(Guards! Guards! Guards!) ..but what does JVG want??

Why?

It's a message board. It's the offseason. People are having some fun throwing names out there. If you want to "realistically speculate on who JVG might be wanting," go right ahead. In fact, I guess that's what this thread is for.

But I see nothing wrong with people throwing out names like NVE, especially when it looks like there's a very good chance he'll land here.

 

I think that Mooch and Ward are gone

I think there are real, legit concerns about Sura's health and durability (not that he won't play through it, but they would rather not be stuck like last season with the Rod Sick-lands of the world)

I think that they want shooters or drivers more than traditional ball handlers (since Tmac can help with that)

I believe that players realsed under the Houston rule cannot double dip, so it seems like DA could come here for nothing, since at the end of the day he is only getting the $8 milion (either $7 million from Port and $1 million from another team OR $4 million from Port and $4 million from another team)

 

Did you have the same faith in VG when he recruited Charlie Ward and Clarence Weatherspoon and gave them a fat contract? Whatever man.

 

My concern exactly. JVG brought in Ward, Oakley, Strickland, Spoon and even Ewing. At one point I thought he was building a retirement home for old Knicks at the Rockets expense. I am very concerned that he might bring in another broken down old Knick like Spreewell. The only positive clue is his statement after the playoffs that the Rockets must get younger, more athletic, more talented. I hope he sticks with that perspective.

 

Well of all the broken down old guys still on the market, Spree is now looking like the most attractive.

 

well,

to be fair...we got Spoon when we got rid of Moochie and Amechie...who IIRC..everyone agreed it was a good transaction to get rid of those two.

 

^ Unfortunately, I agree.

As long as the Rockets are "interested" in certain players, I'm sure it's pretty safe bet that the player has been approved by JVG. We only have the LLE to work with, so when a guy like Stoudamire turns it down, guys like DA and NVE are next in line.

It really seems like the Rockets are deperately trying to see what they can get for the LLE. If we can get a solid player like NVE or DA, then I definitely see us trying to deal Sura, Wesley, or James to get a younger, more athletic player.

 

Is this true about players not able to "double dip?"

If this true, we should have a great shot a DA.

 

JVG brought in the grizzled old vets to try and bring some maturity and knowledge of how to play the game to the old Franchise Boy's Club.

Without "game smarts" and basketball IQ to compensate for the loss of athleticism a lot of player careers are over once there physical skills diminish.

For a club looking to get over the hump with immediate contributions, I would take a savvy veteran, hungry for a ring and respect, over unproven flash and potential, hungry for a big paycheck, any day.

PS: this doesn't eliminate taking a flyer on a promising youngsters that may take a while to develop (e.g. Jay Williams)

 

-Oakley and Strickland were on 10-day contracts. You act like he signed them for 5-mil a season.

-Spoon was traded for, not signed by JVG as someone previously said. We got rid of our trash for another trash -- Spoon did more for the Rockets in the little he played than Man Boobs would have done. Plus he's now an expiring contract we can (hopefully) turn into a serviceable player at the trade deadline.

-Ward so far, IMO, has been the only questionable signing. And that's only because he hasn't played but a handful of games. Charlie wasn't *THAT* bad at the beginning of the season.. certainly better than anything Moochie could give us.

As Doc Rocket alluded to, JVG is running this team, not CD. JVG tells CD who to call/recruit, and lets him take care of the rest. If you here the Rockets are interested in so-and-so, I think it'd be outright dumb to even think JVG didn't want him.

What gets me is the Rocket's fascination on a PG this summer. With Sura/Wesley/Barry/James expecting significant PT in the rotation, I don't see how they're going to juggle NVE in while keeping everyone else happy. Hopefully they have an idea of a trade once they do find their PG, to bring in another swingman.

NVE/James
Wesley/Sura/Head
Tmac/Barry/Head
Swift/JH
Yao/Deke

That's a pretty damn good team. Howard's reaction to being regulated to the bench (he struggled last year) could play into the Rockets packaging him and others for a 3/4.

 

That's what I was thinking too. Remember this quote from Lindsey, "Free agency is where we are going to make a major move. We have crystallized some of the things that we think we can do. The Head pick will make more sense as we piece our team together."

Well we passed on Simeon leading most to believe that we would be landing a PF in free agency, which we did. Now maybe the moves are connecting in the backcourt too. Perhaps the whole reason that we are trying to sign a PG, is because there is some kind of deal on the table for James or Sura. And we just need to sign a PG before CD's willing to pull the trigger.

 

I did not know that, I thought that the double dip and the deadline were the hold ups in the CBA sigining. And that double dip was cut out in exchange for management moving up the deadline from 10.1.05

 

That would mean that LAL with Payton and Malone should have been a walkover to win the NBA championship 2 years ago. Didn't happen.

 

Our core is young (Tmac, Yao, Swift). They have immense talent, but they are not the most strong willed players you'll ever find. They need bulldogs around them, players who have been around the block, who are tough and who know how to win. Young players usually don't provide that. That's why I like Wesley, James, Mutombo and Sura. We have three young starters. You don't want to be young in every position. Not if you want to win a championship

 

true, but at least they got that far. how far did the bulls get last year with all of thier young talent?

the ideal is to have a nice mix.

with yao tmac and stro, we could have a few older guys without a problem.

 

There is a part of the resigning going back to the "Amnesty" team, though I have nfi what the actual percentage is. I haven't seen the number mentioned in any articles I've read so far. I'd be guessing half of what the player signs on for.

a not bad summary of the new CBA, with the bit covering this towards the bottom: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2121672&num=2

 

No argument. A mix of young and old in back court would be great. IMO right now we have a mixture of old and antique, so get some young.

See above

 

Mutombo/James are the only "bulldogs" we need.

It'd be a dream come true, if we could just replace Sura/Wesley.