either that or it screams that the ownership anc coaching sux I mean Drew Gooden is a better player than he looks from his season in Orlando - I think they have some serious issues with the coaching and management there
It is always good to have another prospect. How could anyone expect anything out of him. Let's hope he develops. He should be treated like a late first rounder, or second round pick.
What was the knock on Gaines? offense - defense ? - - from what I can find he's always described as long and athletic...
Ummm.. ok.. let's see.. Gaines, or.. Tito Maddox, or.. Bryce Drew .. perhaps, anyone? Come on, don't write the kid off until we at least get a chance to see what he can do. Chances are, if he is given some time, and has ANY basketball smarts and ability at all, JVG will dig it out. And if not, well WE STILL GOT MCGRADY!!!! And Howard and Lue will probably be decent role players, which is what this team needs. And it's not like we haven't made a habit of populating the roster with bench-warming scrubbie guards .. So chill.
A friend of mine from Wisconsin (Gaines' home state) explained the situation pretty good the other night. Gaines was clearly Doc's boy from the getgo and had his eyes on drafting him all season long. However once landed by the Magic, Doc's tenure was cut short not far into the season. As the interim coach took over, it became the #1 priority to JUST WIN GAMES. As a result the starting players always had to be on the court and Gaines was simply lost in the shuffle, not seeing much garbage/growth time until the VERY end of the season. The Magic were always playing from behind so ultimately Gaines had no chance at PT. Expect some really good things from this guy in the next season or two! Trust me! My friends in Wisconsin compare him to a poor man's Dwayne Wade (Milwaukee) because they were brutal, evenly-matched rivals throughout college. Diamond in the rough? I hope they're right!
You see, Boki was our first round pick last year. And Gaines is our first round pick of this year. The Rockets manager can always come up a way to have a first round pick everyday, no matter what happened!! Way to go, CD!
I think Gaines' problem is that they touted him as a tall PG and I dont think he is a pure PG. I think that hurts him. The Rockets should look at him as a "utility" player that can play 3 positions off of the bench, perhaps like a young Jim Jackson. Gaines in some respects is the Rockets 1st round pick for this year. It is nice to have some young prospects on the team in Gaines and Nachbar. But let's not get too excited. They have a long way to go. Chances are, that Gaines will get about as much PT as Nachbar got last year. This team will be filled with veterans to plug up the holes. Like Nachbar, Gaines is going to have to wait his turn. As said above, this is what Summer League is for. I know the Rockets wont field a team this year, but it would behoove them to get Gaines and Nachbar a lot of summer work. To bad we can't send those two to another team just to get more game experience.
I wonder if Gaines played for a summer league team with Orlando last year. If so, I'd be interested to see those stats
Enough of this Expansion Draft rubbish. As it was pointed out earlier, the Bobcats took big man Zaza Pachulia from the Magic (who was more in demand), and the draft rules dictated that they COULD NOT select more than one player from a particular team. Therefore, Gaines was not selected. End of discussion. As for Gaines, I don't know much about him, but I envision him being more of a 2 than a 1. Perhaps he'll backup McGrady instead of being a 3rd string PG (which is what Wilks will be, behind our new starting PG and Lue).
Yes! and by all accounts he was very good. People were saying that Orlando had the two best rookies in the summer leaugues last year: Gaines and Bogans. That doesn't mean much, though, it's hard to translate summer L success to the real thing. Remember Dan Langhi was a summer camp legend, other youngsters suck in summer Ls and then shine in the big L... The way I see it he is probably borderline NBA material. He is not a diamond in the rough, as he is not a tremendous talent. He is more like cubic zirconium in the rough: if he works hard and if he is put in the right situation he could be a decent player in the Brian Shaw model...
Must we always run down new players before they have even set foot on the floor? Last year we trashed Spoon as a bust -- especially when he didn't play immediately -- but we were pleasantly surprised. Boki bashers were suddenly amazed with his Karl Malone defense and offense. Jim Jackson, the washed up guy, was a near miracle. The list goes on ad nauseum. My point is this: Crucify them after they have failed -- not before. Okay?
I liked the way the Chronicle put it - look the ROckets haven't had a real draft pick for 2 years - so Boki and Gaines give us a couple of guys to watch develop and hopfully one will pan out next year
I haven't seen Gaines play, so I can't really comment. But as for his defense, the guy played four years under Rick Pitino. If he couldn't handle playing some D, he would've been nailed to the bench.
Exactly. And Pitino and JVG are similar in their demands on players and D. And both let players know exactly what they want. In that kind of environment, rather than Orlando's, I think we'll see Gaines become product if not flourish. If he had a poor work ethic, or aversion to D he'd never had lasted with Pitino.
