Yeah he lives in Houston. Posey: "I wasn't expecting this at all. I was halfway to the arena (Denver's Pepsi Center) when I talked to my agent (Mark Bartelstein), and he told me to turn around and go back home. And that's what I did."
I think what we will end up seeing for the starting lineup will be: Steve, Cat, Posey, Griffin, Yao, and Backups will be Mooch, Hawk, Rice, MoTay, Cato. For matchup purposes, I think we might see a reserve line-up of: Mooch, Rice, Tmo, MoTay, Cato. That's one big line up, it would cause fits for the other team when we go into a zone (So Rice at the 2 wouldn't be as bad.) In other words, I think that Tmo will turn out to be an extra backup PF behind MoTay, and Rice and Hawk will share the reserve spot at the 2 and 3.
If Posey doesn't learn to shoot I just don't see how he is going to fit in with the Rockets. If he can't hit the open 3 what do we need him for? I've heard many times that Posey may be the worst shooting starter in the NBA. The defense could be nice, but if the scoring doesn't come around i'm not sure it'll be worth it.
I called this trade (not having Phil involved) before season started. I've always thought of Posey's game as being similar to Artest. That is a piece of the puzzle we need. Good luck to Kenny Thomas. He was a solid contributer and played hard every time out on the court. I appreciate that. We are a little thin at the 4 now. I think TMo can and will have to play 3rd string at the 4. I hope EG and MoT can carry the load. If they do... wow... Posey... He can guard all the perimeter players that SF and CM couldn't. I'm happy about this trade, although I think maybe we shouldn't have to had to send 2nd rd pick.
I like trade... I really liked KT, but Posey is a good addition to the team. My only fear is that we have a lot of players at the 3 spot now (and Posey doesn't seem to shoot very well). At least this may lessen the playing time a little for Mobley and Francis. Here's what I think.. C - Ming/Cato PF - Griffin/MoT SF - Posey/TMo/Rice SG - Mobley/Hawkins PG - Francis/Mooch Jeez, we have way too many good players. Well, at C Cato should play almost 15 minutes a game, with Ming playing the rest. PF the starter can be interchangeable btwn Griffin and MoT, with Griffin getting a bit more time than MoT due to better defense and rebounding (however MoT did get 4 offensive rebounds in the Pacers game in 20 minutes... not bad... then again it's only one game). SF is going to be a hard problem. I don't see Rudy suddenly deciding to give Nachbar much playing time if any. And I'm fine with that, the sf position is filled quite nicely by Posey, TMo and Rice. I'm thinking these three should split the time pretty equally, although I would like to see Rice getting only about 12 minutes a game and limit him to 5 shots (all threes ) TMo and Posey give good D at the 3, which we NEED. These two should be good role players, bringing energy and D night in, night out. Not a whole lot of our O should be centered at sf. SG with Mobley and Hawkins would be very nice. Mobley is a pretty consistent shooter and scorer, and Hawkins brings great D but horrible shooting. They'd complement each other well with the majority of the minutes going to Mobley (I'm thinking about 35 minutes). This would help Mobley cut down on his time, 40+ min every night is a bit much. This goes for Francis too, although Mooch isn't a great backup, he's doable for at least 10 minutes. Plus he's not THAT bad a player. Well, that's just my opinion. I'm pretty sure ppl don't like the Nachbar not playing thing, but Rice is fading, and he'll be gone pretty soon. Then Nachbar can come in and replace Rice, but better. But that's the future, so who knows? This team is gonna be good for a long time.
I think it was a good trade even though I liked Kenny Thomas a lot. At least he's not being traded to Denver. He will definitely get some playoff experience with the 76ers.
This is a good trade. I remember in the '99 draft, I was hoping Posey would drop to us... and now he has! I have been very pleasantly surprised by Kenny Thomas, but I've never felt he fit here, or even in the Western Coference. People were afraid he'd have a bad attitude, bad work ethic, and have problems with his weight, but that hasn't happened, in fact the exact opposite. The problem is with his height. But, I think he'll do great in the Eastern Conference, which makes him a great trade for the 76'ers. We have added what we needed depth-wise at SG, and added height and defense at the SF, and he is the type of player Rudy likes, able to play multiple positions. I don't see him starting at SF, but I do expect he'll take more and more minutes from Rice, and step up if Rice get's injured. The only concern I have about Posey is whether he'll mesh well with this team, and be happy off the bench, but since he plays in Houston during the summers, and is going from a losing, rebuilding team to an extremely talented team on the rise, he should be excited. And, it wouldn't suprise me, if some talks went on when he was down here this last summer. At least, Houston knows exactly what they are getting in Posey. I guess it just took the right team to give Denver what they wanted to make the deal happen. Maybe this is what Doc already knew about. As far as losing depth at PF, I think TMo will fill the spot, especially with Posey taking away his minutes at SF. This was a missing piece, giving us greater depth at every position. Kudos to the Rocket's management again!
I share the same feelings of bittersweet emotions about this trade expressed by windandsea and some other posters. I felt similarly after trading OT and Othella. Maybe I have a soft spot for hard-working, soft-spoken PFs. Kenny has repeatedly proven his critics wrong since draft day (including me). He kept his trap shut and worked hard to really maximize his talents. Despite his predictable moves IMO, his footwork on offense continues to befuddle opponents and his quick hands and hustle help him counter the larger PFs on D. Yea, he never could pass like we would have liked, but he deserves credit for being the only inside presence on this team last year. I wish him the best in Philly. That being said, this trade was the right thing to do. We've had an obvious logjam at the 4 all year, and the 3-person committee was definitely not working. Hopefully, giving more minutes to both Eddie and MoT will help them both fill the role. Secondly, Kenny is a FA at the end of the year, and I was not to confident that we would be resigning him at the end of the year consdiering the personnel issues and $. Lastly, many of have commented this year that the one spot we would really like to shore up is a backup 2/3, especially defensively. Well, looks like 3 birds got knocked out with one stone. We relieved the logjam, got something of value in return for KT, and got a defensive-minded player who can man the 2 or 3. Posey's got talent. He's quick, athletic, and aggressive. I'm not too worried about his poor shooting % because I'm expecting Stevie, Cat, EG/MoT, and Yao to carry the burden offensively. If anything, it helps to have a player who does not need the ball on that end so we can get these guys more touches. I hope the pace and the passing will pick up a bit now that Kenny does not have to use a lot of clock to make his one-on-one moves. I'm not sure we could have gotten anything more for KT, so I'm fine with the timing. It'll give JP time to work his way into the team and MoT and Eddie time to sort out the situation at the 4. The deal brings some nice balance to the team and fills one of the few glaring holes we had. I really like the way the team is coming together for this season and the future. Nice job Rudy and CD. Go Rockets!
Yes MoT tries when he's <i>on</i> the court but that will never be enough. I never thought I would say this but here it comes. It's the pot. He doesn't seem to have the desire to learn rebounding and defensive fundamentals. Low desire is direct side effects of chronic THC usage. I was hoping some more DNPs would have made him reevaluate things. Who knows, maybe TMo can take his minutes.
i'm just scared of how the 76ers could be with thomas now. i mean they gave up crap to get him and he would be a really nice fit for their team. now to see if they mesh and if thomas ever learns to pass the ball to the center....
this is a great trade. i've been a big kenny thomas supporter and i wish him the best in phili, but posey is what this team needs more especially with the emergance of yao. the only time i've followed him is during rocket's games but i've liked his hustle and defense. as a role player on offense as opposed to the star in denver there's no reason to not see his fg% increase. as far as boki is concerned, i don't think this really effects him. with rice gone after next season, boki could still be our starting 3 with posey backing up him and mobley. on paper and potential-wise it looks very exciting.
I love this trade. It gives us a true athletic 3 who can produce. If I'm not mistaken, he already has a triple double this season. It also unclogs our 4 spot and gives Eddie a chance to play without looking over his shoulder as much.
I'd have to agree 100% with what Greg M said about the effects of the drugs on Maurice Taylor. This is just my opinion ok, or my observation. Maurice Taylor seems disoriented. Unlike Griffin or Morris who are very active and feisty when fighting for the rebound. Did you you see that follow-up dunk by Terence Morris after a missed jumper by Francis? Or Griffin's block that he recovered and passed to Francis for a layup? Taylor- it seems to me, is still somewhat under sedation. I'm not worried about Yao Ming, because he's looks like a very smart and alert player on the floor. Kenny Thomas was a very hard working guy. The Sixers really gained a great player. I'd actually like to keep Taylor, if he didn't seem so phlegmatic or depressed. Again, I'd like to say, these things I've said are just opinions, and not attacks on Maurice Taylor. Rudy T and CD can trade for and sign any player, as long as they're not on drugs.
I agree with everything you said except this. I think you are underestimating Posey's defense. Hawkins, whose forte is certainly defense, had a nice spurt when he got some extended minutes earlier in the season but he is in no way the calibur of player that Posey is. I think this trade also tells us that Mo will ride out the rest of his contract on the bench (which is probably a good thing since he can't jump over an envelope). Eddie...the time is now!
u guys know what? one nuggets is going to wear lucky suit to get the #1 pick in June. Congra to get posey. I feel now it may be possible to get the rings this season, coz now we have strong backcourt, frontcourt and chemistry. it won't surprise me if we can win.
I lived in ABQ when Kenny Thomas played for the Lobos and I enjoyed having him on the team, but I think Posey is a better fit. We had 3 PF's who were all undersized or played like they were undersized and they had fairly equal talent. Good trades are generally made when you have too many of one thing and not enough of something else. I would have preferred trading Taylor, but the reasons I would like to get rid of him are the same reasons they probably did not have many takers. Posey is different from the G's we have now. I would not say he is better than Thomas, but if he can play defense at the SG/SF, that has been something we have been missing. This, plus team chemistry, all adds up to the fact that I like the trade. On a separate note, it will be interesting to see how Thomas plays with Van Horn. They had some epic battles in college.
