Assuming the TMac trade does go down, who should the Rockets go after this offseason. I was thinking the Rockets should go after V. Divac and A. Peeler. They can be signed cheap and they provide veteren leadership.
Divac won't go anywhere....but if iam the ROX, i will sign Peeler. Hardnosed defender...clutch 3pointer.
if lue opts out then we need to find 2 PG's and a C. i would want barry for the MLE. then i would use the million dollar excception on a back-up like ward. then use the TE for a center like potapenko. realistically we could have: yao-pota howard-mo-spoon jj-boki tmac-pike barry-ward-gains i don't see us going after a SG like peeler. even is he can play point for stretches, he isn't fit to do so for a whole year.
I think the Rockets should at least consider the following: Eric Williams - Smart, tough veteran who plays D, hits the three, and hustles every night. Everything we were hoping Adrian Griffin would be. Should be available for the minimum. Keon Clark - Forget that he missed 80 games, all he had was bone spurs. Theo Ratliff missed 79 games in 01-02 to a more serious hip injury, and came back the next season to average 7.5rpg and 3.2bpg through 81 games. Clark would be a great backup C and a decent part time starter. Charlie Ward - If only because he'll come cheap and can hit the open 3. I'd be very surprised if Ward wasn't a Rockets next season. Good backup. Donnell Harvey - Undersized rebounder, but he makes up for it with athleticism. Great energy guy to bring off the bench every once in a while. Brent Barry - The prize of free agency. Great shooter (MUCH better than Fisher), smart passer, doesn't make bad decisions, can run the break, and most importantly he's a leader.
I would like to have Clark or Williams. I really think we need a 4 that can come from the weak side and block shots and really helps Yao out. Keon would really fill that role well, actually any tough defender would be good in that situation.
I know first and foremost we will be looking for a starting PG and a backup C in FA. Those are the biggest holes to fill. But Eric Williams was brought up above and I wanted to comment on him. He is a good team player, good role player and plays good defense. Much better than Adrian Griffin and has good size at 6'8". Williams might be had for the 1.5M lower exception. He would be a solid bench role player for this team and could play backup minutes at the 3 and spot minutes at the 2 and 4.
We all know about B. Barry, D. Fisher...etc etc etc... I have a couple of names that i would like to know more about (contract wise). Antonio Daniels, PG What is his situation??? Malik Rose, PF " " " " Bruce Bowen, SG/SF Kurt Thomas, PF/C Bob Sura, PG/SG Erick Dampier, C Anyone got info on these players and thier contracts???
We need bruce bowen if he can is relatively cheap. We should have never got AG and bruce bowen is twice the player he is and hasn't lost 2 steps like AG. McGrady's back problems became very serious in that playoff run where he had to guard the opponents best player (B. Davis) and having bowen hitting threes and locking down other players off the bench would really help us if we can afford him.
Daniels is still under contract with the Sonics, Malik Rose signed a longterm extension with the Spurs, who are now regretting signing him to such a large deal. Bruce Bowen opted out of his contract, but word is that he'll be resigning with the Spurs. Kurt Thomas just recently signed an extension, Sura's an unrestricted FA, and Dampier just filed the papers to opt out of his contract with the Warriors.
Wow, Keon Clark is an FA? That would be a BRILLIANT addition for us. We need a shotblocking big man (assuming the trade happens) and a solid PG. Gaines would be the backup PG, and we need someone to start. Maybe we can pick up Damon Jones? Janner Pargo would be a nice pickup too.
dharocks, Damn dude... thanks for the info... you answered all my questions... You gotta love us Houston Rockets Fans!!!
Deuce - Absolutely agree about Eric Williams. But his last years salary was $5.5m so IMO neither the million dollar nor the vet exception will be enough to pry him from CLE. Williams is primarily a SF who can play some PF in the EC. Even if we could get him for $1.5m, he'd be under utilized behind TMac and JJ and would take minutes away from Nachbar. The money would be better spent on a backup C given Yao is not capable of McGrady type minutes yet.
Etan Thomas, Kurt Thomas, Dampier, Blount, Fisher or Barry. Personaly i like Etan thomas, since his young and plays hardnose Defense! PG:Barry SG:T-MAC SF:JJ PF:Etan Thomas C:Yao
Don't get me wrong, clearly we have to work on getting a PG and a C first. I just thought if we still had money left over Williams would be a guy I would look at. True he came off a 5.5M contract but he is really getting up there in years so I figure his next contract will at least be half that amount. You never know though. And true, if we got Williams that would mean even LESS time for Nachbar. I would love to see Nachbar break out this year, but I am not holding my breath on it.
