To say that our rotation at the 4 was solid is just being in denial. Production was horrible from all 3 players at that time, and MoT/Griff improved over the season. What did you suggest we do? Trade Griffin? Trade MoT? KT was just NOt a good fit here. He's a decent player with a "me against the world" attitude, and I'm glad we swapped him with Posey. Posey actually brought somethign new to this team, and helped the team while staying within the limits of his role.
This is the only place I have ever seen a player criticised for trying too hard to rebound. By the way, Jason Kidd averages almost as many rebounds as Steve. I guess he's a loser too.
I wonder if Larry Smith told Yao and Mo Taylor to miss those free throws that could have beaten Sacramento. Oh, my bad, Yao couldn't have even been in the game at that point.
Iso KT against Duncan,Webber,Garnett was not beneficial for him with the rockets. KT is a player away from the ball getting rebounds and hustling. KT is not and was not meant to be a 1st or 2nd option. Rudy blew this guy up like he did Cat and to a certain extent Taylor. KT is a good role player and would be a 4th option on a decent team. On this team last yr he was a 2 or 3rd option. He's playing well and plays that role great just like malik Rose,Gary Trent,Corliss, and Fizer all fit into the same category. Good bench players , and good for the team, but not really soemone to build the team around.
I think one thing that works for KT in the Philly situation is that if Keith Van Horn is having an offnight, KT can fill in at the four and they can bring someone else at the three or if Keith Van Horn is on, KT can stay in at the three or if KT is having an off night/foul prone, they have enough flexibility to not play him much at all, or move him /others around to fit matchups. We didn't use KT at the three any in the previous year and barely started that this year, and Larry Brown's talking about letting him play three or four positions. When you have Cat and SF entrenched at the two for forty eight minutes and and nine million on one player at three, you don't..
Bingo! KT is able to slide from 3 to 4 easily with the Philly system (particularly when he's playing alongside KVH). He played very little SF here.
Yetti, You need to get off of Yao's jock. Cmon now. You are saying that Larry Smith caused Yao to lose the ROY? I guess Mr. Mean caused Yao to miss all of those 2 foot layups. I guess Mr. Mean instructed Yao to fingeroll everything when he was within dunking distance. I guess Mr. Mean told Yao "you don't need to grab more than 6 or 7 rebs a game." I guess Mr. Mean over-worked Yao in practice and that is why Yao had heavy legs and was visibly worn out by the time the season ended. Yao's playing time decreased (actually, it was only a min or so less than his season average) because he was not producing. C'mon Yetti. You are much smarter than that theory that you just prevented.
KT had a different role here and his role would have diminished had he stayed. With Yao emerging KT wasn't going to get as many touches as he used to. This is also the last year of his contract and his diminished role wouldn't have helped him score big contract wise next year. KT worked hard to improve and played some inspired basketball most of the team he was here. He nearly always put in a good effort, and now it's paying off for him. By trading KT to a team where he could showcase his skills better he has the opportunity to land a bigger FA contract now. I think it was a good trade for us and a good trade for KT.
It seems like this has been rehashed 1000 times. If you have a lottery pick rookie (whom you traded three picks for and once considered a foundation for the rebuilding process), do you trade him during his second year? If you have a guy under contract who was injured the year before and has (supposedly) little trade value, *can* you trade him and get something fair in return? Okay, then you're left with the odd man out - a guy in the last year of his contract who is clearly a good role player but has little chance of developing into a star player. 20/20 hindsight... I dislike Posey and his game, but it seems pretty clear from a basketball business standpoint that it was KT who had to go. No one offered us anything for MoT, so it was bye-bye Kenny.
The point is not that steve is a loser but that once u wrestle a rebound down . . . the idea of trying to move the ball up court is a good one. . but when the GUARD is already behind u . . . . it is contrary to the plot Rocket Rive
He does not take the same shots. His game is completely different in Philadelphia than it was in Houston. In Philly he's cutting, setting picks, passing quickly, taking higher percentage shots, and hitting the offensive glass. He looks like a completely different player. The size and quality of the forwards in the East might have something to do with his improved efficiency but there's no doubt he's doing different things in Philly than he did here.
I don't think he got traded because he wasn't a good fit. I think he got traded because, just like Posey, he had an expiring rookie contract. I think if we could have worked out a deal for MoT, we would have probably done that, but we worked out a deal with KT instead. Just business ... I don't know why KT hasta have such a chip on his shoulder against Houston.
