Thank God the Rockets are finally winning again but does this hurt our chances of becoming a championship caliber team in the next few years? This crop of small forwards (especially Morris) is the best in awhile, but if the Rockets do win too much they willnot be in a position to get one of these impact threes. However, if they could swing a deal for either McGrady (who is back on the block) or for Corey Maggette then that would take care of that. I purpose that the Rockets trade for either of these two young, athletic small forwards to team with Franchise. Houston sends Drew, Williams, and picks to the Raptors for McGrady (bad deal for Toronto, but are they desperate for a pg?) Houston sends Drew, Williams, Thomas to Orlando for Maggette I dont see the Rox trading Mobley because of his potential and his relationship with Stevie (ie Rodman and Jack Haley)
Toronto want a PG but Drew??? If they have a VERY tradable player do you think they will settle for a player who carear highlight was draft night? As for getting Maggette the Magic are in a weird situation so you never know.I dont think they would do it though. ------------------ Your Starting Power Forward for the Clutch City Allstars My Expert Opinion Of Steve Francis:Mate he is a special player!
From a personal stand point I say dont ever trade Kenny Thomas, I like his game alot, his has move in the post and hustle like Othella did, plus the ability to step out and hit a shot. After trading Othella away I didnt think we would get anyone like him again, granted we could use a nice three, but I have confidence that Rudy can find a gem in the draft. I like Magette, and I like McGrady, but I am not willing to part with Mobley or Thomas right now.
Which one is Rodman and which one is Haley? I don't think either of them are as untalented as Haley, or need a Daddy like Rodman.
i said it last year.... maggette is the real deal. he's just young and VERY green right now. that said, i think orlando would consider trading him. if it weren't for cut-mob's and steve's closeness, i'd send cuttino there for corey in a heartbeat. as a matter of fact, i'd still send cuttino there. corey has a world of talent. and, he's a tar heel!!! can you imagine francis, anderson and maggette on the court at the same time? talk about an athletic, smart team... i'm starting to drool. i better stop. [This message has been edited by verse (edited January 21, 2000).]
The problem with this line of thinking is that first and foremost the Raptors want a point guard of starting caliber. That's what they are trying to address. According to this article Rod Strickland and Mookie Blaylock have both been explored by the Raptors. http://www.thestar.ca/thestar/editorial/raptors98/20000121SPT04_SP-RAPS21.html So how does Drew fit that idea of a starting point for the Raptors .... he doesn't. They want more than scraps. They want a starter, a starting caliber point guard.
why are some posters so greedy all the time ? Problem at the 3 ? Hell, we just discovered Kenny Thomas got game. Let the man play. I could care less for supposed "playahs" in the draft that haven't even graduated yet. There's plenty of time down the road. YOur sorry we're winning cause we may not get some other player ? This is crazy talk. If you spend your whole time looking down the road, you'll never get there. Kenny Thomas, Kelvin Cato, Hakeem, Francis, Shandon Anderson, Cattino, Pig, Carlos Rogers, etc. Hey, THIS IS A DAMN GOOD BALL CLUB ! If this team is together next year without too many injuires, I see 50 plus wins easily. There is nothing to improve. You will not get, Hill, Duncan, Shaq, blah blab blah, etc. WYSIWYG. By the way, the reason these guys are playing so well is the COACH and his stinking SYSTEM. He is the key, he knows the players and what can work, and he is pulling the strings. Where are the Rudy bashers ? Can't change his system ? Only relies on Dream ? HA. As the man says, "Get Real, this is the Deal". ( to no one in particular.)
Someone else brought up the fact that Harold Arceneaux would be available late in the draft. I think that would be an acceptable pick for us and he should be available no matter how many wins we get.
jscmedia, I can't argue too much with you. The entire urge by many posters to improve the front court is the belief that a guard dominant team can't win a championship. There were several similar threads that touched on that theme in recent weeks. Over the past 20 years, every championship team had what was considered a player that was dominant at their position. The rest of the rosters were good, but it was always unmistakeable who was the focus (main player) on the team. Francis is the focus of this team and probably will be for the forseeable future. For the Rockets to get another player that could be equivalent in talent to Francis would require serious misjudgement on player talent by teams drafting before them. Magic.....#1 MJ..........#3 Dream....#1 Isisah.....#2 Duncan..#1 Moses....HS Bird........#6....Boston gamble with a loophole Francis..#2 Portland is a deep team, but is without a dominant or even near dominant player at any position. I doubt that they can win a championship with that type of team structure. Any candidates for MVP on the Portland roster? Can the Rockets win a championship(s) with Francis as the dominant player? Sure, MJ won with a cast of role players and Scottie who is a 'tweener of a role player and superstar. Isiah won with Dumars and a cast of role players. Dream won with a team of journeymen. Find an intense physical big body to muscle with Shaq for Dream's spot in 2001. It doesn't matter if the big body has range only out to 10', Francis will continue to break down defenses and be able to set him and Cato up for easy shots. A steady 3 to push Walt. with Rogers and KT handling the PF spot. Does any of the above require a high draft choice? No. Mango
jscmedia, yesh!!! excellent post! Rudy HAS done it! You know, I'm beginning to think most of the lottery-minded people (in the closet tankers) are out-of-towners who don't have the fortune of watching this team unless they become a contender and get on NBC/TNT. They are greedy. They want Thomas and Francis to improve NOW, and they want us to get a high lottery pick. That puts us back on NBC next year. I just want Francis to be a superstar and Thomas/Mobley to be stars. Throw in Dream, Cato and Anderson as anchor defenders whose offense will make you pay if you try to stop Francis...and we have a contender!!! OK...I guess maybe you should mark me down as greedy, too.
Right now if I had to choose who is the best player in College, I would say Kenyon Martin. Morris has lost his game lately, but Martin has just got better. Last game he got a triple double 28 points 13 rebounds 10 blocks.. Martin is right now the REAL DEAL ...
I disagreed with Houston letting Maloney, McLean and Mack go, because right now they could all be trade bait. I'm sure Rudy knew what he was doing, and that chemistry was critical, and that these players didn't fit into the team Rudy wanted to see gel. Rudy may not have wanted them around, just because of attitude. But, in terms of utilizing them in getting McGrady, it would sure help if we had them right now. It seems like we could have traded Maloney, Drew and Mack for McGrady and whoever was needed to make the deal work. I don't think we have the talent now that we're willing to part with that would get us McGrady, and I definitely feel he would fill the missing hole on this team. Of course, Rudy is good at pulling rabit trades out of his hat, so who knows what he's up to. I think that Thomas, Cato, Rogers, and Mobely have shown us enough to know we want them for the future. Is Rogers our future 3, or Anderson with Mobely at the 2? Maybe now we need guys that are happy to provide depth. Popeye, or anyone else who knows, do you know if the Rockets are in the McGrady race?
How about signing Rashard Lewis? Ruben Patterson has a firm hold on the Seattle starting SF job. Here in Houston RL would have a chance to become the starter. Hopefully 2 years is long enough for him to get over being passed up by Rudy.
Okay, I've been in class al day so I just go the oportunity to check what y'all thought. I am a Rockets fanatic, as all of you must be, and all I want is another banner hanging in our hopefully new facility in the near future. To answer my biggets critic (jcsmedia) the Rockets could possibly make the playoffs this year, but do you really believe they could make it past LA, SA, Portland, or Seattle in a series? If you do you're kidding yourself. Francis is better than I thought (which is amazing), but if he does not have a sidekick that can take the pressure off of him than we'll always falter in the playoffs. Look how we match up with other teams in the west that will be in the playoffs for the next couple of years: Francis Stoudamire Fisher Johnson Williams Mobley Smith Bryant Elie Anderson Anderson Pippen Rice Elliot Scoreles Rogers Wallace Green Duncan Webber Cato Sabonis O'Neal Robinson Vlade Some of those players may leave their teams, but either way the Rockets dont have enough legitimate fire power to win a championship right now. Magic had Kareem and Worthy, Bird had McHale and Parish, MJ had Pippen and Grant, even Hakeem had Drexler. Bye the bye, Kenny Thomas is solid he is not Elton Brand.
Did anyone see that Rashard scored 14 points in only 19 minutes tonight. I don't know when those minutes or points came -- Seatle lost the game and it may have all come at garbage time for all I know. But if they came in the regular flow of the game, that's a good game.
jscmedia - I was gonna post, but you took just about every word outta my mouth. A few things I want to add... The Rockets should NOT trade anyone unless it is a great deal for us. At this point I would consider these players a part of the Rockets future. Hakeem because he is retiring soon Francis Anderson Cato Rogers Thomas and possibly Drew Mobley & Williams(both may be expendable) I was listening to 610 KILT and they were discussing whether it would be better for the Rockets to make the playoffs or go to the lottery. Something one guy said is exactly what I've been wanting to say, but never really got the point across. There is no substitution for winning. What our players, especially the young guys, need is a winning attitude and the lottery can not give them that. So what if we go to the playoffs and get bounced in the first or second round. WE MADE THE PLAYOFFS!! That is the first step toward the ultimate goal...WINNING the NBA Championship!! ------------------ Lottery? I don't think so.
