Could the fact that Hudson decided to sign on the same day that we got Ward and Sura be anything more than coincidental? Hudson seemed to be an awesome addition to our back court and seems to be that there may have been some interest from Houston towards Hudson, but maybe he wanted more money than Houston was willing to offer. Anybody in the know?
As the Chronicle put it, it's two for one, isn' it? Hudson is getting paid more than Ward+Sura combined; and with a longer contact. For those reasons I think Rockets is better off with the deal they have now.
I agree. The other Chronicle article also said that they wanted maturity and experience, which Hudson lacks both of. I'm not big fans of either Ward or Sura, but they are good TEAM guys who will contribute something positive every time they are on the court while Hudson is a streaky player who is in the mold of a Bobby Jackson, coming off the bench as a scoring punch.
Ditto. The pros of Sura/Ward far outweight those of Hudson. With Sura/Ward, the Rockets gain some good depth, experience and flexibility.
Was Houston trying to get Hudson and decided that he just wanted too much? Considering that our two signings and Hudson's signing was on the same day, did Houston just decide to pick up these two for the price of one instead of throwing a lot of money his way? I mean did Houston have a real chance at getting Hudson?
Even so, I'm not sure it's wise to get two bench players when you could have a starter. If we could have gotten Hudson for 3 years, with a team option on the 4th, at the combined salaries of Sura and Ward, we should have done that, IMO. It may not be a good parallel, but I remember a lot of folks saying that Pike/AG would do a nice job of replacing Posey. That said, I don't think we had a real chance to get THud, and that he was using the threat of signing with other teams as leverage in his contract negotiations.
hudson is also injury prone, wanted much more, can't play defense, he is a poor rebounder, and he is small.
robbie is right. THud hasn't played a full year in some time, and 5 years is way too long a contract for him.
Deja Vu. This is the same rationale that people used last year when they decided that the combination of Eric Piatkowski and Adrian Griffin was better than James Posey. Bobby Sura is a streaky player who will never be better than below average. He can only strive to be mediocre. Charlie Ward is a joke. He's the equivalent of Mark Jackson. Hudson isn't the best or most consistent player and he was injured last year. However, he has much more talent and potential than either of the players we signed. When will people understand that more does not equal better.
Way to be pessimistic. There is one major difference between these four players. There was never really much playing time for them behind Francis, Mobley and Jackson. I think Van Gundy might have gotten them so that he had some extra insurance in case Jimmy J didn't work out. They never really got much playing time to do anything. The difference with Ward and Sura is they will have plenty of time to play right off because there is no Steve Francis to play behind. In addition, Van Gundy is notorious for having a short rotation. So if you fit into the Van Gundy offense and play hard you get playing time, otherwise you ride the pine..
Sorry RIET, that rationale just doesn't work. When will certain other people realize that in some cases, "more talent and potential" does not equal better for the situation. I'll agree that Hudson has more talent and potential. Ward is better-suited to run this team, run this offense, and remain in the background while being effective. Sura is better-suited on this team to back up 3 positions, provide size at the point when he is at that spot, and provide great energy off the bench. Hudson on this team would be a disaster. Lack of experience, a need to shoot too often, not all that great a defensive player...I'll take the steady performer at a lower price for less years when he fits in better. (yeah I know Sura might start at point...I hope not. But if he does, that'll work okay..)
Couldn't agree more. If we could have gotten Hudson for what we paid for Sura and Ward (combined), it would have been a better investment. That said, I don't think we had a real shot at THud. I get the feeling he was using us as leverage to get the Wolves to hurry up with a deal.
im not trying to sound like an idiot, but what exactly makes hudson that much better than a player like lue? lue can play good defense but hudson is better offensively. both are similar rebounding and with their assist to turnover ratio. lue is a better career 3pt shooter and a better shooter from the field for his career. in fact lue has been extremely consistent from the field for his career. finally, both are around the same height. opinions?
I agree with you in principal, and of course regrading the Posey situation last year we were b****ing about (rightfully based on Pike/AG's performance). In this situation I do prefer Sura and Ward over THud or DFish at full MLE price. I don't think THud is the best fit (good shooter, yes, but not really a disciplined 1 or good defender) and I think Dfish is on a rapid decline. Now Brent Barry for the full MLE, Damon Jones for half the MLE (we could still add Ward) or Mike James (who seems to fit all criteria--solid defender, good 3 ball, disciplined game within an offense) for what Sura signed for--I like all those deals better. Not a ton better, but since definetly Barry is better than Sura, and James and Jones--are younger and probably better too (certainly more consistent/efficient), I would have gone with them instead. It seems we tried to cover our based with the MLE (combo guard to back-up both spots, vet pure 1 we hope has some game left), but missed on significantly better players (Barry) and/or those slightly better and with more upside and better medium/long range potential (James/Jones). Of course barry may not have been our fault, but I got to believe missing on James and Jones were.
Like I said, it's the same argument as last year. Piatkowski can play 2 positions, provide consistent outside shooting, get more open looks for Francis and Yao. A. Griffin is a tough defensive minded SF who can bring energy off the bench and provide the same defense as Posey blah blah blah.... Sura is the exact player everyone claimed they did not want - a combo guard who likes to jack up ill-advised shots. Hudson is a similiar but more talented player. He's not the best solution but he's like a Darrell Armstrong-type who made himself better later in his career. There's a reason Minnesota wanted to keep him and offerred him 5 years. Ward is 33 years old and even in his best years, was decidedly mediocre. At this point, is he better than Tyronn Lue? Highly doubtful. I'm not saying Hudson wouldve been the best choice or even that he was available. I just don't understand why people are so impressed when we get 2 less talented players for the same price as 1 better, younger player. Megan Manfull and her 2 for 1 comment is puzzling. 2 PG's for the price of 1? In NBA math, two 1/2 PG's does not equal 1. And what happened to our wunderkind solutions last year? After only 1 illustrious season, they were ready to be shipped out for Kevin Ollie (now Dikembe Mutombo) and pretty soon for a bag of stale chips.
Man, you are dense. forget what cc.net said, the rationale CD used was Eric P and Jim Jackson were better than James Posey. Pike and Jim made up the MLE that Posey wanted all by himself. Adrain Griffin was acquired via a minimum player salary...a freebie. When you consider that either Pike will get his shooting touch back, or will be traded for Mutombo (for instance, which I think is silly), then tell me again why letting Posey go for JJ and Pike (with his shot back) or JJ and Mutombo, is not good? get off this Pike and Griffin thing. Griffin was under a different exception. btw: you were flat out wrong that we'd learn to not like JJ. hehe. be a man and admit it.
When did you start posting again??? I would trade JJ and Piatkowski for Posey in a second. In 2 seasons, we'll have to replace JJ as a starter while Posey will still have several good years left. We'll be lucky if JJ can rack up 30+ minutes/game again (which was was too much as Van Gundy himself admitted). Isn't it obvious that Piatwkoski was a total bust? Kevin Ollie? Mutombo? They are doing their best to trade him and you know it. As far as these signings, Charlie Ward for 3 years seems foolish. Id much rather re-sign Lue for the same or slightly more $$. Since you're back, I'll admit that JJ was more productive than I thought if you admit that I've been right about everything else: 1. Larry Brown shouldve been our #1 choice no matter what the $$ 2. Piatkowski was a dud signing 3. A. Griffin was trash 4. We shouldve kept Posey who would be a perfect fit on this current Rockets team.
