ESPN INSIDER: WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW BY CHAD FORD Ford separted the Western Conference to Contenders and On The Rise. He wrote a little something about each team--since I can't cut and paste I'll only type up the Rockets stuff, and forgive the typos THE CONTENDERS 1. San Antonio Spurs 2. Dallas Mavericks ( this is a head scratcher for me ) 3. Minnesota Timberwolves 4. Sacramento Kings ON THE RISE 1. Utah Jazz 2. Denver Nuggets 3. Houston Rockets Key additions: Tracy Mcgrady, Juwon Howard, Bob Sura, Dikembe Mutombo Key subtractions: Steve Francis , Cuttino Mobley, Eric Piatkowski, Kelvin Cato The Skinny: Speaking of clever GM's Rockets headman Caroll Dawson might have pulled off the deal of the year this summer. Sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time. In Feb. , the Rockets took their first stab at trying to trade disgruntled point guard Steve Francis, and found his value around the league was at an all-time low. By summer, it reached an all time high. With T-Mac threatening to bolt the Magic, new GM John Weisbrod decided to cut bait, and the Rockets greeted him with open arms. Getting T-Mac for Francis, (and Howard for Cato) has transformed this team from good to potentially great. With Yao Ming, and T-Mac, the Rockets now own the best one-two punch in the NBA. But before you pencil them into the Finals, you better take a look at the bench. Like all teams that try to bankroll two superstars, it's a little thin. Point guard, and small forward are the biggest issues. A combo of Charlie Ward, Tyronn Lue, and Sura (who's injured) will have to run the team by committee. Small forward will be manned by the aging Jim Jackson, and the unproven Bostjan Nachbar, and Ryan Bowen. And exactly how much juice does Mutombo have left? He currently is Yao's only backup. The Rockets will be better this year. No question. But how good will be determined by no-names with less than impressive contracts. How ironic. --------------------------------------------------------- I think he's totally wrong about the Mavs, and the Kings, we should be higher on his list--but this is Chad Ford we're talking about...
I'm surprised he doesn't see the Suns going all the way. All this list tells us is that we'll 100% definitely be better than "On the Rise," because God and Jesus have decreed that Chad Ford can never be correct. Ever.
I agree most with the need for another 5. Zo, are you healthy enough to play? Aaron Williams where are you?
Who wrote this article? I cant believe ESPN charges to see this guy's crap. Other than known to everyboday and smoking pipe imagination, what else can Ford offer us?
Hmm..well he doesn't say anything about our power forwards. We did resign Scott Padgett...I thought he was always at least decent..smart solid role player who can play 3 and 4.. Dikembe I think he can handle it. And we can always sign another guy..or make a trade. And I think we are fine at the poitn guard position. Isn't Sura a good defender? And Jackson is aging? He looked fine to me..maybe played too many minutes per game. And I think Nachbar can do well this season...and uhh REece Gaines I wonder if he will get to play.
So they were shopping Franchise in February? I don't remember this. Was this public knowledge? Has the off-season been so long that I would have forgotten that?
Link??? Try and remember the posting guidelines for articles. This needs a source in the headline (ESPN, etc) and a link. If you can't link, at least say where it came from and why you can't cut and paste.
This is from my ESPN Insider account---you're not allowed to cut and paste, since it requires payment for membership. I said so in the Title Line of the article. If you go on www.espn.com you can see the titles of ESPN Insider articles, and you'll see Chad Ford's Western Conference preview among them.
It wasn't a backhanded compliment, it was the truth. McGrady's relationship with Orlando was beyond repair. McGrady only wanted to play for a handful of teams, especially Houston. If McGrady didn't want to play with Yao, the trade would never have happened. Yao was the catalyst. The circumstances helped complete the trade. With salary cap considerations, it was't much of a puzzle who the pieces were. CD did a good job closing a deal that everyone wanted to happen.
Cut and paste vs. re-typing = basically the same thing. Not saying I care, just add [ESPN Insider] to your title so we know where it came from.
I don't understand why the Kings are rated number 4 with no depth but we're behind Denver and the Jazz for having no depth. We'll see how many games Webber even plays. Even if he does play I think a core of Yao, McGrady, Howard and Jim Jackson is more than comparable to Bibby, Miller, Webber and Peja. I also think our frontcourt depth is fine with guys like Deke and Mo. Our backcourt depth is definitely weak though, or at the least it's terribly unproven. I can't wait to see how it all works out though. I think Chad Ford is going to end up eating his words. Especially in regards to Dallas. I also think Memphis was rated entirely too low.
Perfect situation or not, there are two points that I think get lost in the shuffle when people say that the Rox were lucky do get this deal. 1. Weisbrod seems to genuinely like Steve and really appreciates his toughness and mentality. Something that might not be said for some of the trade bait from other teams. 2. I'm positive that one tidbit I heard during the whole Mcgrady affair was that the Rockets were the only team that accepted Juwan as part of the deal without reservation. The Magic were definitely looking to move out Juwan's contract because of their incoming draft pick and Gooden having short years. It's true that Mcgrady saying that he would only resign with Houston was the clincher, but that wasn't the only thing that the Rox had going for them. There were a lot of reasons that T-Mac to Houston happened. And regardless of what Chad Ford thinks, the Rockets had as much to offer the Magic as any other team.
