nevermind the terrible title. but i was just checking out Patricia's basketball site (good stuff), and i noticed that the Rockets have 19! players under contract. one of them was Lampe whose option i believe wasn't picked up. so the actual number might be 18 which is still obviously too many. but even more troublesome was when i starting thinking about the active roster. TMac, Yao, Battier, Wells, and Rafer are shoe-ins. Deke, Juhow, Hayes, Head and Snyder are... safe (bad American Idol reference). that leaves only 2 spots for VSpan, Novak, JLIII, Bowen , Haryaz (sp), Azubuike (sp), Jacobson and last but not least SURA (in the unlikely event that he may be ready for the playoffs). i don't know if this is a good problem, but i can't believe the Rockets are so deep that a "major" free agent signing in KillBill, the former heart of the Rockets (Sura), and the Dirk-stopper are on the fringe.
If i m not mistaken, i read somewhere, Lampe decide to play in Russia next season so he definitely wont be with Rockets.
You have 15 players, 12 of which are active. Azabuike, Jacobsen, Haryasz are all non-guaranteed contracts. Sura could get cut as well. So its not that big a deal.
but playoff rosters (the ones that really matter) are still solidly fixed at 12. it's almost like the WBC where hard decisions had to be made. okay, i overembellish somewhat, but my point still stands.
This should be our team: Yao/Deke Battier/Howard/Hayes TMac/Bowen/Novak Wells/Head/Snyder Alston/VSpan/JL3 Plus one ... I expect that Sura will retire, and we'll keep one of Haryaz, Azubuike, or Jacobsen. Its possible that Bowen will be cut, but, JVG will probably keep him for the playoffs to be the Dirkinator. Now, it would not surprise me if there isn't a trade in the works to give us some depth at center and PF, and possibly Howard and Head are headed elsewhere.
As others have mentioned, the NBA roster is 15. 12 are declared active on game day similar to the NFL while the other three are inactive. McGrady Yao Battier Wells Rafter Mutumbo Howard Head Snyder Those are the absolute locks. Spanoulis Novak Lucas III Hayes Those are the guys who will, barring a trade or a season-ending injury (God forbid), make the roster. That leaves two spots left to fight over. My money at this point is on Jacobsen and Bowen to make the roster with Sura retiring. Haryaz and Azubike are going to be training camp guys who don't make the team most likely. I just don't think Sura will return from his injuries.
My feeling is that Haryasz will not make it past training camp. So that leaves the 3 players left for that last roster spot. Of those 3, I personally hope Sura gets the last spot, just because he brings something to the team that we don't already have. He would add experience to our PG position behind Skip, as well as overall toughness, tenacity, and attitude that the rox would sometimes lack. Azuibuike and Jacobsen should get cut because we already have players that fill their role already. I think Azubuike lacks a consistent 3pt shot, and we already have a player just like him in kirk snyder. We already have a Casey Jacobsen on this roster and his name is Steve Novak. Novak makes the team because he is 6'10" and hopefully can cause matchup problems with his range. Plus, Jacobsen has a partially guaranteed contract, which means he will most likely get cut.
Playoff rosters are fixed at 15 players. They will get rid of the nonguaranteed players after camp is finished. They are just training fodder.
These are some really tough decisions. What's the rule on sending players to d-league?? Do they still count against us on the roster? If not, we should probably send JL3 there and he can tear it up while we give some more developed players a chance. -Bowen should be cut for sure. He is a liability on offense and we have Battier to lockdown anybody at that position. At this point its a waste of a roster spot. -I think Sura deserves a shot at a legit comeback. The man has heart and leadership and would definetley be asset if he can get back to playing like he did in '05.
The 14th spot is Bowen's to lose. That doesn't mean he's a lock, just that some other forward would have to beat him out in training camp. It sounds easy, but remember he's not competing against NBA players, he's competing against NBDL players. The 15th spot probably goes to Haryasz on a need basis. A 3rd center is a lot bigger need than 8th or 9th wing player.
I think Ryan Bowen should be cut. I loved his hustle and his defense against Dirk in the playoffs 2 years ago, but for this current team, he is just unnecessary. We already have Battier, who has just as much hustle as Bowen. If I'm picking 2 guys from Bowen, Jacobsen, Haryasz, and Azubuike to make the team, it'd be the 2 Stanford guys, Jacobsen and Haryasz. Jacobsen is also known as an hustle guy (former winner of the Dan Majerle Hustle award) and he can shoot too. We have good shooters at the small forward spot (TMac, Battier, Novak), but the shooting from our guards is still suspect and Jacobsen can help here. Azubuike was already on the bubble because he is too similar to Kirk Snyder and the addition of Bonzi really makes him unnecessary. Haryasz makes the team because we are way overloaded in the backcourt and he brings some needed depth to the 4/5 spots.
i would bet that jacobson makes the roster even with the glut at that possition. haryasz and kelena will be cut. sura might retire or his ending contract could be used to make a trade work. i would bet that we go into the season with a roster of: yao-trade (head/sura)-deke shane-jho-hayes tmac-novak-bowen bonzi-snyder-jacobson rafer-bill-luke
This will be our final roster: Yao/Mutombo Battier/JHO/Hayes Tmac/Snyder/Novak Bonzi/Jacobsen/Head Alston/Vspan/JL3 1 more will be Sura, if he chooses to play or if he retires then Bowen will make it. Rox need shooters and i think Jacobsen will make it over Sura and Bowen. Also Tmac mentioned Jacobsen as a great addition to the team. Also we dont need Dirk stopper in Bowen, we already have better one, Battier.
Three things to remember: 1. Whether its Harayz, or another big via trade, there will be another player on the roster taller than 6-9 by the season opener. 2. With the anemic offensive stats of LY, and the addition of Battier, there is no room on this roster for RyBo. 3. Bonzi fell to us, we didn't seek him out. The focus up to this point has been on shooting and spacing; so you have to lean towards Jacobsen over Buike and Sura to make the team. If he can hit his shots in camp, this is the 15: TMAC BONZI NOVAK YAO DEKE HARAYSZ BATTIER HOWARD HAYES SNYDER HEAD JACOBSEN RAFER SPANOULIS LUCAS III
If this team stays healthy, this is going to be a very fun season: REVENGE OF THE ROCKETS! I sure hope the teams who beat up on the Rockets really enjoyed it because it is going to be hell to pay by November.
I agree w/most on who stays: Except I fully expect Juwan to be traded sometime this season, hopefully w/Bowen as part of the package. I would like to see: Howard & Bowen for DMiles I could also see Head as trade bait as well - no longer fits Sura retires. Wells is a younger healthier version - who can also still play D. Gameday Lineup Yao/Deke Battier/Hayes/Novack McGrady/Miles/Snyder Wells/Snyder/Jacobsen Alston/Spanoulis/Lucas Gameday Inactive Haryasz Azubuike Badiane One of these guys is moved up to the active roster depending on the opposing team, matchups and/or injury to one of the regulars. Again, I still see one, if not two, more moves happening sometime this season.
