Praise the lord...A veteran has come to the Rockets, that isnt out of shape nor will he be hobbling to the press table to hold up his jersey.
Couldn't agree more... The Sacramento Queens are going to miss his offense with that sorry bench they have. That bench is depleted mann.
This has been a perfect offseason. The Rockets did just what they needed to do. They added solid role players, and a tougher coach. This team is easily playoff-bound
Its been said in the past that he had an attitude problem of some sort, but just about every talking head I have read or seen so far say that he seems to have gotten over those past things. (Excuse me if Im not sure what issues they were referring to, maybe someone else can clarify) All that has been said so far is that he is strong, has a good postup game especially when you consider his size, and is said to be a tenecious defender and rebounder. He has averaged close to 50% for his career(in the high 40's somewhere) Also, he is still in good shape. Look at the guys pic, he is built. The biggest thing to me is that he has real playoff experience, and seems to step up his game in the playoffs. Never underestimate the need for veteran influence on a relatively young team. Pike, AG and JJ provide that. Even tho Im am kinda leaning towards thinkin we gave up to much to Utah, overall I think we did ok today.
I've become obsolete lately. There's usually so much negativity surrounding the team that I no longer serve that purpose. But at least I know I'm the guy that started it all! Turn forever!!
JJ seems like a great signing talent wise, but like some of the other posters i'm REALLY curious why he has been passed around the league so much (something like 7 teams in 6 years at one point?). i've seen him play and have always loved his game, but the journeyman thing seems a bit too weird for a guy of his caliber. anyone with some real insight????
It blows my mind how it seems like everybody is constantly complaining about how steve francis and cuttino mobley are ball hogs that make stupid decisions and have low basketball IQ's but then so many of those same people want us to sign stephen jackson. he's selfish, cocky, turn over prone, sloppy and stupid. SI.com has an article about Stephen Jackson right now about how it's amazing that a starter on the championship team is still out there available, but what's ironic about the article is that they really don't say very much about him that I'd say is positive. It's kind of funny. the article is at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/writers/marty_burns/09/24/jackson/index.html some of my favorite quotes? "So maybe the 25-year-old basketball nomad, still coming into his own as an NBA player, sometimes treated the rock like it was laced with plutonium." self explanatory. "Although Popovich wasn't thrilled with Jackson's penchant for turnovers and uneven play, he was willing to reward him for his contributions. The Spurs even offered Jackson, who made $700,000 a year ago, a three-year deal worth around $10 million, according to sources." turnovers and uneven play. we need that. we also need a guy who would turn down 10 million for three years on the championship team. Nevermind that probably has more to do with Fegan and the fact that Stephen Jackson is just stupid and cocky enough to believe Fegan when he assures him he's worth more. I really think if he'd have signed that deal he could have looked pretty good hiding in Timmy's shadow for three years and inked a big deal somewhere at age 28. Now he'll be lucky to sign for the mid-level exception, ANYWHERE. Much less the defending champs. "For a team that had been burned badly a few years before by another playoff hero named Jackson -- guard Jaren Jackson, who got a three-year $10 million contract and was never heard from again -- it was a significant risk for the Spurs. " a 3 year 10 million dollar deal is pretty much nothing for a starter and they call it a signifigant risk for the spurs. and finally: ""Stephen was a significant contributor to our championship run," Spurs GM R.C. Buford said. "He had a scorer's mentality ... and an edge that our team fed off." An edge that a team can feed off is nice but I don't really think we need a fourth or fifth offensive option on our team to be known for turn overs, uneven play and a scorers mentality. He's a great athlete, but we've got a few of those. I'm definitely far more excited about Jim Jackson. I'd actually be cussing if Stephen Jackson was signed for anything more than the 1.5 million exception. Jim Jackson has been a solid performer in ten different uniforms. Stephen Jackson has looked fairly good playing in the shadow of Tim Duncan. We'll see if he looks anywhere near as good with out Timmy soon enough I'm sure. I'm not optimistic. I really think he was the weak link in the Spurs line up.
The more I look at where the Rockets stands, the happier I am. C: Yao/ Cato/ Amaechi PF: EG/ MoT SF: JJ/ AG/ Nachbar SG: Cat/ Pike PG: Francis/ Mooch/ Wilks We are under cap with a $7 mil trade exception. We can keep that group and compete or we can package Cato, EG, MoT, or Cat with the trade exception in many different ways to get a major star "if we want" !! Amaechi makes Cato expendable. JJ, AG, Pike can take over at the 2 and 3 if need be. Either EG or MoT can be shipped. Wilks will push Mooch back in shape or be shipped. JVG holds all the cards!!! The man has not coached a minute on the court and he already righted this ship!!
I forgot to mention that: Pike, A. Griffin, Jackson, Amaechi are all solid guys, professionals on the court and outstanding citizens off the court. The younger players on the team now have people they can look up to and become better persons themselves!
This is a good move. I was concerned after Posey was let go. This willl ease my concern there. Some were concerned about veteran leadership, it seems to be in place now with the moves made this off-season.
I think I have changed my mind. I see many benefits in this Trade. Add JJ is the meat [Thought he is only associated with the trade] Ameechi is not *ss Horrible Just not great I don't see him as an upgrade from Collier I still think Collier has Potential - He is about what Ameechi is now [NOW 2 Yrs ago in Orlando. . . . ] Rocket River
. the 6.5 mill exception should really come handy during thje trade period in the middel of the season. say this team aint performing like it should, it would give the ROX more options to pick an choose
Jim Jackson has had a bit of a rep as a bad locker room influence which seems to have contributed to his history of being traded despite being such a skilled and well-balanced player. It may be because he is aloof (a trait players hate) or it may be more.
Wow, I too was wondering why there were so many users on last night (damn MBA classes ). In reading through this monster thread, I read many good and salient things, but the best thing about the Rice for Amaechi trade is what NIKEstrad touched on...the trade exception and specifically getting it now as that will be a major bargaining chip for us in the peak time of FA for the next off-season. Other than that, there is nothing excited to get about with Amaechi other than he could be the first British guy to ever play for the Rockets. As for Jimmy Jackson, I am pleased that we got it him as he is a major upgrade over Glen Rice who never panned out because of injuries and being over the hill to begin with. The only thing that concerns me with Jackson is that he has bounced around with more teams in the last 5 years than a ping pong ball. I know that I was one of the biggest opponents of Van Gundy coming here (I really wanted Larry Brown), but I have warmed up to Gumby coaching this team, and I feel confident that he will get something out of JJ where maybe others have failed. Now, the next big thing that I wonder is what several others have pontificated on: will this lead to a major deal shortly involving Mobley, Cato, etc or is the team set for this season? Personally, I would like to still see us pick up a big guard type who can handle the ball so Francis can play more off the ball and it would sure be nice to get a better PF, well check that, an enforcer type compared to Taylor and EG. Getting JJ also tells me that Van Gundy, CD, etc still feel that Nachbar is far from being ready to start in this league. Of the off-season acquisitions that the Rockets made, here is what I grade them at with the main factor being the impact that they will make on this year's squad: Malick Badiane - Incomplete - don't see how I can grade him if he is not supposed to play until a couple of seasons down the road (or at least that is the impression I had about him) Eric Piatkowski - B+ - has always been one of my favorite underrated bench guys - lights out shooter and seems to be a good team guy, finally is able to exit the Clip Joint Adrian Griffin - B+ - another solid pickup mainly because every team needs a strong backup at the 2 that can play defense and I feel that AG is one of the best for that role, sorta like a poor man's T.R. Dunn Jim Jackson - A- - significant upgrade over Rice and upgrade (although not significant) over Posey at the 3. There are always gonna be questions about JJ's attitude but as mentioned earlier, I think JVG can handle him and get more out of him than most. John Amaechi - C - this is generous because the guy really sucks, but we don't need him to be a starting C or even a backup, just someone to be a 12th man or better yet, the part that helped facilitate us getting that trade exception.
