JJ instead of JP was the right move. a good move. but it still doesnt change the fact that James Posey was my favorite rocket last year. getting 5-6 steals a night and gliding to the basket at the speed that he gets...exciting player to watch.
CD and Co. were fixated on Pike and essentially lost. There is no excuse. Posey is a better player than they thought and I just think that CD and Les were, according to you, cautious to the point of being mistake prone and timid. At this point David Letterman can put together a top 10 list of the bad reads and ill-timed moves of CD. Unlike the rest of the organization, their MO has been to be slow, meek, senile and reactionary. Even going back to the EG trade, I remember that they were very uncomfortable, because of the tax, getting 3 first round picks. That, in my opinion, partly motivated them to ship 3 picks to NJ for EG. I do not have to go down the list but you know there are endless 3-player combinations from that draft the team could have had now or available for subsequent trades, instead. So the pattern is clear and evident. Those are the kind of things that result in someone like Alridge speculating that we want Oakley.
I disagree. Griffin was a potential NUMBER 1 OVERALL pick who slid down the draft, and a player that CD (and Rudy?) had targeted, due to the luxury of having 3 picks. The Nets deal was in place BEFORE the draft started and was ONLY contingent on Griffin being available at the Nets' draft slot. (Yet, the deal was done quickly before the draft, and the organization did not have an opportunity to interview Eggie beforehand, something that SHOULD have been done.) Had he not been available at the Nets' slot, I believe the Rockets would have kept all 3 picks and drafted accordingly (probably, with shoddy results ). However, they went for the BOLD move (something you alluded to before with Isiah) and came up empty. That move, to me, had more to do with getting a stud and not having to deal with 3 guaranteed roster spots than it had to do with guaranteed money. In fact, Eddie Griffin made $2,011,080 that year and $2,161,920 in 2002. Had we kept all 3 picks, the TOTAL salary for all 3 rookies in 2001 and 2002 would have been $3,312,600 and $3,561,000 (using what the Nets paid out), a difference of $1,301,520 and $1,399,080. Is Les THAT afraid of a measly $1.5 million bucks? If so, he has no right to own an NBA franchise. Also, remember that the Rockets had TWO first rounders last year (including the #1 pick, the MOST expensive pick in the draft). They didn't trade down or balk on drafting Boki then, did they?
I'D RATHER HAVE pOSEY RIGHT NOW THAN PIKE EVEN THOUGH PIKE MAKES LESS MONEY. WHAT A LETDOWN SEASON FOR HIM.
How come I haven't seen anybody post about a great season Posey was having before the Rox played them? He has one good game and you guys think we should of paid for him. We already have enough expensive bench players. No need for another.
Had Posey stayed here, He'd clearly be the starting SF for us. No question about it. He is 6'8 athletic, long plays hard all the time. I'm happy with JJ for now. Hopefully JJ can play at this pace for couple more years.
We all know that a player having 1 great game automatically means that they're a quality player worth their salary. Posey's a league average player. He's a below-average league starter. It was a sound decision to not pay him above league-average money.
With respect to the Edie Griffin fiasco, my beef is that they didn't take proactive stand with his behavior problems. For crying out loud, this is an asset of the organization, you should know if he is having problems or not. The guy was 19 years old, fragile age to be in the NBA, has had personal problems before, just monitor him, talk to him, get him some help, hire an asisstant, hire a "babysitter", make him feel part of the "family". You can't spend three first round picks on a player and then not care about his dvelopment. Anyway you look at it, since Sam Cassell in 1993 the only thing Rockets have gotten from the drft is a Yao Ming and a Cat Mobley, and both of those were pure luck. You can make a mistake every now and then with a Collier, a Turckan or a Nachbar, but jeez, we are talking 11 years of draft picks!
Amen! This is EXACTLY my feeling as well. You spend 3 #1 picks you better DAMN WELL protect your investment. Do what is necessary. I dont think we did enough. And yes, I know it is a two way street and Griffin is VERY responsible for his actions..but I still believe that the Rockets could have done more to perhaps curtail or prevent some of the situations if they had worked harder in the beginning.
For the last time, Posey's game against us is not an exception, he is having a great season. Versey, time has shown that the team overestimated EG and underestimated many players in that draft. If they had correctly valued the players in the draft like Richardson, Murphy, Zach, and many more, they would not have given up all 3 picks for EG even if they thought he was a stud. So I believe there was a certain thirst to unload the picks for financial reasons. Also just the year before the team had made another error in value judgement when they sent the Mexican to Dall for Langhi. The pattern of these errors and apparent fear of the tax is very evident. The irony of it is that when they did have some financial flexiblity around the time of the Dream's departure they went out and spend money foolishly.
The operative word to note here is CHEAP! Rocket personnel decisions these days are based more on money that basketball talent and skill (everyone repeat after me: We saved $6 million by not signing Posey!). For the record, both players are comparable so to me arguing which one is better is a waste of time. Who'd have thought that Pike would be a bust? ME! The guy was on the Clippers for years and did NOTHING! What could possibly have led you or anyone else to believe that he would suddenly "blossom" into an impact player? You folks have really GOT to stop reading the Rockets press releases. As for myself, I prefer to get my fiction from more reputable sources... AG was cut loose from Dallas because he was always hurt and has a bad back that limits his playing time. So CD & Uncle Les go dumpster diving and pulls him out for the Rockets. Guess what? He hasn't played all season because he's been HURT! Wow! I'll bet that they did not see that one coming...
Let me get this straight, when both players are comparable (as you said), being cheap is bad? About the "comparable" part, let's just compare them and tell me who's the better player. Jackson's career number: .430 fg%; .358 3pt%; 4.8 rpg; 3.4 apg; 15.3 ppg; 25 playoff games Posey's career number: .421 fg%; .326 3pt%; 4.9 rpg; 2.0 apg; 9.6 ppg; 0 playoff games Who said he would "blossom" into an impact player? He is a career .400 3pt shooter. The Rockets needed reliable veteran shooters to open up the middle for Yao. Pike is not a "bust." A bust is someone with high potential COMING INTO THE LEAGUE but turning out to be a bad player. Pike was not some young kid coming into the league. He's a 9-year veteran with proven shooting skills.
Pike is not a bust because he's a veteran? Was Tariq Abdul Wahad at $100 million not a bust because he was a veteran? Was signing Moochie Norris to a 6 year $18 million dollar contract not a bust? Pike was signed at $2.67 million to make outside shots to "open the middle for Yao". Has he done that? No. So he's being paid for something he hasn't done. That's the definition of a bust - below expectations. As far as the Jim Jackson comparison. If we signed Posey, we wouldnt have signed JJ, Pike, and Adrian Griffin. So tell me how that's so much cheaper? It's not. Ex post facto it's been Posey for JJ as the other 2 players have been non contributers. And as far as comparing the numbers, James Posey has done the same for Memphis playing 10 less minutes per game than Jackson has done for Houston. I hate going into this thread because the Posey bashers only intent is to milsead and lie.
1) AG has not played, due to the injury that nobody could predict. But he will one day. Pike is in a shooting slump, as MoT was until a few games back. The ex post factal is Posey for JJ plus two players that are waiting for their turn to contribute. God, 40 games aren't long enough to talk about anything! The starting of this thread after Posey's one night show was sick. 2) The fact that JJ can play so many minutes, and put up these stats is amazing. Didn't you whine about "JJ is old"? 3) The way I looked at it, West made a terrible deal. The ex post factal (as you put it) is that he paid $24mil/4 year for someone the team can play only 26 minutes per game and this player is ranked at very bottom among all starting SF's (as proved again by stats so far this season). Bottom line: JJ is doing as much as Posey could have for this team, if not more. Plus we have two more players that may contribute later. Much better in term of risk hedging.
Are you lying deliberately? The fact JJ can play so many minutes and put up these stats is amazing? I would not classify someone playing 37 minutes per game shooting a 40% clip as "amazing". He has not played these type of minutes for quite awhile. Who would you rather have? Someone who can score 11 ppg 4 rebs in 27 minutes while shooting 45% or someone who scores 11 ppg 4 rebs in 37 minutes shooting 40%? Is this a trick question? Posey is as good a defender as JJ, is 6 years younger, and is much better at running the break. If you're using statistics, at least do an apples to apples comparison. Posey couldnt shoot while JJ is a very good shooter. Im glad the statistics point that out. I love the offseason when everyone here was saying how the 2 headed monster of Piakowtski and Adrian Griffin was better than James Posey. Laughable then and laughable now.
I would pick JJ over Posey, simple as that. JJ has much better ball handeling skills and much much better passing. JJ gets almost 3 assist per game, while Posey gets virtually zero. JJ can bring the ball up court, while I haven't seen Posey doing that except on unchallenged fastbreak. Where are you JJ haters (Posey lovers) when JJ has a good game, say the one yesterday?
I'll make you a friendly wager that JJ's statistics will be worse in the 2nd half of the season than the 1st half. When a 33 year old former bench player, averaging 25 per game is now forced to play 37 minutes per game, he will slow down. The rookie wall? You aint seen nothing yet. JJ is good for 25 minutes per game. If you make him play more minutes over a protracted period of time, he will change from an asset to a liability.
Do you know why he played 25 minutes a game? He played for the Kings. Try to get alot of playing time on the Kings when they're that deep.
