If the Rockets/Morey wants to upgrade the PF spot, who do they choose?

While most of this board is enamored with getting Chris Bosh because of various reasons, I'm wondering if we, as fans, are leaving some stones left unturned. Just like the Kyle Lowry trade two years ago and the Kevin Martin trade this year, Morey makes moves that are under the radar to us and I think this summer would be no different. I want to present Player X as another option that could be available. Keep in mind, Player X is NOT the first option on his team but has had a solid career numbers as a 2nd option.

Chris Bosh 09/10 season:-----------Player X 09/10 season:

PPG: 24 ---------------------------PPG: 14.6
RPG: 10.8--------------------------RPG: 10.2
BPG: 1-----------------------------BPG: .5
APG: 2.4---------------------------APG: 2.1
PER: 25----------------------------PER: 18
TS%: 59.2%-----------------------TS%: 58.5%
FG%: 51.8%-----------------------FG%: 47.2%
FT%: 79.7%-----------------------FT%: 79.8%

Scoring:

Bosh clearly has the upper hand in this comparison, averaging almost 10 more points per game than Player X. However, Bosh averaged 16.5 field goal attempts per game while Player X took few shots at 11.3 per game.

Bosh also trumps this player at the free throw line as well. Despite having a dead even shooting % at the charity stripe, Bosh averages 8.4 free throws, making 6.7, while Player X has a dismal average of 2.7 a game, making 2.1.

So if Bosh can convert more field goals and get to the line at a much higher rate, what does Player X bring to the table that Bosh can't?

Bosh shot 36% from behind the 3-point line last year on 22 total attempts. Player X, meanwhile, shot 38.4% from behind the arc, making a 128 treys, or roughly 2 3s per game. In my PERSONAL opinion, having a power forward that doubles as a perimeter threat only makes the Rockets team more dangerous if Yao can come back and regain his dominance in the post. If anything, having Player X on this team gives the team a make up similar to the 94-95 Rockets (SIMILAR, NOT EXACTLY THE SAME) when Horry played extensive minutes at the power forward spot in the Playoffs, giving Houston an in-and-out offense that was hard to defend.

While there's no denial from me that Bosh is a very good scorer, having a power forward that can score at a 53% clip inside the 3 point arc and almost 40% from behind it for his career benefits Yao much much more. Dragging a Tim Duncan or a Pau Gasol out of their comfort zone on defense (i.e. the paint) leaves Yao down low to operate.

"But the guy won't get rebounds and that's what we need from our power forward position since Yao alone can't win the rebounding battle every night. Him shooting 3s will not allow him to get rebounds"

Rebounding:

As you can see from the above stats, Bosh's and Player X's rebounding average are pretty much the same. In fact, their offensive rebounding average and their defensive rebounding average are close enough to the point where it won't have any merits to dissect.

Of course, to try and "pump up" Player X, I could point out that his defensive rebounding percentage (which is defined as "Defensive rebound percentage is an estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while he was on the floor") was tops in the league last year and currently has the 7th best career defensive rebounding percentage among all active players, behind Howard, Duncan, Boozer, Ben Wallace, and Kevin Garnett.

So, in essence, Player X's ability to shoot the 3 does not take away from his ability to get rebounds. This is something vital because there are power forwards out there that can shoot 3s but can't rebound or can rebound but can't shoot from beyond 15 feet. A player that has both attributes is a rare thing to have.

Defense:

While there are no statistical measures for defense, we can look at Bill James' decent measure of defense through Defensive Win Shares. Here's a snippet of how this is calculated:

So how does Player X stack up against Chris Bosh, a player some on this board has given credit to be a "decent defensive player" for no reason other than his height and/or athleticism.

Chris Bosh's DWS for 09/10: 1.7
Player X's DWS for 09/10: 3.7

To be fair, Bosh's DWS for last season was 3.1 and Player X's was 3.4. This category ISN'T meant to deride or criticize Bosh's defense (or lack thereof) but to show that Player X is a more than capable defender. To put this statistic into perspective, here are other Power Forward DWS numbers for this year:

Amare Stoudemire: 2.5
Dirk Nowitzki: 3.9
Al Jefferson: 2.3
Tim Duncan: 4.5
Joakim Noah: 3.5
Luis Scola: 3.0
Carlos Boozer: 4.6
Pau Gasol: 4.2

Here is Player X's scouting report from Draft Express for his current play in the NBA :

To be fair, here's Bosh's

Player X DEFINITELY does not have the athleticism and quickness Bosh has but as long as he's quick enough to stay with Dirk, Boozer, Gasol and Duncan, then he can't be considered a liability.

Efficiency:

True shooting percentage for both players are separated by less than a % point. This isn't a "cherry picking" comparison where Player X shoots only 5-6 times a game thereby giving him a high TS%. Player X averaged 12.5 attempts this season. Keep in mind, again, that despite having a hair lower TS%, Player X did this while shooting over 300 3 pointers. Heck, last season Player X had a TS% of 61% while taking 351 3s.

Bosh had a monster season this year and his PER shows it. Being the main focal point of a team's offense I would expect him to have a PER higher than 20. Player X, on the other hand, has never had a PER higher than 18 and has been around that same number for the past 3 seasons. Based on Hollinger's definition, a player with an 18 PER is considered to be a "solid 2nd option".

So why waste my time on a player that can only max out as a "solid 2nd option" when there's superstars available?

1. Availability. The team that Player X is currently playing for is no where near contending status in its conference and would benefit from moving Player X for expiring contracts, draft picks, and maybe a young power forward in Jordan Hill. Heck, Player X might even be available without having to give up Hill at all. Realistically, by trading Jared Jeffries' and David Andersen's expiring contracts, our #14 this year, and either Knicks' pick that offer would be more than enough to give Player X's current team pieces to rebuild through the 2011 Free Agency and through the draft.

2. Contract obligation. As fun as it is to throw out a 7 year deal at max money for Bosh, obtaining Player X doesn't require a long term commitment. Player X's contract situation is that he's locked into next season for roughly $12 million and that would be his last season under contract. In other words, his contract expires and this gives the Rockets and Morey more options. If Player X contributes and helps put the Rockets in a position to contend, great. If Player X can't help the Rockets early on, he becomes a $12 million trade asset come February 2011 during the trade deadline. Which leads to:

3. Flexibility. We all know that Morey and Les wants to win ASAP (i.e. now) and getting Bosh seems to be the best way to do that but Morey also has to look at the bigger picture--the possibility that Yao may or may not be the same player once he returns. I'm NOT saying that the Rockets won't re-sign Yao when his contract expires (the additional revenue that comes with having Yao might be too much for Les to give up), but this gives the Rockets a chance to evaluate how this season's team can integrate Yao back into the lineup as well as adding a solid player into the lineup that fits with what Adelman's current offense (spacing, movement, and perimeter shooting) needs. After all, when was the last time a team made an offseason acquisition for an All-Star player and win it all the next season? That was when the Celtics added two All-Star players couple of seasons back with their own All-Star to form a three-headed monster, something that most teams can never have.

Of course there are drawbacks.

1. He's 30. Though his PER has actually increase the past 3 seasons, age isn't a strength here by any means. This ultimately means that the Rockets, if they decide to re-sign Player X after next season, can only commit to this player for another few years before the inevitable decline comes.

2. He's not athletic. With most of Player X's skills focused on perimeter shooting and the midrange game, he's definitely not a player that will be jumping up for alleys or wow us over with highlight reel plays.


This isn't a thread meant to say Player X is a better player than Bosh but rather just a look on what other options are out there that we could look at.

 

I'd like for you to give me some information on how Troy Murphy, aka Player X, is a clone of David Andersen

 

All I asked was for you to tell me how Troy Murphy and David Andersen are the same players. Your sarcasm just further proves that you rather talk out of your ass than to try and make a logical argument.

 

Again, I never said Bosh wasn't better than Murphy. I just think that a player with Murphy's skillset can be a great Plan B, or rather, a more realistic plan.

As far as power forwards like Josh Smith and Gerald Wallace, sure they'll pose a problem but I honestly don't see Atlanta or Charlotte as being someone we could meet in the NBA Finals any time soon. Every contending team has a power forward that are hardly ever considered athletic freaks

Nowitzki
Gasol
Duncan
Stoudemire (who could be considered as an athletic freak but he's not deploying it in the same manner as a Josh Smith)
Garnett

If anything, having the opposing team's power forward come out to the 3 point line leaves their center in a position to defend Yao by himself. Shooters at the 1 (Brooks), 2 (Martin), 3 (Budinger or the sideline 3 from Battier or Ariza), and the 4 forces the opponents' hand on how they can defend Houston. And this isn't meant to replicate the Orlando Magic team because we have a better offensive player at center, our point guard and shooting guard can penetrate, and our power forwards can rebound.

 

Robin Lopez was a very effective player for the Suns during the regular season before he went down with that back injury. If anything, he surprised me with his defensive abilities in the NBA and I think he can be a pretty good center for years to come. Who knew Sideshow Bob could be a good basketball player?

 

I forgot about the ORIGINAL Sideshow Bob lol