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gomemphis.com: "Posey bringing aggressive athleticism to Griz" with Rockets info

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Matador, Aug 9, 2003.

  1. Matador

    Matador Member

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    Posey bringing aggressive athleticism to Griz
    For The Defense

    By Ronald Tillery
    tillery@gomemphis.com
    August 9, 2003

    James Posey still played for the Denver Nuggets when an obscure teammate performed what became a routine exercise against the Grizzlies.

    No one knew much about Rodney White then, and he's not much of a household name now. But White lit up the Griz backcourt early last season, coming off the bench to score 22 points in 26 minutes.

    He made 10-of-16 shots in adding to the main reason that Posey officially became a Grizzly today.

    Posey, whose four-year, slightly-less-than $24 million offer sheet went unmatched by the Houston Rockets, doesn't come with an all-star tag.

    However, Posey will be happy if he's eventually known in these parts as a defensive stopper.

    That's what the Grizzlies are counting on from the 6-8 swingman, who understands that his immediate chore is to construct more formidable roadblocks for opposing shooting guards.

    "Everything starts with me on the defensive end," Posey, 26, said in a telephone interview. "I'm about getting deflections, steals and just bringing energy to my team. (Defense) is one thing I know I can bring to the table."

    The Rockets were enamored with Posey after trading for him six weeks into the 2002-03 season. Then Griz president Jerry West practically ensured Posey's departure from Houston by offering him the full $4.9 million midlevel exception.

    Posey, a restricted free agent, received only a $2.445 million qualifying offer from the Rockets, who had 15 days to match the Griz contract but were deterred by luxury tax implications.

    The Rockets instead signed forwards Adrian Griffin and Eric Piatkowski leading up to Friday's deadline on Posey.

    "For what the Grizzlies offered, business-wise it was an easy decision to make," Posey said.
    "On the court, it's a good situation for me because this is a young team on the rise. I'm coming to help win games."

    His durability, ability to run the floor, spot up on the perimeter, slash to the basket and play sound defense make Posey a poster child for the Grizzlies' up-tempo, high-energy style under coach Hubie Brown.

    Brown implied that Posey, not Wesley Person, would likely start at shooting guard if Michael Dickerson is again unavailable.

    "He's going to be major in the mix," Brown said from his Atlanta home. "He's a quality starter because he's been in the league either at the shooting guard or small forward positions.

    "The athleticism is there with size. He's a legitimate 6-8. He's extremely quick and that's a major factor because of the fast break. From a coaching standpoint, we're getting a guy who helps you in all facets of the game."

    Brown has been familiar with Posey's game since the four-year veteran played high school ball. Posey, a Cleveland native, later attended Xavier where Brown was an acquaintance with the coaches.

    "Because of the way we play, you want to get guys who can play two positions," Brown said. "It fits perfectly with trying to build with young players. And the bottom line is he's a quality person."

    Posey emerged after the Griz attempted to lure Scottie Pippen (Chicago) and Ira Newble (Cleveland). Posey joins Person, Mike Miller and Shane Battier to form the team's most capable and interchangeable foursome at shooting guard and small forward.

    With Dickerson's possible return mostly viewed as a bonus, the depth allows for coaches to bring along slowly rookies Theron Smith and Dahntay Jones.

    "The Grizzlies made the decision this offseason to get more defensive, and James is one of the better defensive athletes in the league," said Posey's agent, Mark Bartelstein. "He plays multiple positions and they play up tempo. It's a nice fit because he really likes the idea of playing for Hubie."

    Turnovers and 41-percent shooting were shortcomings for Posey last season. However, taking care of the ball and developing a better shooting touch are conceivable under Brown's tutelage.

    Embracing hard-nosed defense is often a mindset - something bred out of sheer desire.

    "I'm still growing as a player," said Posey, the 18th pick in the 1999 NBA draft. "But I'm all about going out and playing hard. Playing against the Grizzlies, I know the style is to be aggressive. It's just a matter of me fitting in and contributing."

    Although Posey will wear his third uniform in less than 12 months, his sudden movement is born more out of fi-nancial circumstances than performance.

    Denver traded Posey partly to avoid Houston's predicament.

    "We didn't want to lose him without compensation," Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said.

    In a nutshell, James M.M. Posey is defined by the fact that neither of those middle initials stands for matador.

    "I get my energy off the defensive end of the floor," said Posey, whose full name includes Mikley and Mantell. "I'm excited about this opportunity. I'm looking forward to bringing that spark to the game."

    - Ronald Tillery: 529-2353
     
    #1 Matador, Aug 9, 2003
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2003
  2. francis 4 prez

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    first of all, gotta love that Matador posted this.

    second, some great quotes in here.



    as you can tell, i'm not losing sleep over posey leaving.
     
  3. couch_pot8o

    couch_pot8o Member

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    looks like posey's never going to have playoffs experience under his belt.. mayn, i wish i can see his face when the rocs go on the playoffs and he's stuck in the post season doing nada.:D
     
  4. RIET

    RIET Member

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    The hatred for Posey is unbelievable and incredibly ignorant given his limited time here.

    He was a good fit and slowly worked his way into the lineup. He did whatever it took even if it meant changing his game for the good of the team.

    He was never a spot up shooter but in 55 games, somehow managed to shoot a higher % than Mobley or Francis.

    He was tendered an offer equal to Eric freakin Piatkowski and yet fans blame him for wanting more money.

    Sorry. we know youve been a starter for the past 4 seasons (including Houston) but youre not worth more than a Clippers bench player. Yeah ok.
     
  5. Puedlfor

    Puedlfor Member

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    It's not hatred.

    He just doesn't do anything special that requires we should spend big money on him. We made mistakes in giving big long-term contracts to replaceable players - we didn't make that mistake here.

    We got a better defender, and better shooter than posey in Griffin and Pike. And we did it for less money.
     
  6. RIET

    RIET Member

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    1. A 4 year contract is not a long time.

    2. Incrdible flaw in logic. Past mistakes have no bearing on whether Posey is or is not worth $6 million.

    People think Kelvin Cato is now worth $6 million even though he plays 15 minutes a game. James Posey would contribute a lot more than Kelvn Cato.

    Im sorry the Rockets totally screwed up on Moochie Norris and Mo Taylor got hurt. Why that has any bearing on James Posey, I don't know.

    3. Better defender my ass. I'll reserve judgment on that. That's Griffin's rep (when he's not injured). If Griffin was so good, why didn't Dallas retain him. Dallas believed the very last pick in the first round, Josh Howard, a player who has yet to even play a preseason game, was more worthy than Griffin. Houston certainly didn't outbid Dallas for him. We picked him out of the trash.
     
  7. Puedlfor

    Puedlfor Member

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    How are past mistakes not relevant? If you don't learn from them, you only doom yourself to making them again and again.

    Even if Mo Taylor had not gotten hurt, the contract was bad. Not because he was a bad player, he's not - he's very good offensively - but he's replaceable by other players, and we didn't need to make such a large investment in him.


    Josh Howard is essentially Adrian Griffin, except that he's more athletic and slight better offensively with a slight defensive downgrade - he's a tough-nosed swingman who'll become a fan-favorite with his hard work and on-the-court effort.

    Josh Howard was also a top contender for National College Player of the Year last year - which may be why Dallas is willing to trust him.

    One man's trash is another man's treasure. Vernon Maxwell, Mario Elie, Ben Wallace, Bruce Bowen.

    All players who have been trash to several teams, and cut numerous times - yet eventually made important contributions for winning teams because of their hard-work and effort.
     
  8. NIKEstrad

    NIKEstrad Member

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    1.) How is a 4 year contract not a long time? For crying out loud, the Clippers originally offered all-star Elton Brand a 5 year deal.

    The point people are making are Posey type players come around every offseason, and Posey is hardly signing below market value. Posey doesn't make or break this team, and can be replaced, whether you believe Pike/Griffin is an adequate replacement or not.

    2.) When James Posey becomes 7-0 tall, then a comparison to Kelvin Cato may be worthwhile. There is an undeniable premium on big men.

    3.) Josh Howard was very impressive in the summer leagues. Wasn't he also ACC Player of the Year? It is also quite possible Griffin chose Houston over Dallas based on the situation- both basketball wise, and otherwise. Ask anyone from Houston; Dallas sucks. :)
     
  9. RIET

    RIET Member

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    You're begging the question. You're assuming it would be a mistake. Im saying he's getting paid equal to what he's worth - a solid 30/35 minute starter is worth more than a 20 minute/game "role player" like Piatkowski. Not all role players are equal.

    Rasho Nesterovic is a role player but he's certainly worth more than a Scott Pollard.

    You seem to lump anyone who's not a superstar into this homogenous group.

    Horace Grant was a role player on the Bulls but was worth more than a Scott Williams or Luc Longley.

    Anybody that can contribute a solid 30 minutes is worth a 4 year contract, especially those that can play a full 82 game schedule.

    That's different than a Moochie, Cato, Eddie Griffin, Maurice Taylor, Eric Piatkowsi, or A. Griffin - none of whom can play more than 20 effective minutes.

    Your length of contract argument is much more persuasive but once again, it's only 4 years.

    And Posey's only 26 so it's not as though you'd be getting an over the hill Steve Smith.
     
    #9 RIET, Aug 10, 2003
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2003
  10. RIET

    RIET Member

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    Michael Olowakandi got the MLE. How much of a premium is there?
     
  11. serious black

    serious black Member

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    Posey was a PERFECT fit for the Rockets. Memphis is damn lucky to be getting him.
    I'm not going to knock Pike or Griffin, I wanna give them a chance, but Posey was the most athletic player I have ever seen in a Rockets uniform.
    Les is a punk. This city just built him a stadium and he can't pay a damn luxury tax?
    Jerry West knows basketball. I didn't see him trying to get a combo of a Clipper bench player with no defense and an unsigned Mavrick with no offense. He got James Posey.
    I really don't wanna knock the new guys, unless somebody says that we aren't losing anything, or are getting a better deal.
    We are not getting a better deal.
    We are being cheap.
    A steve/yao/posey nucleus could have been great with time.
     
  12. SLA

    SLA Member

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    They must have taken that part out! Yep....I recall plenty of times when he provided leadership and experience......:confused:

    And yes....he's a matador with an elongated middle name.

    I will miss him! Now adios!

    ALSO......this didn't even mention the EXCITEMENT he brings. He could have been a major part of our fast break......man....he was so awesome leaping into the air and catching a ball in the air and throwing it down. He was one of the most athletic players on our team. He was one of the most exciting to watch too.
     
    #12 SLA, Aug 10, 2003
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2003
  13. thumbs

    thumbs Member

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    There are a lot of Rockets fans who wanted to keep Posey. I am one of them. However, Posey is gone now so let's look to the future rather than "what if" the team.
     
  14. RocketFan4ever

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    AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  15. crash5179

    crash5179 Member

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    Ironically enough, Josh Howard’s college coach was on the radio here in Dallas shortly after the draft and the NBA player he compared Josh to was....James Posey. Funny I thought.

    By listening to any of the Mav’s (Cuban, Donnie etc...) on the radio here in Dallas they fully expect Josh to be a starter by the end of the year or at least getting starter minutes.

    Some other talk on the radio is that if Howard develops the way the Mav’s expect him to develop then Finely could be expendable by the trade deadline. Also the Mav’s have been trying very heard to get a 4 / 5 combo that would allow Dirk to spend the vast majority of his time at the 3 (which is his natural position) but with the addition of Howard and all the talk of him starting by the end of the season it is starting to look like the Mav’s have admitted their mistake in signing Reaf and are preparing themselves to allow Dirk to be the full time power forward.
     
  16. ricerocket

    ricerocket Member

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    This is why we didn't need him, a 6'8" shooting guard...
     
  17. SA Rocket

    SA Rocket Member

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    A. The problem with that is we can't stop the game between every possesion so Grif can play defense and Pike can play offense. :D At least Posey offers more overall balance than either of these 2 "specialists". Although, I believe the Rockets would've added Pike for his shooting even if Posey had stayed.

    B. I'd like to think the Rockets would take Pike/Griffin over Posey if there were no money or tax issues involved, but somehow it seems money was the highest priority in deciding which player(s) to sign. If they truly don't think Posey was worth the MLE, then fine. But why not say so instead of letting the story float out there that they didn't want to pay a luxury tax. That makes them look worse, especially since teams who are over but close still end up with a good chunk of change from teams that are way over---still a net gain of $$.
     
    #17 SA Rocket, Aug 10, 2003
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2003
  18. SaVeThEpIgS88

    SaVeThEpIgS88 Member

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    I believe that lots of times when a player joins a new team or something... that if that player is just a role player... PPL WILL OVERATE THEM... kind of like whats happening with posey.. Its not like we will be seing posey in the all star game next year.... unless they make a new contest... The Role Player Game... The East best Role Players against the West Role players....
     
  19. ima_drummer2k

    ima_drummer2k Member

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    How old are you?

    You really put Posey in the same catagory as Yao and Stevie? Come on, he is a nice player but I really don't think he was the key to mutiple championships like some people here seem to think. Funny thing is, no one thought that until he left...
     
  20. serious black

    serious black Member

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    -I've been following the Rockets since we got Ralph Sampson.
    Honestly, I cannot remember any player more athletic than James Posey. The way he ran the floor. The way he switched from o to d.
    -I never meant to imply he would be a superstar, But he wasn't asking for superstar money. He wanted the middle class exception, which he obviously deserved.
    Besides pg and center, I felt like small forward was the only position set. Both Eddie and Mo have huge holes in their games. Mobley, really should be a sixth man. (By the way, I like Cat, Mo and EG, just not as much as JP)
    Maybe I missed it, but before Memphis came along, I didn't hear anyone saying James Posey sucks, we need a new 3. Did you? I certainly heard it about our 2 and 4 spots. Oh and how much more do Mobley and MoT make than Posey?
     

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