New Yorker, Your theory on roster moves is very similar to Scott Layden's. That's not a good thing. KT is a very good player. He's not poison, he's just in a bad situation where he's the odd man out. Once he's traded, and hopefully given minutes, he will show what he's capable of.
Getting screwed is a relative term of course. To clarify, his market value, after last season, was probably at its peak due the opportunties he had and ran with due to our injuries. If it can be assumed that his numbers this year will decline from last year (highly likely), then simple economics tell you his market value at the end of this season wont be what it was at the end of last season.
I have never been a huge KT fan. I do admire his hard work and work ethic, but he is just too undersized to play PF and not quick enough to play SF. He is much like a poor man's Corliss Williamson, and I think the Rokets should explore trading him.
Its pretty much what I've been saying all along. kenny is a great off the bench energy Malik Rose,Corliss Williamson,Gary Trent type of player. The difference between him and the other are that he's on a team that is loaded at the spot,he got hurt and he's in a contract yr. Right now he's pressing and you can see it because numbers gets you a good contract.If Kenny put up 8pts 7 rebs and 4asst as opposed to 4pts 7 rebs and 6 asst, which do you think he will get better money from even though they are roughly the same numbers. This past summer offered a glimpse of things to come in free agency. Lee Nailon avg about 15 or 16 pts in Mashburns absence and he was left out to dry because the position he was in was loaded and he needs time to get money. He's in a good situation now, but look how long it took for him to find a team. I said it before that if they Rockets could have traded Taylor and Thomas for Hill and a future pick, it would have benefitted both teams. Hill could have backed up Griffin and Cleveland would have had a little experience to go along with the young team. Addition by subtraction.
I don't think so, if KT had any value, teams would be making offers to get a player under contract for only 1.5 million. I think he's a quality back up but that's about it. He may work hard, but he also expects to be treated like a star. Fact is, if his numbers decline, it's his own fault. If he plays well, he'll get the minutes. If Griffen, Rice, Mo T, and Nachbar all end up ahead of him in the rotation, well, I think that shows he never really was that valuable. I mean, so he looked good on a team that one 20-something games. What does that mean? Nothing.
Actually it's not a good point. It makes me a one time b****er and it makes these other chronic bithers. BIG difference.
Sane, Ive seen you state repeatedly that the Rockets should trade KT. Just curious, what exactly do you expect to get for him in a trade that would put this team in a different position than they are in? If you trade KT for another forward, that doesnt really ease the glut of players at the 3/4 positions which seems to be your reason for wanting to move him. Also, when everyone is healthy, Hawkins will probably see time at backup 2 guard to help control Cuttino's minutes a bit. The only way you could conceivably benefit this team if you can trade KT for a physical PF/C type that can rebound and defend. Problem is, those types are difficult to acquire and teams that have them usually dont let them go at a small price. Thus, please fill me in on a player you could logically acquire for KT that would fill a hole on this team and benefit them this season.
MManal, Sane wants to trade Kenny for a future #1. Like anyone with lottery aspirations makes trades like that without the pick being protected. And if it is protected, then who knows when we will get it and in what position. So, he wants to trade Kenny for a risky pick that he doesn't know what year it will be or what position. That's what I've gathered from Sane.
Inch for inch the man can ball with the best of 'em. I still believe that he could do for the Rox what Corliss did for the Pistons last year, and Marshall appears to be doing for the Bulls this year.
If you b**** about being a one-time b****er and all the other b****ers being bigger b****ers... Seriously, if you have a problem with KT on this team you've got even bigger problems you need to have checked out.
Ok, so Sane wants to trade KT for a future draft pick. Is this correct Sane? Realisitically, we would be looking at a mid to late first round pick at some point in the future. I seriously doubt a lottery team is going to hand over an unprotected #1 this summer for KT. That being said, the odds of finding a player that becomes even a regular rotation player in the NBA drop substantially when you start picking in the mid to late first round. Also, with this type of trade, you have no idea when that player will come and how long it would take him to develop even if he does. The Rockets main goal this season is to make the playoffs. They are going into a new arena and need to really start winning more now and be in a stronger position selling tickets and suites in the new arena. I fail to understand how a future pick which is a crapshoot can help them make the playoffs this year. Also, can you guarantee me that everyone will stay healthy throughout the season esp Rice who seems to tweak his knee at the drop of a hat? Dont you think its nice to have a player that has played in this system the previous three seasons and can give you instant contributions esp when the team faces injury problems?
I like Sane's questions! "Is it worth playing him till he gets into the flow?" If we applied that philosophy to all the players, we wouldn't have any startersat all. Nobody seems to be into any game flow for more than a few spurts. "What if it costs us a game?" We are talking about game flow. The only way to get into game flow is to play in the game. Our objective IMO is to make the playoffs. Risking games now isn't as important as late in the season when you're vying for playoff spots. By the way, as bad as we seem to be now; if the playoffs were to start today, we would have the 7th seed. KT will provide help at the 3/4 spots to get us into the playoffs!!
The guy wuz hurt that we didnt offer him a contract extension afta his breakthrough season last year. I guess that he feels, since he'll be a free agent next year, that he has to prove himself even more to the league. He played a solid 4 last year for us and he doesnt get an extension, he played his heart out for really nuthin. That takes a toll on a young guy like KT. Now, he's puttin alotta pressure on himself to be better than he was last year and show that us that last year wasnt a fluke. I think the guy is tryin to hard to impress, but instead of impressing, he's shooting himself in the foot.....err....thumb. If he relaxes a bit and worry about now instead of the future, he'll be fine.
Gary Payton actually deserves a contract extension, didn't get one, and you don't hear him talking about security. You see him getting mad and taking it out against the competition. He's playing BETTER and making no excuses. KT is playing WORSE. And a thumb is no excuse.
His thumb is not an excuse, it is a reason for his shot to be off. I would think he came back earlier than he should because we were shorthanded. Tonight will be his breakout...
I think that there are now three questions being asked in this thread, and I would like to address them individually... 1) Does Kenny suck? My response is no...I do think that many in here overrate him, but he by no means sucks. He is limited, undersized, and one-dimensional, but there are many worse players in the league and on the team. 2) Is Kenny playing poorly? Absolutely, and it can't be attributed to a bad thumb...A bad thumb doesn't make you attempt a cross-court pass or jack up a three pointer instead of hitting the open man in the post directly in front of you...In fact, if anything, a bad thumb should make you more likely to go for the safer, easier play ( not to mention better ) than to attepmt something that would be high-risk even if you were healthy. It's been his head, not his hand that i have had a problem with this year. 3) Should we trade kenny? Absolutely...By virtue of the fact that he is redundant, due for free agency, and taking minutes away from players who, unlike him, have a chance to be part of our long-term picture, and have a chance to contribute more than just decent offense. We will sonon be in a serious pt problem at forward, and Kenny is the logical choice to go...Mo-T or RIce would be, but they have much more potential value to the team vs. their potential trade value at this time...
I guess ya'll kinda misundastood me on this topic, i aint makin his thumb an excuse for the way he's been playin..Kenny is playin horrible....im sayin that PART of the problem is the pressure of wanting to play his best and not gettin an extension after playin so well last year. KT cant be compared to Payton cuz Payton wants a whole lot more money that KT does. KT is already established as one of the best point gaurds in the game. KT established himself as a decent player in this league last year.....Now w/ Griff emergin and Mo comin back he feels like he has to play even better to even keep a spot on the roster, esp. w/ rice, hawkins and boki at the 3. KT is young and has alotta pressure on him now and I think he's tryin to do too much......He wants to play well to get a good deal next year.....but i neva said his thumb was an excuse for his lack of performance......rememba, this is his first time to be a free agent. Cut him a lil slack. He's a better player than he's showing.
"Should we trade kenny? Absolutely...By virtue of the fact that he is redundant" MacBeth, can you guarantee me that Glen Rice is going to be healthy the entire season? Also, can you guarantee me that Terence Morris will become a consistent contributor in the rotation when he returns from injury as opposed to last yr's form? Also, can you guarantee me that if both those options dont pan out, Bostjan Nachbar could handle a consistent dose of 30 plus MPG even though he has shown that he needs time to adjust to the NBA? The point I am making is that this team may look stocked right now, but there are just way too many variables to let go of a valuable rotation player like KT who has a history of providing relatively consistent output in exchange for a future mid to late pick or what not. There is no way this team will receive enough in a deal to live with the risk of being extremely shorthanded due to injuries. KT shed even more weight this offseason and developed a perimeter shot in order to play the SF position. Even though the Rockets have able bodies at that position, there are still a whole lot of variables that need to be sorted out. The problem is that if you do trade KT and then Rice starts shooting like crap again or goes down, Terence Morris reverts to last season's form and Bostjan Nachbar isnt capable of playing huge time his rookie yr; the Rockets would be in huge trouble. They would be forced to go with a three guard lineup more frequently and/or would be playing Hawkins a whole bunch who has not played an entire season in the NBA as of yet. Ideally, what I would like to do is hang onto KT this season, then weigh the options in the offseason. Ofcourse there is a risk of losing KT for nothing if a sign and trade cannot be engineered, but I would much rather lose KT for nothing and make the playoffs THIS season than trade him for some mediocre return, have injuries, be shorthanded and return to the lottery.
