I agree with you 100% DD. He was the only rocket big man the could actually attack the basket off the dribble. He just never got any consistent clock. I think he would thrive in New Jersey with Kidd though. How many easy basket alleyoop plays did JVG ever run for him. His strengths were never really used.
That's kind of my point....if it were that easy then we could dump his salary and howard's and unveil a front-court of Yao, The Main Event, and Escalade.
On Stro, I can't disagree more. Yes, the guy can run like the wind and jump out of the gym, but he's a terrible basketball player. He has bad hands, he gets lost on defense, he picks up lots of dumb fouls, he never gets good position for rebounds, and he's out of control whenever he takes the ball to the basket. He's a natural shotblocker, true, and he has a nice 18ft jumper, but that's it. If Stro was on the Nets, Kidd would out-rebound him and Stro would drop 1/2 of the passes Jason threw his way.
You could say that about most players on the team besides T-Mac. I mean Yao's strenghts such as his passing game haven't been used since the days of Rudy T. It's kind of like having a Mike James on your team and not letting him shoot the ball.
I wouldn't be suprised for 1 second if we selected Rondo, he is the model of a JVG-type player. With that said, if we draft a guard, I hope it's one that can shoot the ball.
Sam, Would you agree that confidence is a big reason for success in the NBA, heck in anything? I think Stro suffers from a lack of confidence, and would be far better under a positive type of coach like Rudy than JVG. And, I don't think JVG is killing Stros game, I just think Stro would fit better in an up tempo game. Heck, Amare's numbers would go way down playing for JVG. Some players work better in set pieces, and some in free flow. I think Stro is the latter. And, I think New Jersey wants him, right? Let's trade him and get a piece that fits better in our team. DD
Lack of confidence? If a guy isn't shooting well and in a slump, or appears tentative, that's lack of confidence (Tony Parker seems to go thru confidence losing moments e.g) If a guy is lazing about on defense, ham-handing the ball on silly looking drives to the basket, and pretty much showing nothing on the court other than what got him here 6 years ago (running and jumpting) I just call that being not good. He's been under Sidney Lowe, Hubie Brown (a noted proverbial "player's coach" who plays an up-tempo game), Mike Fratello, and now Jeff Van Gundy. Those are all very different coaches with different styles. None of those guys could get anything more out of him than Van Gundy could. i don't know if New Jersey actually wants him, I've read it but it sounds a lot like pipe dream speculation from the Sam Smith vein. I do know that Rod Thorn is a great GM and is not going to spend a lot on "potential" for players who dn't know what the hell they're doing out there (see, for example, Eddie Griffin for Richard Jefferson) so a deal with NJ isn't going to "net" us too much. I don't think they operate under the illusion that it's all JVG either. Again, "flourish in an up-tempo attack" is a nice way of saying "all he can do is run and jump". There's guys who can do that in college rec centers and playgrounds across the country. In the National Basketball Association, you simply have to be able to do more, and Swift has simply not shown that he can do the rest with the degree of consistency that merits either his lofty draft pick...or even a starting job in this league, really. Edit: should add, the Stoudemire comparison is nice but superficial - it's like comparing a player to Anderson Varejo cause they both have dreads. Stoudemire is a tremendous athlete but wasn't the most skilled fellow either, but he had a mental edge and used it to play with serious intensity. This was obvious from his rookie season (pre-Nash, pre-D'antoni) in which he put up a performance, straight outta high school, that was as good or better than anything Swift has put up, after some college and six years in the NBA. As he matured, he just got a lot further from where Swift has ever been, because he worked harder, and just had a knack for 1. getting rebounds and being in good position, and 2. imposing his will when his skill failed - he's been compared to a poor man's Mo Malone, and I can live with that, though only to an extent. Stro doesn't have that.
Tsk. Same problem with all 4 coaches over 6 seasons. I wonder if all of the coaches were the problem or was it Stro? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, has feathers like a duck and never changes, it just might be a real duck and not an eagle in disguise. This is the same Stro who's Memphis teammates joked last year about whether he got injured when their team bus would hit a large bump.
I agree. Most have already taken the prospect tag off Swift, and are resigned that what we see is what we get. However, if a team is willing to give up good compensation for Swift I say do the deal.
If Swift cared, do you think he would have the tools to be a solid PF for us? Meaning, does he have the ability to guard fast or big PFs, can he rebound, can he defend, shoot? I think he can do all of that, but without the fire from within that works all offseason to improve, you will just see the same player again next year. That, I imagine, we can all agree on (extra work = improvement). So, why not encourage Swift to work his tail off instead of riding his butt like the rest of the league seems to do with him? The argument is always in the, "It's his fault" category. What if there is something that the team isn't doing for him? What does Stro need to become a solid NBA player? I remember seeing Stromile school Mihm in the tourney before he left for the NBA. He schooled Mihm. His ability was in that game and I'm sure he can to that caliber daily if he puts in the work. The question is: What will it take for him to move up? To improve?
What can the team do for him? I don't know what you mean. Pat him on the head and say everything is gonna be all right? I'll go back to something I said earlier. It's almost condescending to think Stro needs some kinds of special treatment from coaches and teams that other players don't. Like he's some kind of child who needs special education. He's had 6 offseasons to get better and he hasn't. It's not on his coaches or the teams involved. "What does Stro need to become a solid NBA player?" A heart & desire, which nobody else can give him. Your point about Stro & Mihm illustrates something about why the NBA draft is such a random guess. The NBA is much more disciplined and structured than college ball and the players are bigger and faster. It's a completely different game and the court seems a lot smaller. Every NBA team has offensive and defensive systems that are much more sophisticated than in college. It's a very tedious, boring & repetitive grind. It's hard work! Some players never adapt to this. As an example, in college maybe a certain offensive move (or two) worked very well for Stro. In the NBA, once "the book" gets written on him, each team will shut down what he likes to do which forces him to learn more if he wants to succeed. If he doesn't he fails. On defense the difference is even bigger. Undisciplined roaming around to get blocked shots is rarely punished in college bball. In the NBA, teams will destroy an undisciplined defensive player, especially one who is not energetic. That is Stro right there. Physical ability isn't enough by itself now because his other deficiencies get magnified.
He doesn't fit because he's a below average NBA player who plays no defense with an offensive game that consists of 2 dunks per game and little else. It's way past time you stopped blaming the coach for the shortcomings of the players on this roster. JVG has two legitimate starters in Yao & TMac (when they are healthy) and not much else. The current roster "surrounds" them with: a starting point guard who can't shoot; no real shooting guard (if TMac plays the 3) - if TMac plays the 2 then they have no real small forward; and an undersized aging power forward blessed with no speed and a rapidly declining offensive game. The bench? Forget it. This team is in the NBA lotto because it was poorly put together by a stupid and incompetent organization. You should direct your wrath at them rather than JVG. No coach can make make up for all the competative shortcomings this team faces against its peers in the West.
FYI Chad Ford has revised his lotto/mock draft at ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/lottery2006/mockdraft Neither Rondo nor Redick were showing up in his mock for the lotto... until the Houston workouts. Now he consistently puts Rondo at #7 to the Celtics and Redick at #8 to the Rockets, with Randy Foye and Marcus Williams typically falling lower. It seems that Ford gathered some information in Houston that puts Redick in the Rockets' picture.
article from a couple of months back: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=dw-morrison032106&prov=yhoo&type=lgns I get the feeling that the southwest division scout is with the Rockets.
Alston is not a great defender, and though he can drive, he doesn't exactly strike fear into the opposing defense with his athletic ability. I wonder if Rondo can be similar to Devin Harris: lightning quick, good penetrator, good defense, not a great outside shooter. With the way the refs are calling things, those guys have value.
