First off let me say that I think your post is well thought out and I hope it will sink through to many posters who have these delusional trades running through their minds. I do have to say I disagree with your interpretation of CD's comments. I read nothing into what he said that would indicate to me he thinks we need a starting PF... Also if Battier is not receiving close to 35 minutes on this team than I would have to say the trade was a bigger disaster than previously thought. And since CD proclaims are biggest need is at SG and backup pg. I would be inclined to believe Tmac will not be our starting 2. I think JVG was very much in the mddle of this decision I would think he would be more inclined to play Battier than not. So that all adds up to Battier will be are starting PF IMO. I do agree he is not my idea pf but I do beleive he is a signifcant improvement over JHO and that is all that matters. In addition he is probably a better for this team as PF than most any other team. He is a consummate team player and with Battier at PF the opposing team will have to follow him out to the 3 point line and not be able to help out on Yao so easily. A guy like Chandler while yes he is a better rebounder (Battier's will go up when he is starting at PF) would be almost worthless on offense as he would need the same space as Yao and would not create space for Yao. So IMO Battier might be a better fit for this team than other traditional PFs and we have gotten better at the PF position even if it's not exactly who we would want there.
Let me be the one to uncomplicate the power forward issue here....if Juwan Howard is the starting 4 for the Rockets next year (and the Rockets don't upgrade before the trading deadline in 06-07), the Rockets won't sniff the Finals. I sure hope Rockets management knows this.
^^jackie butler is a restricted free agent, but since its the knicks, we prolly got a chance of getting him.
If the rockets are going to have any chance at being in the WC final we will need one more player [ at a minimum] who can be relied on to score, besides Yao, T Mc,Battier and James, excluding Rafer and the supporting cast. This player might turn out to be our second round pick! Howard and Bowan, have no place on a championship contender. JVG should make up his mind, if we really are WIN NOW then they must go, even if they are packaged with picks to obtain one more good quality player. y
jopatmc. maybe i wont post ignorant crap if the rockets did something right for a change. im guessing juwon howard is gonna be our starting power forward for the 2006-2007 season. if so, somebody needs to get pimp slapped at rockets management.
OK you fill in the blank... There are ____ number of teams that will trade a good starting PF for Juwan Howard. Don't try and "sweeten" the pot with Sura (negative value) or Bowen (-) or Head (small +). If you have an answer that is > 0, you are delusional. Is it an ideal situation? No. But we won with Chucky Brown, we can win with Howard/Hayes. The key is that the rest of the cast must play up to their potential.
Come now, as a Rockets fan you have set your sights to high. Hot on the heels of the stunning draft night trade of Rudy Gay + Stromile Swift for Shane Battier blockbuster you should expect something more like Juwan Howard plus our 2007 & 2008 first round picks for Vin Baker. I'm trying to save you years of frustration here!
i'd sign ely or evans. Wilcox apparently is asking too much (seattle) Lorenzen Wright would be great at the 4 but again he's too expensive. Sign James, and ely or evans...add padgett also maybe even CATO?!
Excellent analysis Bima and Old Man Rock. To your comments about Battier, I would also add that Juwan Howard showed when we were most injured last year that he could still be a go to scorer. Thus, off the bench if Yao was out of the game Juwan Howard might be an instant offense type of option.
I agree J. Howard can provide us with offense instantly..his little jump hook when on is almost unstoppable...Battier is a very nice addition. This team is coming together to make a 3-4 year run at the title. We still need some pieces. Mike James and Ely and or/ Evans, Cato, Padgett or even K. rush for some more fire power...
You tell'em Art. Everyone wants a Hero and not a Zero. But you have to give up a Something close to a Hero to get one back.
Please forgive me I wasn't refering to you but rather the masses who think we can something for nothing. I thought your post was right on. I will edit my post...
I don't know if we could pull off this particular trade, but I think Pietrus and Murphy would be pretty good fits for the Rockets. Especially Murphy. We want rebounding and perimeter shooting, right? Little known fact: Troy Murphy was 6th in rebounds per game last season (10), just behind Ben Wallace and Tim Duncan, and tied with Elton Brand. He's also a decent outside shooter, and good free throw shooter. (14 points per game, 79% from the stripe.) His 3-pt % isn't great, but part of that was because the team as a whole often fell in love with jacking up 3's frequently when the team was playing catch up. The more serious knock on him as far as the Rockets are concerned would be that he's not a strong inside presence defensively, and not much of a low post player. BUT, I don't think he's any worse than what we have right now defensively, and he'd be an upgrade in rebounding and provide a long range threat that would help Yao and McGrady immensely. Perhaps more important, unlike a lot of the great but unrealistic PFs being dreamed of on this board, he is theoretically possible because GS has a surplus of PFs and needs to move some people, and he is the one that is probably most likely to go. As for Pietrus - offensively gifted though inconsistent, yet a good solid wing defender. Could fit in well if he can improve his mental game.
Good post OMR. The only thing is Battier probably needs to be augmented by a rebounder/defensive type role player at the 4.Someone who for 20 -28 minutes(at least) can impact the game with interior defense and on the boards.
would it have been possible to package 8th pick, juwon, and head for murphy and pietrus.. then if they don't want 8th pick they can trade him for something they want like pick gay and trade with memphis..
That's ok. I thought you and I were in agreement from your previous posts. If we were to trade Howard for anyone, it will not be a better PF. If we were to trade Howard, we might be able to get a backup backcourt player by trading with someone who is short on frontcourt player and has a surplus of backcourt players, but don't expect the backcourt player to be all that either. But would this solve the PF position or make it weaker? And then what pieces do we have left to trade to get a PF? We might be able to trade a Ford Focus (Howard) for a used pontoon boat but you won't find someone that will give us a showroom BMW or even a Civic. And we don't have a lot of money in the bank (other trade assets) right now to make deal work. We are going to have to make do with our Focus.
Yes I agree... I am not sure who that player is though... or whether we have the assets to attain him.
