a solid bench player/specialist.
hi trading down seems risky if we want Brewer, i'm afraid he would be gone before we pick at #12 ... i agree we need more first round picks, but we should not involve our #8 in the trades ...
I'm not sure. It seems a lot of the so called "experts" have brewer going as a non-top-10 pick. Redick is not worth a lottery pick but the rockets are not really a lottery team either (injuries screwed us). The reason I would want to trade down is so we get an athletic slasher and a sharpshooter, BOTH which we need. Sort of a 2-for-1. Brewer + Redick > Carney. All can agree with that. Now Brewer = Carney is debatable. Note: I know this idea is mildly improbable but it's not too far fetched either. Just a potentially ideal situation for the rox, in my opinion.
I've heard a lot of things about who we're going to draft, but the consensus on on this board is to Draft Ronnie Brewer at eighth. Aside from Brewer, other names have been shouted out: Shelden Williams PF Marcus Williams PG Randy Foye PG/SG Rodney Carney SF JJ Redick SG Shelden Williams would be the safe pick at the 4. We'd be able to have a solid backup behind Stromile Swift, and perhaps after the all-star break we could start him. He was a hard-working defensive minded stopper in college and averaged almost 4 blocks a game. Marcus Williams is the best pure point guard in the draft, although he has difficulties creating his own shot. This could be a solid backup pg behind Rafer Alston. Randy Foye is a Luther Head type of player. At 6'3" I'm not even sure why his name is on these mock draft lists. He's not a playmaker, but can really shoot the ball. Rodney Carney is purportently the second most athletic player behind Rudy Gay in this year's draft. His mother was a world record setting track star, and thus he has a monstrous 40"+ vertical leap. Although he's played well college ball. Oftentimes his intensity and discipline has been a problem. Redick set numerous AAC and NCAA records in his tenure as a player in college. He has the sweetest shot of any player in the draft, and it's noticeable. The man can nail the jumper from anywhere on the floor. However, he's not very athletic and can't slash as well as others like Carney, Foye, or Brewer. Not to mention he is 6'3" and will have difficulty defending NBA type Shooting Guards. Ronnie Brewer had a childhood injury that doesn't allow him to fully extend his right arm. Thus he has a really awkward looking shot. His college fgp was around 40% and he made 19/25 three pointers in the Rocket's workout. From what I see on the other Rockets forums, Brewer is a proven winner. He's disciplined, has the intensity that Carney lacks, and is able to slash at the basket or put down the jumper. I think he'd make a welcome addition to our squad, as he'd be able to contribute right away and fill some gaps. As with our second pick. I suggest we pick the best possible player available, and try to develop him. A long SG would be nice. If the Rockets do indeed draft Brewer, then there are still holes to fill: (* Indicates most important) Backup Center Backup Point Guard Starting SG * Starting PF * If we pick up Mike James with the MLE, that'd fix our point guard problem. He'd be a third option shooter behind Yao and T-mac, and from last year's season with the Raptors, we all know he can hit the 3-ball. Sura is apparantely coming back, so hopefully if he's healthy, we'll have a SG/PG that can start. Brewer might be good enough to start after the All Star Break. We'll see. This is my prediction of next year's lineup: Rafer Alston/Mike James/Bob Sura Bob Sura/Luther Head/Ronnie Brewer/Second Rounder Tracy McGrady/Ronnie Brewer/Ryan Bowen Stromile Swift (If he isn't traded)/Chuck Hayes/Juwan Howard Yao Ming/Dikembe Mutombo I'm almost sure that we wont be resigning David Wesley as a free agent. What we do with the LLE is interesting. We might be able to pick up a veteran that can contribute off the bench. From this chart, we see the weakest positions are obviously the PF and then the SG position. Luther Head isn't a starter, and Bob Sura's health issues will always be a concern. We need a 6'6" SG that can defend (which Brewer may bring), and a PF that can rebound and block. Stromile Swift's performance this year has been dissapointing, and I hope we will be able to trade him for a defensive minded PF or SG. I really like the fact that we resigned Chuck Hayes, as he is a hardworking and tenacious rebounder. I'm also hoping we trade or get rid of Juwan Howard's contract. Although I like the guy, his skills are quickly diminishing. Anyway, hope you like my summary. Feel free to bash me all you like. Suggestions/changes are necessary for the Rockets to make the offseason next year.
I only got this far in your post before I had to say something. I'm going to go back and read the rest in a second, but please tell me why you would say something as vague as "His college fgp was around 40%"? It was 46.2%. Just don't spread false information, please. I realize you said "around" 40, but when referring to FG% you can't be so broad in your claims, since the entire spectrum of average FG%'s for guards is generally only about 10% (40-50). .462 is leaps and bounds more impressive than .400. We don't have an LLE. Were you referring to the smaller of our two trade exceptions? Not true. Foye has a far superior handle when compared to Luther and is much better at finishing strong at the rim. Think of a mix between Steve Francis and Luther Head, and you've got Foye. Except that it's 38.5". Except that he is 6'5". ======================================================== All in all I like your direction for the team, but I just can't read all that misinformation without clearing it up for you. Sorry.
Thanks for clearing my info up. I guess some of my sources weren't so accurate, and I was careless not to check.
= Ronnie Brewer = Joe Johnson If you like Joe Johnson you should like Ronnie Brewer. They're very simular players. Actually, Brewer is more like JJ than Josh Howard.
Johnson shot 44% from 3 point land his last year at Arkansas and 40% from 3 over 2 years. We know Joe Johnson. Ronnie Brewer is no Joe Johnson.
Seattle might be leaving and Lewis can opt out after the season. If he tells Seattle he will, they might be forced to trade him like orlando and T-Mac. Why not call the sonics and offer Sura, the te and Head for Lewis for starters. If that doesn't work, offer Sura, the te and #8 for Lewis and their pick then we wouldn't have to worry about outside shooting like some are. Neither would we have to worry about getting posted up by bigger guard because T-Mac would be the big guard. Alston,T-mac,Lewis,Howard, and Ming would be an instant contender without waiting on a young guy to develop.
JJ shot 39% from 3 his freshman year. He shot was no better than Brewer's coming out of college. Ronnie Brewer doesn't have the shot coming out of Arkansas that JJ had but his game is damn near idenitcal. Exact same skillset. Big guard, with really good handles and the ablity to play the point in stretches. Excellent passers and good rebounders. JJ was more "gifted" than Brewer (I consider him to be a "poor mans" verson of JJ). They were very simular players at Arkansas. They had a passive streak....even though they were easily the best players on the team at times the ball didn't find their hands. I dont think he'll be quite at good as Johnson but IMO he's more comparable to him than Josh Howard.
I like Brewer a lot, especially on the Rockets. That said, I dont think he is quite as skilled as Joe Johnson (of which I am also a fan). BUT, I think Brewer can be a "poor mans" Joe Johnson, and on a team with Yao and Tmac that certainly would be enough as a quality role player on the Rockets.
A very realistic offseason it would be but a fantastic one if we sign james draft brewer and give up the Te for stevenson then we have alston head stevenson and jho coming straight off our bench!
I think Brewer is highly overated, and will be at best a Bruce Bowen style of role player in the NBA. His arm being screwed up makes me think that teams will not let him get to the rim like he did in College, they will make him beat them over the top, and he will struggle big time. I just think he is a career backup, and would rather take a risk on other players. DD
