This was my original guess when he spoke of making a twitter announcement. Just would be wrong to speak of a trade on Twitter...
Heh, when I saw this on the index page I thought we had acquired Jermaine O'Neal. Good move, I guess, but I don't think anyone thought that Taylor was not going to be signed.
First of all, Taylor was playing with a bad hamstring during summer league. Secondly, the Rockets organization and coaches see a lot more than what we do. I remember Jonathan Feigan responding in his blog about how he was impressed with Taylor during summer league and how he thought he would become a better player than Wafer. They must have seen something in him worth investing to spend $2 million to draft him.
there is not giong to be a major move before the start of the season. who would we trade battier or landry for? young guys with "potential" when the odds favor that they won't be worth half the value as battier and landry? our team is fine now, and unless we get an perennial all-star in return, we aren't trading Battier or Landry. as for jermaine taylor signing, lets hope chase budinger is next!
yeah this is pretty much giving us leverage on wafer, if he ends up wanting to sign he will know it will be for peanuts
I would bet that, JT will not sniff an NBA floor on the Rockets this year, but will play a lot in the D-league. DD
I am not saying Chase won't be traded but signing Taylor is not a clue to that. You have to sign Taylor first. He sets the bar. If you sign Chase first then Taylor drafted a dozen + spots earlier will expect a significant higher contract than chase. But everyone knows Chase looks like the better of the two so far and I am sure his agent is pointing that out. So by signing Taylor first the Rockets can argue that he doesn't deserve as much even though he does. As for Taylor's ability, the jury is still out on that but I would say there is more to what we saw in Summer League. I said after he was drafted that his shot was just not good. He had a decent percentage but I hated his form. Well the first thing I heard was that Taylor was working on his shot form in SUmmer League. ANyone who's tried to change their shot knows that's a big deal. And it's an even bigger deal if you spent a decde shooting one way and noow you are playing in the big leagues and you want to make that change. Add that with a injured hamstring and trying to learn a new offense plus focus on D and the kid was overwhelmed. So like I said the jury is still out but he does have some physical abilities. He is a physical 2 and he should be able to learn d. If he gets his shot down he should be a solid contributor. Time will tell.
I think it's telling that the drafted player that performed the worst in the summer league was the first one we locked up to a contract. This has Moreyball written all over it--buy low, sell high, rinse, repeat. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if we traded Budinger just like we traded Donte Green last year after his "breakout" SL performance. I'm expecting big things from Taylor this year. No D-league relegation like some are thinking, but rather solid backup minutes at wing and the exact same explosiveness we saw in Wafer with a bit more defense and good judgment. People don't realize how easy it is to replace the skill set Wafer offered us. 80% of basketball kids out there grow up trying to be like Michael. Guys like Wafer, McCants, even Nate Robinson are now paying the price for not learning how to play fundamental team basketball with good ball distribution. Taylor will be another player in that mold, but much cheaper and just as serviceable but replaceable as the rest.
I believe He can stick with the team. Hope He follows Landry who surprised people with his play during the regular season despite having a sub par summer league. His athleticism would help the team in offense. Hope Shane and Trevor help him develop his defensive skills.
Because of his summer league play, I'm guessing Chase isn't signed yet cause his agent wants him to get first round money like Mario Chambers did last year.
If you're saying he won't get into any games this upcoming NBA season at all, yes, I will take that sig bet It's a long season... and I have to believe he's a bit like a more offensively talented Mike Harris. It may take him a while, but as long as he doesn't get hurt I can see him at least getting into a few games.
I am confident He will be signed. He had a good summer league performance that would at least earn him a contract.
