You are correct in that both Harris and Luenan would be redundant with Artest. And as for Head, he is a servicable shooter, especially during the regular season, but he should be in someone's rotation, and I doubt he will be doing that in Houston. DD
Not that I don't think Leunen could make a 15 man roster but c'mon, John Lucas III dominated summer league. Where's he at?
I'd keep Luther Head around. No point trading away depth for nothing in return! With Novak gone, I'm absolutely hoping that Leunen gets his shot. Carl: Artest may well be able to slot in and shoot a 3-pointer from the 4 spot - but he's just not the shooter that Leunen is. Maarty has a nice game - in college he had 9.2 rpg (I'll put Novaks senior year comparison in brackets - 5.9); 2.8apg (1.3); 0.9spg; (0.6); 0.3bpg (0.1); shot 49.2% from 3pt land on 3.8 attempts (46.7 from 8.4); 15.2ppg on 55.9% (17.5 @47.7%) The thing I like most about Maarty's numbers are that he clearly didn't fall in love with the 3-ball even though that thing was FALLING in his senior year! Leunen isn't a total project, he can certainly hit the boards, will attempt to play D, makes nice cuts and can step back and hit the shot. If he makes the roster, then I'd like to see us move Hayes for someone taller who can play the C position. When it all comes down to it, if Scola and Landry missed a game last season, it was the Hayes/Novak combination coming in. I just feel that Leunen gives more 'presence' at the PF spot than Novak (who played as many minutes at SF last season as PF and for good reason - too soft and can't defend either position..) - and I'd be far less fearful if Leunen actually had to start a game - it's not guaranteed baskets every trip for the opposing PF (unless their name happens to be Tim Duncan...)
Look at my sig; that should be the 15-man rotation when the season starts in November. I assume that Landry and Mutombo will be resigned. As bad as Luther is in the playoffs, the Rockets still keep him because he knows this team's system and can still shoot the three. Luther isn't that bad that he can't be a 3rd string shooting guard. Also, Luther's is under contract and I doubt there will be any takers for him through trade before November. Seeing that Harris' contract is nonguaranteed, he might have to compete with Leunen for the final spot. Both are good players to have for depth because they play the 3 and 4. But I see Harris winning the spot because he has one more year of experience and he's a good guy to have on the practice court that'll push other guys to work harder.
I don't think anybody is saying he's the next great thing, but he was doing all the right things in SL. You can see players Bball IQ, work ethic, and skills in SL, and yes sometimes they are misleading. However, doesn't mean that he can't be a future contributor. The Rockets know that not every player drafted or signed is going to be a starter. They can see a player for what he is, and assign his role accordingly. Sometimes, coming off your bench you want to have a shooting 4 to spread the floor, sometimes you need a defensive presence (Hayes). It's not always about having 12 all-stars on your team, rather building a solid team from top to bottom.
dump Head, sign Maarty & Barrera (PG from the summer league), re-sign Landry & Deke, you get: Alston/Brooks/Barrera/(Francis) T-Mac/Barry Artest/Battier/Maarty Scola/Landry/Hayes Yao/Dorsey/Deke that team is legit, if healthy.
My gut feeling is that the Rockets front office and coaching staff have already decided to keep Mike Harris. It's been said since last season that they like him a lot. Now that there is an roster spot open, I doubt they give it to anyone else. Besides, the Rockets has to stay consistent to their beefy men theme.
omg NO. LONG way to go for my countrymen superbeekay. He had a ok hitout against the US, but didnt set the world on fire. You need to watch more games and less highlights.
The one thing which I noticed about Maarty Luenan was that he had a great deal of court sense! Novac although being an excellent three point shooter had little court sense.
There is no room for marty with brent barry. i think he's a project. we'll stash him in europe. once brent has retierd, marty will be unleashed.
