Otis Thorpe: Did he get along with RT?

thorpe would be a good backup for the rockets. He's durable, he plays hard, runs the court good, good post defender and rebounder. At 6'10 260 he has the length thomas doesn't plus he's a good locker room guy. he would be ideal for 20min per at the back up center spot. I really wish we could get mihm though.

 

Unless you mean "good locker room guy" in a Richard Simmons type way, I think that's way off -- OT pouts and argues and acts like a self-appointed critic-coach. Not as bad as Mason, but a pain nonetheless. Pass.

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While Otis is not the leader type, i think he could show some of the younger guys about professionalism. Otis comes to camp in shape every year, something Mo T can learn. Otis Thorpe's rebounding and jump hook can help Eddie out. His championship ring can definitly help motivate the role players on the team. I would like to see him back in houston to help this team progress. Plus you never hear of Otis running foul with the law, a definite plus.

 

Any rumors of Rudy T and OT not getting along are COMPLETELY false. In fact, I was told straight up that it was exactly the opposite. I've heard that trading OT was the hardest deal Rudy ever had to make. From what I understand, he and OT were very close on and off the floor. In fact, one person told me that OT actually would go to Rudy's house for dinner with his family fairly often.

I don't think he would make a great addition to this team unless you just want a filler, but his not coming here would have little to do with the relationship he had with Rudy T. when he played in Houston.

 

Otis is a solid veteran player with championship experience, so he had that going for him. But he would be a better fit for a team on the verge or who is a contender who needs a spot filling veteran to help them. Somebody like LA, or Sacramento, or Philadelphia, or Milwaukee. Truth be told, while I wouldn't be upset if the Rockets got him, I would prefer they went after a young player with solid potential and talent like Jelani McCoy.

 

Why not?

We have enough "potential" players. We need our backup C spot to be like the Lakers starting PF spot, opening up every year for better options.

Thorpe would really be ably to help this team, and maybe motivate Cato a little more.


Anyone have a reason why he wouldn't be a good fit or a good idea to backup Cato? For 20 minutes or so?

One thing I'm worried about is whether he'll demand the ball on offense, cause we have quite a few options already.

 

OT is one of the original champions. He's still a crap load better than Kato. He does lots of dirty work and never complains.

OT, Dream, and FreshPrince Horry. What a good front line!

 

Thorpe has played a severely smaller role, and has been injury prone the last 2 years. He has played an average of 50 games per year the last 3 years, and has played an average of 14 mpg the last 2 years. There has to be a reason for that. He averaged roughly 3 ppg and 2 rpg last year, and his best season was about 3 years ago, and at 10 ppg and 5 rpg his stats weren't much better then Cato's. He hasn't shown to be any better then Cato the last 3 years, and at 39 years of age, isn't likely to get any better. Granted McCoy's stats haven't been all that much better, but he has been more durable then Thorpe the last 2 years, has more room for upside, and is much younger (Thorpe just turned 39 2 weeks ago, and McCoy will turn 24 this December) and potentially a better shot-blocker and energy player.

 

Well, i fu put it THAT way

LOL, I dind't know he was so awful the past few years.


no chance he'd be less injured and more productive with a minimal role off the bench though?

 

I love Rudy T. and I think the way he handles the media and players is pure genius. But is it just me or has he made a lot of deals that fit this quote? Wasn't trading Old Fella the hardest deal he ever had to make? How about Dream? Now O.T.?

Like I said I love Rudy T as the coach of the Rockets and I beleive there is some genuine affection for his players but could he also be a bit of an actor for media purposes? I'm not saying there is anything wrong with this but I was just wondering if I was the only one that noticed it.

 

Sort of off-thread, but OT going to the Lakers for the vet minimum would make perfect sense for both parties and further the gap from the rest of us. Thorpe is not great player or even a good player any more, but he could give you 20 solid minutes of veteran play at the back-up 4 or 5 spot. This is not really what we want (we loaded with 4s and Mo can probably do close to what Thorpe can do now if needed for emergency center minutes)--we want young a developing center or heavy minute everyday center, but nothing much in between.

If the Lakers got him then I would say they are equal in their PF position (Horry/Walker/Thorpe versus Grant/Horry) to last year and clearly are better at back-up 1 and 2, and in a sense 3 going into the season, because Horry would be freed up to play some there if needed. That is a scary idea.

 

I beg to differ Jeff.

In fact my father was at a bar one night right after the Drexler trade went down. This was during the time when Rudy had a little drinking issue......but thats another story. My pops was sitting at the bar and overheard a conversation with Rudy T and someone sitting next to him. The conversation went something like this:

Fan: How do you feel about trading OT for Drexler?

Rudy: Otis Thorpe is one of the biggest pu$$ies in the NBA. Everyone knows it. He cant bang down low, and cant hang with the bigger PF's in the league.

Thats what he heard right out of Rudy's mouth. So there must have been something there that Rudy didnt like about OT.

 

I remember a few years back this being discussed on a local sports talk show with an NBA player, and the NBA player referred to Otis as a "clubhouse lawyer" type. I know this is not much to go on because I do not remember who made the statement.