You still have not answered my question. Did you or did you not just compare the drafting of Tim Duncan to the trade for Battier and try to make it out to be on the same magnitude.
Not the same magnitude in that it wasn't the #1 pick.Plus obviously we have 2 to San Antonio's 1.Guys hurt both at the same time and not.But the same likely result at the end of a few seasons.That is the end goal is it not?to hoist the trophy several times?You honestly believe I feel Battier has a bigger impact than Duncan?C'mon man!
Memphis gets two players with motivation issues and unrealized potential, we get a consumate pro that will bring character, work ethic and profesionalism along with consistant production to our team. Is there a posibility that Rudy Gay will be the second coming of Snotty Pippen? Yes, but that posibility at best will be realized in 2-4 years and maybe not at all. Do we know what we got? Yes. Did we improve our team on draft day? Definitely. If somebody told you we were going to get a tallented wing and guaranteed that this player would be a quality starter for the next 5 years with the #8 pick would you be pissed?
Of course I am very pissed. You must be dreaming thinking that Battier will take us to the next level. He is an average player at best. He has good character, and hard working, and all that, but that does not win championships. We need that with talent, and Battier is not getting any better that what he has already shown. I am mad because this team needed to take a risk to see if we that move could erase all the bad moves that CD and JVG have been making in the last 3 years. This team does not have any good players other than Yao and TMac. If either of them is out, we are toasted. That is the reason this team needed to take a risk with young talent. At worst, it would have been the same we are going to get from Battier. He is not just 1 or 2 years out of college and there is a chance that he will get better. He will only get older and his play will degrade and he gets slower.
This is why we're incredibly pissed. There is no splash by getting Battier. How can any Rockets fan be happy that we got: "Smart" Shane "10/5" Battier for "Dumb" Stromile "10/5" Swift + Rudy "Potential Star/Bust" Gay
I'd say that I dislike it less than most. I think that Battier is a better player than about half of the top 10 picks will be. I also think that the trade betrays a lack of ambition for a team that's more than 1 piece away - but it wasn't totally ridiculous. Ok, that's a weak endorsement.
i think that battier will definitely increase his statiscal output in all of his categories. His scoring avg of 10 ppg will definitely go up if tmac and yao are healthy since both of them will command double teams; and shane is definitely capable of hitting open shots, something we missed last year. Battier will help us tremendously in the defensive side as well. Last year we had the undersized wesley and head as sg's defending much larger guards like kobe. This year, either mcgrady or battier will be guarding the 2's, and both are capable of doing so. Battier is a great individual defender, very underrated. He already developed a reputation as a defensive player so he'll definitely get more respect from the refs in drawing charges vs blocking fouls.
You follow basketball, right? The Rockets already have two elite players when McGrady and Yao are healthy. Since the Rockets are built around them the team needs to focus on finding players who can work with them in a team concept. That means consistency, versatility, defense, offensice efficiency and being able to knock down shots from the outside. Battier brings all of that. You need the Mario Ellie's and Bruce Bowen's to win in the NBA. There's a reason that the Knicks have all of this "talent" from the outside and can't win jack. Gay is the opposite of Battier. While he is athletically gifted, he had problems asserting himself in college, is turnover prone, has poor shot selection, can't hit from outside consistently and has defensive lapses. Do you really think the Rockets can afford to wait on him to sort out his game while Yao and Tracy are in the primes of their careers? Teams like the Knicks,Boston, Chicago, the Clippers and Portland have stockpiled a mish-mash of talent for years and it has gotten them nothing. You need superstars and good role players in the NBA to win it all. That's not going to change.
-Name a Rocket that has improved his stats since joining the Rox and our system of two stars? -Why does everyone talk about this guy as if he can shoot the three like Reggie Miller or Ray Allen? He's barely a better 3 point shooter than Wesley and Head and he's never shot many 3s to begin with.
You also need talent and athleticism. This trade did not help our team which is less athletic and talented than the Heat and more importantly the Suns, Mavs and Spurs. We might have the least athletic team in the league right now. Sorry folks, this isn't the NCAA tournament where Princeton can get to the Sweet 16. The NBA is emphasizing speed/quickness more than ever and we're not playing along.
I meant a complimentary player that has joined T-Mac and Yao. My point is that most players when they join the 2 superstar system (Yao and T-Mac) post worse numbers since they must defer to the stars.
Oh, that doesn't suppose to be an insult, it refers to a joke I place of you getting old in the other thread. But still... Yao Ming?
My problem with this deal is that I can't see Gay's downside being much less than what Battier has produced. A lot of people who are supporting the trade are trying to compare Gay to Eddie Griffin, but I think his situation is more like Charlie Villanueva (another UConn guy whose heart people have questioned). Villanueva as a rookie averaged more points, rebounds, and assists than Battier in 6 min less per game.
OK, Mike James in Milwaukee 11.4 in Houston with 2 stars 12.4 Mike James stats Jim Jackson in Sacremento 7.7 in Houston 13.0 Jim Jackson's stats Jon Barry in Atlanta 5.2 in Houston 7.0 Jon Barry's stats Both Jon Barry and particularly Jim Jackson will fill a role that is similar to Shane Battier, they got open looks, the key to all three of these players is that they can SHOOT the basketball effeciently. And with the open looks that Yao and Tmac generate for their teamates, good players thrive. DD
