It may be wishful thinking on my part but perhaps the Rockets made the Gay/Battiey deal knowing that Mike James would sign for full MLE. (How do we get him to sign? Offer him 4 years with a team option. Actually, we might have to offer him 5 years. ugh). If they had a commitment from James, the Battier trade makes a lot of sense. It can be percieved as the "final important piece". I would also bring back bogans to be our 5-10 mpg defensive stopper at the sg position. An important piece. Here's our team: James, Tmac, Battier, Jho, Yao Alston, Head, Novak, Hayes, Mutumbo Bowen, Bogans Against the spurs, James and Head are the ones quick enough to stay close to Parker. Tmac and bogans can slow down Ginobli. duncan remains a huge matchup problem, but only if he plays pf. If he's center, Yao and Mutumbo can slow him. but, if he plays PF, the spurs have problems because Yao would be guarded by Mohammed and Duncan would have to come out on Battier (who can't be any more useless defending the 4 than Howard. ) Againt Dallas, you have to match up with the Terry and Harris combo. James and head would cover those two, with bogans perhaps entering the defensive picture. Howard and Stackhouse would primarily guarded by Tmac and Battier. Dirk would be defended by committee, Tmac, Battier, Jho, etc. Against Phx, James and Head would chase Nash and barbosa. Diaw, tim Thomas and Marion would be chased byTmac and Battier. Yao and Amare would fight to the death. On the offensive side of the ball, I hope to see some modified small ball, with Tmac, Battier, or Novak playing pf to stretch defenses and give Yao space to operate. If we can bring in James and Bogans, I think our offseason is done. (I'd like to see a deal for Reggie Evans.)
Bogans is a FA so there's a chance we might not resign him. As much as a MJ signing would make the offseason better, I think are doomed from the beginning if we go into the season w/ Juwan Howard and Chuck Hayes as our PFs.
I think we'd still need to find a big body. Ideally a guy that can be an upgrade at PF and also slide over to backup at C. Melvin Ely would be good. But I'm not sure if he's willing to do a sign and trade for 4.2 million to fit under our TE or what Charlotte would want for him. And I've really got my eye on a utility defender like Jared Jeffries. But once again, we don't have a whole lot of money or assets after we use up the MLE.
Can we get Zach Randolph???? He is a 20-10 guy with good range for a PF. I dont know his contract so i dont know if it is possible. Plus i hear Portland doesnt want him. Can someone start a thread about this for me cuz i cant since im a rookie and CLUTCH WONT LET ME FOR SOME REASON!!!
I think the Rockets are going to acquire Mike James, It just seems inevitable with all thats happend and is going on.
Do you really want to know his contract? Do you? Do you really? $12,000,000 $13,333,333 $14,666,666 $16,000,000 $17,333,333 No need for a thread.
I don't feel the Rockets need another big unless that guy can shoot 3's. I'd like a Zaza trade. He plays PF/C, good rebounder, shotblocker. The TE could work if they re-sign Harrington otherwise Rockets can offer Alston as everyone likes to say they need a PG.
for what its worth cd was on talking about the period of free agency that starts tonight and said we are pretty set in the front court but thin in the backcourt and will be looking toward a 2 guard and a backup 1. I get the sense that a starting 2 guard is their top priority right now.
Have you seen our front line lately. Juwan, Deke, and Hayes. That right there is an embarassment of poverty. Even if Battier can play crunch time PF minutes, we still need another big for depth and matchup purposes.
Surely you are not serious, Bogans couldn't slow down a turtle. The team the brilliant Rockets management team have assembled is not a threat to any of the elite teams. First round exit at best. James isn't here and would make a significant difference. What the Rockets need is a young explosive athletic SF or SG who can light in up from mid-range and take it strong to the basket. Wait, they had one, but they have him away for a bowl of fruit. And now, every time the Rockets play Memphis it will be Gay Day.
I have to say if Juwan is going to be STILL be our starting PF there is no hope for this team and JVG has to go. Juwan could be an excellent backup 4 and something like a 7th or 8th man but at this point it's just sad that he's still the starting PF. Even if the Rockets get James with the MLE, the bigs rotation after Yao is pathetic. I mean if Yao misses like 25 games again..............this team could be as bad as bad can get with that upfront rotation.
Actually I get the sense that McGrady's sliding back to the two. I'd be shocked if they brought Battier in to play off the bench. Battier/TMac as 3/2 beats McGrady/(name your free agent SG at the MLE). Then you bring in Mike James as your sixth man.
I always thought that Marc Jackson would be a good fit here. We need a bruiser in the lane and we can have him cheap. a veteran the JVG loves
I disagree about Bogans. He is a lousy shooter but plays strong man defense. You're so ticked about the trade that you're not seeing straight. This coming year, we're playing for the 4 seed. If Yao and Tmac are healthy, who is stopping us from that goal? No, we're not fantastic, but we can beat out Memphis, Denver, LAL and LAC. We are first round exit at best? You lose credibility when you argue to the extreme. Consider that two years ago, we pushed Dallas to game 7 with a crap team. We started Rybo for crying out loud. Yao played fine, but was not as good a player. Sura was hobbling around out there. We would have won that series with just Juwon Freaking Howard. Compare Sura/Wesley/Tmac/Rybo/Yao/James/Barry/Mutumbo to James/Tmac/Battier/Howard/Yao/Alston/Head/Hayes/Mutumbo. It's not close.
• I think it's clear that the Battier trade was made for what Battier can bring to the PF position as a "combo-forward" as we enter this new era in the NBA. More and more swingmen are playing at the F spots with just one big guy. Now, how we match up with Duncan/Brand, that's tough. I guess we'll see. On the other hand, the Spurs moved Rasho so dont be suprised to see more Duncan at C and someone like Horry at PF. • Tmac is not moving back to the 2. He is staying at 3. • The Rockets still need to get an athletic 2/3, someone with length. • The Rockets also need to look for a 4/5. I am talking about someone that can block shots. I am assuming this is Deke's last year. With Swift gone we have no shot blocking. We need someone that can play backup 5 and block shots as well as play some 4 minutes against taller players.
You 're right! But when he plays for Dallas, he won 't neither! Unless, Jason Terry leaves but I doubt that.
