Morey/Rick Do anything, do something, scam somebody, but please do not think we can win with this squad because of the following * Tmac will get hurt or breakdown during the year and/or playoffs * Yao will get hurt or breakdown during the year and/or playoffs * Rafer will continue to shoot horribly except for 20 games, when we love him * Steve is old and 2 knee surgeries is not a good thing for a bball player * BJ looks as old as Deke with those ice packs on his knees * Luther, if you mention Utah he'll start crying * Chuck can't hit a layup in the Toyota Center all alone Please some player or team you can scam to improve the Rockets. * Mike Miller * Corey Magette - Rick can get him to slow down his shots and play D * Artest - just wants to win * Peitrus - shot is shaky but everything else is a go * Barnes - just hustles, does some dumb things with the ball * Please draft the following Richard Roby 6'6" NBA Comparison: Allan Houston Strengths: One of the top shooters in the college game ... Prototypical 2-guard for the NBA ... Mechanics and release on his shot are tremendous ... Has shown the ability to take over and win games with his shooting and playmaking ability ... Clutch player who steps up and shows no conscience shooting the ball when the game is on the line ... Has great genes for the game as he is K-Mart's half brother and the athleticism did not miss him ... Extremely long and fluid athlete with a smooth offensive game ... Good leaping ability which will only get better as his body matures ... He is adept at creating shots for himself off the dribble ... His mid range game is very advanced ... Extremely long arms give him added length ... Picks up a lot of steals with great speed and anticipation ... Possesses an excellent feel for the game, especially offensively ... Has worked hard on cutting down turnovers as his improved A/TO ratio attests ... Has excellent upside ... Weaknesses: Must show the passion and hunger to play up to his abilities every time out ... The game comes so easily to him that he can get by on natural ability so staying focused and working hard to improve is key for him ... Still needs to become stronger physically ... Added strength will give him more ability to take the ball inside and finish ... Developed a bit of a soft rap from scouts after starting his sophomore season slow, but has responded well ... Must show the ability to play well against top level teams and players ... Free throw shooting should be better for such a great shooter (roughly 70%), needs to put in work to improve upon it ... Notes: Led Colorado in scoring as a freshman ... Half brother is Denver Nuggets star Kenyon Martin. James Gist NBA Comparison: N/A Strengths: Potential is outstanding, especially in faster paced NBA ... Athletically, he can compete with anyone ... Dunks with authority often ... Runs the fast break very well for a power forward... Great length ... Good touch around the basket ... Has the potential to be a lock down defender ... Very good post defender ... Has strong shot blocking instincts ... Good footwork in the post... Improving jump shot ... Developing ability to play on the perimeter ... Incredible on the open floor ... Can get on a roll and look like a budding star ... Has noticeably improved every year of his collegiate career ... Strong free throw shooter ... Weaknesses: Has a tendency to disappear offensively at times ... Not ready to play full time on the wing, as he would likely be asked to do... Poor rebounder for his size ... Not strong enough to play the four in the NBA, and lacks great height at 6'8" ... Very passive overall, doesn't make his presence felt enough ... Must work on consistency and getting open ... A bit of a tweener, but has the potential make the transition to a wing player ...
I respectfully disagree ... Yes, I'd love to see a package of Miller and Navarro from Memphis, and hopefully Morey finds a way to get it done. I'd love Artest too, although doubt they'll go down that track. I do expect Morey to add another rotation player, perhaps 2, although to do that, we'd probably lose one. So, I only expect a net of one. TMac probably WILL miss some games injured, and he's lost a step, but even slowed down, he's still one of the best in the league. But, I don't expect Yao to miss the playoffs. That was rather freak, as were his previous 2 injuries. Its not like something chronic, such as TMac's back. We may even need to find a way to rest Yao early in the season, since he'll be playing in the Olympics. Francis could return to form, but I have a bad feeling his knees are shot. I'm not putting much hope there, but if he did recover, wow, that would be cool. I figured we traded for BJax so that we COULD include him in a trade this year as an expiring contract. Yes, he helped our guys learn Adelman's system quicker, and was helpful off the bench, but he's probably served his purpose. Luther's days are numbered, IMHO. I expect him to be packaged in a trade. If we keep him, we need to hire a life coach, who gets his confidence back. When he was a rookie, he was daring and clutch. That's all gone now. Sad. Hopefully Deke comes back. I have no idea how we can get his value at his cost, and I'd love for him to have a ring with the Rockets. And, I like having Chuck on the bench. He's a real defensive stopper. This team has learned how to play team basketball, and if Yao and Alston had been there, I believe we'd have at least gone to the Finals this year. If you added Miller, had a healthy Yao in the playoffs, and Brooks, Landry and Scola developed more, we can be a championship team ... maybe worrying about injury all the time ... lol ... but, so are a lot of teams. IMHO, we DO need to figure out what Phoenix is doing to protect their players, and learn from them. Keith Jones is supposed to be the best, but his results haven't been too impressive. We've got to keep our players healthy, and that probably will determine how we play Yao and TMac. Phoenix has taken a number of injury prone players and milked a lot out of them. I don't consider this a very good draft. So, it wouldn't surprise me to see us include our draft pick in a trade, probably in the aforementioned with Memphis. As far as Roby is concerned, that review was written 2 years ago, after his sophomore season, when everyone was high on him. He then major regressed his junior season. His senior season, he's looked better, but he might not even make the bottom of the 2nd round. I'd take him in the second round, but definitely not in the first. You have to be careful about those comparison names from NBA Draft, especially when they don't update their descriptions.
I feel ya. I'm sick of our underwhelming results. Even a second round would be amazing at this point. It's a good thing we have Morey. If it is the same team next year, I wouldn't be upset about it. I had a damn fun time watching this season. Injuries are awful but the low injury risk alternative is something resembling rebuilding. If we have similar injuries next season keeping what we have, we will probably get a similar result. We are closer to a title with what we have than if we went out of our way to move the injury prone players just for the sake of avoiding injuries. Injuries suck but they're not as bad as having durable players who never have a shot at winning anything. That's why I don't mind this team's makeup. If we add a piece you mentioned, it's all gravy. Morey would and should get fired if he doesn't address our weaknesses, but there's no way he doesn't... he is the Morey.
This team showed heart and guts last year. I just want to add a few talented pieces here and there and maybe a quality backup to Tmac or Yao.
The Rockets are an elite team with championship potential when everyone's healthy. It's not easy to get to that point, and they shouldn't goof it up by trading away a key player. Instead, just add scoring depth -- players who can step up when T-Mac or Yao inevitably goes down. As unsavory as it might be from a likeability standpoint, Artest might be one of the few players who could really improve the Rockets' chances. He brings defense, offense and attitude. Bring him in and you have a quality player to trade in Battier. Maybe Battier lands you a Mike Miller-type gunner. Another piece to consider would be T.J. Ford. With Calderon's emergence, he's expendable. The Rockets play well and win with Alston, so despite Alston's poor shooting, he's worth more to them than it appears. He's a floor leader. They should keep him. But Ford would add big-time scoring insurance and be a great complement/backup to Alston. Just a thought from a newbie who's much more a fan than an expert.
I doubt we'll be able to address the PG position this off-season. Having someone to spell TMac, and someone else who can score outside and attack the basket is higher priority ... ala Mike Miller. That problem might just take care of itself with Brooks. I expect him to have a breakout season, and could be our starter by the playoffs.
I live in Los Angeles. Last summer, the fans wanted to fire Mitch Kupchak and break up the team. The talent level of the team looked weak and advancing past the first round seemed impossible, if they could even make the playoffs at all. After Boston got KG and Allen the pressure was on the lakers to do something...anything. Their offseason moves were: - Sign Derek Fisher and Coby Karl - Draft Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol, and Sun Yue That's it. And yet the lakers were first seed even before obtaining Gasol. Kupchak and the role players proved the doubters wrong. You'd be suprised how similar Farmar, Vujacic, and Turiaf are to Brooks, Head, and Landry. Their bench is good, while our is supposed to be hopeless. I don't see it that way. Morey's going to try and improve the roster. The only constant will be the Tmac-Yao duo. But if you think success for the team depends on Cuban-esque trades and signings, you're living in a fantasy land.
It seems to me that the Rockets are making signficant changes to their roster every year. They might benefit from a little more continuity.
We continue to face injuries every year with no one to step up. Rafer get's hurt and we're doomed because brooks has developed and we have no other pg's on the roster. Plus, we all agree that Rafer should not be the key to our playoff victories. That's scary at best. Yao and Tmac need to limit in season minutes down to less than 40 per game. I'd rather have a healthy Yao and Tmac in the 7th seed than a 4th seed and homecourt with an injured Yao and Tmac. We all agree that we need a 3rd beast like, Magettee, Artest or Miller. BJ, Luther, Novak, Chuck, and Steve should be included in any trade scenarios that net the former 3.
I know, after last two seasons it is tough to belive that we can stay healthly next season, but damn I belive. Of course we need help but I expect healthly Mac and Yao
Andrew Bynum improved. Battier doesn't have Bynum's potential. This is a vet team that overachieved. Landry will be 25 before next season is likely WYSIWYG again limited potential. Brooks is a third option PG who needs to develop into a backup PG first. Also Bynum started most of last season so he didn't suddenly go from backup to key starter.
I agree with the earlier posts, get a third scorer that will solve a lot of problems. I was hoping Bonzi would have been that third scorer, but he had a below average season before he was traded. I hope the deam is not dramtically changed, I think the rockets should hold on the Yao, Tmac, Scola and Landry, there are others I hope don't get traded, everyone else its possible to trade if we can get that third scorer.
