Once this Tracey McGrady deal finally goes through who should we pursue the hardest? Think about this...What type of role player do we need most? A sixth man that can come off the bench with instant offense and hit 3s. A rugged power forward that can play some backup 5. Somebody reliable at the point. Or could you possibly have somebody on mind?
I would have to say that Brent Barry would give us the most help because I really dont want two 6' point guards. Also, this man is athletic as heck. He won the slam dunk contest a couple of years ago. I think he would be great at controlling the tempo of our team. If we can do it I would love to see us get both Barry and Jackson, but I dont see it happening. There is no way that we will get either one with the veteran's minimum.
I forgot to mention. Assists used to be one thing that we really struggled with as a team because most of the players on the team only knew how to create shots for themselves. There are much more players on this team that would be able to create shots for other players. Last year Barry averaged 5.8 apg, TMac averaged 5.5 apg and Tyronn Lue averaged 4 apg. So I can only see our team average greatly increase because they should have a lot more of a passing mentality.
Brent Barry is the big prize of the FA Market, IMO. He's not a great ballhandler for a PG, but his game isn't based on dribble penetration anyway and he does a good job of passing out of traps. His best quality is his decision making and his ability to spot up and prey on double teams. He almost never takes bad shots, and makes a lot of good ones. He's not a very athletic defender, but he's smart and understands team defense concepts. We don't need a playmaker running the point, we just need a distributor. Barry is happy to be a third or fourth option, and his ability to play both guard spots as well as Tracy's ability to play the 2 and the 3 will allow us to run the traditional 8-man rotation. Perhaps most importantly, Barry's a vocal leader and a "future coach" type player. With soft-spoken guys like McGrady and Yao, we need a guy like that as a lockerroom leader. Everyone's concerned about his age, but I figure that with a 4 year deal, with him turning 36 into the last year, he'll still be a good starting option by the time his contract expires. His game doesn't rely on him using athleticism to blow guys off the dribble anyway.
Jackson?.. he is talented, but those turnovers and bonheaded plays, offsets his talent!. i like him, but those turnovers are really frustrating!. Dice, if he were healthy, he would be Awesom. .. sadly his health is a huge concern! Barry, would give the Rockets a huge backcourt along side Tracy! also remember Coach gundy has a history of likeing big guards!. my guess is the Rox will go after Barry!
I'd sooner pay 6.9 million to not have stephen jackson that i would to have him. McDyess ought to be possible for the veterans minimum. Anybody that gives him even the MLE, much less makes use of a full 6.9 trade exception for him is absolutely nuts after all of his health issues. So by default, Brent Barry.
One thing I don't get is BBarry was the dunk contest winner. So he should be quite athletic. Why ppl call him not a very athletic defender?
I voted for BB. I think we could use somebody like Mcdyess but would much rather have a point we could count on. I remember Barry being hurt last year but cant remember why or for how long he was out. I would hate to sign Mcdyess and then him go down with that bad knee he has. As for Jackson I lived in San Antonio when he played there and trust me he is somebody we dont want. He might put up the numbers but he plays a bad game. He commits alot of turnovers and plays without a brain. I would go with Barry as long as he thinks out there and doesnt play like an idiot. DFOOLZ
Because number one, he's 32 years old. Number two, his lateral quickness is only decent and he's just a slow player. But he has a long wingspan which he uses well to get deflections. Probably not the first choice to take the defensive pressure off of T-Mac, but he wouldn't be a liability.
