We've got Francis, Mobley, Cato, and Anderson. We've also got Drew [But he'll never be more than Stevie's back up] and K. Thomas [But we don't really know what he's capable of] Our only intermediately aged player is Rogers. We don't really have any veteran players who I can see playing with our team for much longer. There's talk of getting McGrady, R. Lewis, or any number of young guys. My question is: How many young guys do we want, and more importantly how many can we afford? We've already given Cato a big contract, and basically promised Anderson one. Francis will get superstar money, and Mobley won't be getting league minimum for long either. I hate to say it, but I think we overpaid Cato, and continued a trend (Maloney) that we won't be able to keep up when it comes time to ink a new contract with: Francis, Mobley, Anderson, and even Rogers. So, that said, how could we even afford McGrady or some other young rising star? Or how could we afford even a solid veteran's contract in 2 to 3 years? My opinion is that you can't win an NBA title, with just young guys, just like you can't win it with just a bunch of old guys. You have to have a mixture. Age is not the only mixture you need. A team has to have a mixture of talent. Not just 'star' players and 'role' players, but players who are talented in different areas. We may have to settle for a center along the lines of an Ervin Johnson [not him per-say]. A guy with not much offense, but a good defender and decent rebounder. I think it's hoping for way too much to think we'll ever have a team in which all the starters are all good shooters, scorers, FT shooters, rebounders, passers, defenders, etc. Now, that's just the starters. I'm not even mentioning the bench. We will have to find players like: Nate McMillan, Eddie Johnson, Dale Ellis, Stacey Augmon, Dana Barros, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, etc, and learn to live with it and win with it. I'm starting to ramble, but I just wanted to post this in response to some posters who seem to think that we should keep Francis, Mobley, Anderson, and Cato, and get Lamar Odom and draft Kenyan Martin. If we did this, not only would we not win a championship, we would not be able to afford them come contract time. Here's most of our 94 team to review what a championship team looks like. Hakeem / NOBODY Thorpe / Herrera Horry / Bullard Maxwell / Elie Smith / Cassell / S. Brooks We had NO back up for Dream, what's new? A very solid PF rotation, whenever Herrera wasn't hurt. Horry, Bullard, and Elie at the SF spot. Elie was the only consistent one in the bunch. Horry was a good defender on occasion and a good scorer on occasion too. Our SG situation had a terrible career shooter, Maxwell, but a terrific defender. Our PGs were even less dependable than Maxwell, and they played no defense what so ever. ------------------ I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem.
Good points Dreamer. In '94', you have to remember that we had the best player on the planet. Right now we would need 3-4 good "young" players to match Dream's presence on a team. Francis shows promise, but no superstar yet. The Spurs have the same luxury with Duncan. Other than a "good" Robinson, he is surrounded by average role players. The Rockets just don't have that great go to player yet. By the way, it would take awhile (with the new CBA) to have all of those players with huge contracts. ------------------ Ciao!
I have been saying the exact same thing. If we wait for the draft it will be a long, and I mean LONG rebuilding process. I would like to sign some free agents this year. What about Glen Rice? We need some veteran leadership, and why not get someone who can score too? DaDakota
if you're talking about rashard lewis than he is one player i dont want, if we passed on him during the draft then what makes you think we will get him when he is a free agent,the players we should go after this summer should be (if cap allows): tracy mcgrady bo outlaw mo taylor ron mercer brian grant isiah rider tim duncan(wish) grant hill(wish)
Brahma Rocket Of them players you would like the Rockets to go after I think only Grant Rider and McGrady would be good pickups.He is why (This is all just my opinion McGrady:Tallented SF which is what we need. Grant:Strong PF who can rebound and bang inside. Rider:Only because we could get him cheaply. As for the rest Bo Outlaw:Could be good. Mo Taylor:Good with Clips but I think he's just playing for a contract.Once he has it he'll do a J.Howard. Ron Mercer:Same as Taylor.I think he's overrated also. Dreams...... Tim Duncan:He has potentual..... Grant Hill:Not a bad player. I agree a good mix of youth and experience is needed.The thing is that we have a VERY young team and if we are building for the future we need players who will be in the "Experienced" categorie in about 3 years. ------------------ Your Starting Power Forward for the Clutch City Allstars
I kind of disagree with most here. I think with a group of young players is the best way to build a dynasty. Look at the Celtics of the 80's. Bird, McHale, Parish & DJ all more or less aged together. Even though the team went through, and still is, rebuilding from this I would think any city would trade 10 great championship caliber teams for a few years a rebuilding, and who really knows if they would be rebuilding if it wasn't for the tragedy of Len Bias. I think often times a mixed team of veterans/rookies adjust to their roles together faster, just because the rookies look to the vets and their wisdom and/or experience. However when a young team figures out who their leader is this same thing can happen. This was the problems with the Mavs a few years ago with the 3-J's, they all thought they were the leader of the team.
Thats a good point 4chuckie. One thing that causes a problem with getting a young team togeather so they can mature into a good team is that with Free agentcy and trades going on it AOT harder to keep a team togeather. Look at our team.Of our current team who do you see still being here in 5 years time: Francis:For Sure Catorobably Anderson:Likley Mobley:Maybe (I hope he still is It get worse from there. So its now alot harder to start from the ground up.It also goes against the "Win Now" mentality of some owners (Im not saying that Les Alexander is one of them that just how some teams are). ------------------ Your Starting Power Forward for the Clutch City Allstars
I am sure t hat those three will stay mobley anderson and francis...they belong here. unless one of th em bec omes a whiner. and oh i thin k Hill is a most likely to come in...he is a free agent and id on't think he likes loosing in detroit... i a lso think we should get number 13 from detroit....
Here's my prediction: Hill will be in Houston -- the next time Detroit plays in Houston. Seriously, if Hill were only interested in winning, and not at all in money, he might leave Detroit -- to go to San Antonio.
