I don’t know why it is everybody is limiting this debate to just Gay vs. Battier. Gay was Memphis’ pick. Not the Rockets. It’s not just Gay that we traded. It’s Rudy Gay, along with every single player that was drafted after #8. If any one of Reddick, Brewer, Carney, etc. become stars in this league, it’ll look badly for the Rockets, because that means they once again did a piss poor job of scouting. If the Rockets didn’t like what they saw in Gay, and they didn’t think he could contribute right away next season. Fine. Draft somebody else with the 8th pick. There has to have been a player available that would have brought more to the table than a mediocre role player like Battier.
every single new addition to the Rox since we got T-Mac was suppose to get more shooting opportunities. i disagree with this theory. when you join a team with two superstars you're going to shoot and produce less. Happens with Yao/T-Mac and happens with Wade/Shaq.
See this is where I think we have to dig a little deeper here. Battier may get more shots here, or he may not, but the fact that the THREAT of him shooting will free up Yao and Tmac, so it makes our team better. Kind of like in Poker where it doesn't always matter what you have, it is what your opponent THINKS you have. DD
Everyone here is an idiot.....here is the starting 5.... SF - McGrady, Howard PF - Battier, Howard C - Yao, Deke PG - Alston, Head SG - Free Agent, Head
Uconn's Lottery Picks: Gay, Villanueva, Okafor, Ben Gordon, Caron Butler, Rip Hamilton, Ray Allen, Donyell Marshall And since when is Maggette a "smart" player.
Lots of good players on both lists......Gay may be one too, but he is 19, and I think he would take some time to develop. DD
I think your way overvaluing a 10/5 guy that makes one three a game. We've added a guy that's slightly better than James Posey. That third option doesn't excite me too much. That's no Ginobli, that's no Josh Howard, that's no Haslem, etc...
But DD, among that list of Uconn lottery picks, how long did it take those guys to "develop"? A lot/most of those guys also entered the draft early. They all had very good to great rookie years. I just don't see Gay being any different.
Well put. Battier is a proven NBA player. Yes he's proven himself as a consistent 10/5 player. With Gay, you don't know what you might get. And we traded away Swift, another 10/5 player. So it's essentially handing Memphis Gay, who might blossom into an all-star, or another scrub taken at #8. But why give him away? Let him develop and he might be a valuable asset to the Rockets after Tmac ages. But NOOOOO, the front office is full of ughh. I don't even want to talk about it.
A good point, but Gay is a 19 year old kid with lots of question marks. His college coach even called him out on lack of motivation. Look, I am ok with the trade, I think the Rockets got better, a lot better, but it is a risk, I admit that. Gay could become a special player, or he could be average, or he could be a bust. At least with Battier you KNOW you can count on him to do his job and do it well. Also, he will be shooting a LOT more 3pters this year playing with Yao and Tmac...a LOT more......Battier will thrive playing on the Rockets and their inside out game, it suits him better, IMHO. Gay needs the ball to be effective, and in Houston he would not have gotten it as long as Tmac was here. DD
His questionable motivation is nothing compared to the criticism of Villanueva the year prior and he was the 2nd best rookie last year behind Chris Paul. Gay could be a bust, but again every single Uconn lottery pick has panned out. Battier you know you're getting 10/5. While Gay is not a lock to get 10/5, but his ceiling is so much higher than Battier's. The risk/reward is nutty and again it's not like we gave up Gay for Battier straight up. We also gave them our back up PF. Again, I don't think a guy that had been averaging two 3 pt shots a game is going to be jacking them up. He's never been a guy that shoots much and when you go to a team with two superstars you tend to shoot less, not more. I definitely disagree with this statement. Some people seem to be confusing Gay's lack of motivation with him being able to fit in. Uconn had one of the most talented teams in college history and Gay was their best player without having the ball in his hands most of the time. He can score a variety of ways much like a Josh Howard.
He just might be right, or he might be a young cocky 19 year old kid that gets his A$$ handed to him by professionals night in and night out. Which do you think is more likely? DD
Give it up DD, it is painful to watch the spin you put on your posts. Jerry West said that last night was one of the best nights he's had as a GM (look at clutch's new article). Thats all you really need to know, we got dominated. You continuing to spin this makes you look foolish.
DD, Have you ever seen Rudy Gay play? Even if he had motivational problems, he'd get us 10 and 5, plus play solid defense. He has superstar talent, and at worst, will put up the same numbers Battier does. Memphis fans are saying that Battier's defense is slipping and that he can't guard 2s. So your analysis of how it's going to open things up for T-Mac is flawed. They play the same position, and I think we all agree that we don't want T-Mac trying to chase down 2guards like Larry Huges. So, this does not address our 2guard need, as Battier is a 3, and it further depletes our pf position, which was already one of the weakest in the league. Also, trading Stro, just one year after we signed him for the full MLE, for negative value smells of desperation and mismanagement. You seem to be the only one who can't see it. All this for a better-than-average role player. This is the worst trade in team history, and I don't think I'm being overdramatic.
While we got absolutely hosed on that deal, somebody here said it right, Gay is the X-factor, we need a bust here to make ourselves feel alot better. The only good that can come out of this is that by the time Gay realises his potential, Battier would have already been a pivotal part of a couple of championships for us. On the negative, Memphis now has an athletic, young, long as hell defender to stick on T-Mac. I still believe we need a scorer who can create for himself, even if he comes off the bench.
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