The whole affair smacks of JVG, nothing you say can change my mind!! JVG - wont coach, train or play rookies on his team. Last year he was forced into playing Head. If you have been paying attention to JVG he has even dropped a hint as to what he would like to happen and IT DID HAPPEN. Regarding the WIN NOW FRAME OF MIND- we need both young and experienced players to support our stars. Battier is on the downward side of his career, he is slow and not athletic- this is the reverse of what the Management said they were going to find to fill the supporting roles- just watch what happens next- Tracy Mc Grady is going to be used as an excuse why they wont sign Mike James!
Don't be fooled. JVG has the first and last say on every personnel move. CD is just a pasty, and Morey is an intern.
I think the idea that you gamble on the future with a passive swing player when you have two elite players in the prime who are crying out for a consistent third wheel that can play D and hit an outside shot is shortsighted. While you wait for Gay to reach a potential that might not be that great anyway (Quentin Richardson, or Joe Johnson?) you are wasting another couple of years of Yao and McGrady's prime. Should he be taking away shots from the big two so he can develop his game? Gay's ceiling is not so high that he will ever be a dominant game changing player on the level of those two. Can you name a passive college player who ever suddenly decided to take games over like a superstar? It's something you either have, or do not. Gay does not have it. This b****ing and moaning about Dawson is misplaced. He *already* took the big, ambitious gamble in decimating a playoff roster to get Tracy. The big guns are in place. I'll still take his track record over all of these "fans" who are giving up on the Rockets like a bunch of little b****es.
Fortunately we probably won't have Mr. Van Gundy OR his decisions to worry about twelve months from now. Hmmm. The Knicks job will be open again just about then...
I'm sorry but this trade reeks of Van Gundy. We all know JVG loves the vets and even stated his desire to move the pick for one, it looks like he got his wish. CD/Morey have no reason to pass up on a Top 5 talent for a 28 year old player. CD is gone after this season so it doesn't matter that much to him. Morey is in his first year and Gay could have been the guy who helps anchor his career. I don't know how many young GMs would opt for a 28 year old role player over a 19 year old phenom who has unbelievable potential. Most of all, JVG has NOTHING to lose by getting Battier. He know he's on the hotseat and next season will make or break his future w/ the team and possibly the NBA. He's looking for the fastest fix possible and while that isn't such a bad idea, the price we paid for it seems completely unreasonable. JVG is not interested in developing a rookie because it's not 100% he'll be around to coach him. JVG is looking only at next season, I think most coaches in his position would do the same. But as an owner and GM (especially a rookie GM) they should be looking at the future of the franchise and what will be best in the longterm. IMHO, it just seems like JVG is looking out for #1.
Just look at the trade. I used to be a argent JVG supporter, but I can't defend his coaching last year, and I can't defend this trade. If CD said he was very vocal in the war room, I'm not calling him a lier. Plus, i can see the image perfectly in my mind as this whole thing smacks of Van Gundy. None-the-less, Morey and CD are the GMs, and it was up to them to get something more than Battier for the 8th pick and the Stro Show.
JVG is shortsighted. He's likey to support this trade because right now he sees Shane's play in the NBA and Gay's not available, but if we keep Gay and Gay shows he's got game then JVG will beg him to play. JVG is not programmed to not play rookie unless absolutely forced to, he played Boki against the Lakers in the playoffs. He's just short sighted, sees what's only in front of him.
