Didn't Walt Williams get his nickname "the Wizard" as a point guard at the University of Maryland? If Fegan manages to divest the Rockets of Moochie Norris, then is Walt a viable candidate as backup point guard? He would be much taller than most points, and his lack of speed would not be as much of a liability as it would be in trying to defend against opposing shooting guards. Also, there would be one fewer logs in the SF logjam. Then, if Fegan forces a sign and trade, the Rockets could do a deal with Chicago to obtain Trenton Hassell to back up Mobley and Dalibor Bagarac to back up Cato and Collier.
Oh my god, the Wizard against Point Guards would be UGLY. Imagine him going up against Marbury? or our very own Francis? I say Wizard's gone as soon as Jahidi White's BYC status is up.
Interesting thought if this were 1994. Wiz probably could have been servicable on that team. But not this team. That goes completely against everything Rudy is trying to do right now. If Wiz starts playing PG, then all hell broke loose. -krosfyah
I kind of like the idea...at least it would make the team quite tall if you play PG Walt (6'8) SG Morris (6'9) SF Griffin (6'10) PF Collier (7'0) C Cato (6'11). Only problem is that that team would also be slooooooooooooooow....
Remember, the key word is "backup." Rudy's coaching game is all about matchups. Ergo, he wouldn't pit the Wiz against Marbury or Payton, but not every point is an all star, particularly the backup point guards. By the way, Sane, you may be right on a Jahidi White deal, but I surely hope not. He's muscular but very, very short for a center. We may as well play Taylor at center. No. No. Let's go out for a center with size like Bagarac, Miller, Haywood or Mihm. The zone needs four fast guys (which we have) and a colossus in the middle.
any suggestion, where from we get such a guy into the middle. Jahidi is a realistic shot & he isn't very bad. i say lets get him if we cann't get somebody better. good center is rarity in these days in nba & nobody shopping his centers exept Jordan.
I read about "The legend of Walt Williams as a point guard" a while back. There was one game where the team was down to 6 healthy players after some injuries and ejections, so somebody had to play the point. I understand he didn't embarass himself, but he was by no means a legitimate point guard. And that was 10 or so years and a couple of knee injuries ago. He couldn't do it now. j
I believe that Walt will backup the SG position, especially if he wants to play with Rice solid at the SF(unless his foot becomes a real problem)... Walt seems the better SG type than Morris(a true SF)... If we lose Moochie that would only hurt us but I'd assume we would try to resign Colson if possible(since we renounced him)...
As I just suggested, Bagarac and/or Miller from Chicago (realistic); Mihm from Cleveland (less likely); Haywood from Washington (in two months); or Daniel Santiago (Phoenix free agent). At least they have size. If you want a 6'9" center, Tony Massenburg of Memphis could be obtained very easily. Heck, stick Griffin in there. He's 6' 10" and mobile. If we exchange Walt for Jahidi White, all we get is one inch and 30 pounds. Pass.
Actually, Walt as the backup SG seems to make sense...then, we would actually be quite tall and good from outside...the second unit could look like this... PG Moochie SG Walt SF Morris PF Griffin C Collier Everyone could hit it from the outside, and with Morris and Griffin, there would be two guys on the field who can shut down people...
We get 1 inch and 60 pounds! Big difference...White is 6-9 290 and still mobile. At that size he is an enforcer in the paint for sure. White is young (only 25) and is very effective when he plays getting 8.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in just 23.7 minutes a game last season.
The Wz at point may actually be an interesting point. It raises two questions - .do we really need a true PG to back up Franchise or we can live with having manageable PG back ups by committee. WHat about having Cat, Wz get the 6-8minutes that Steve leaves for the back-up The only issue with this mode is in case Steve has to take a game or two off then we are truly screwed. The second question is can we bundle Wz with someone else to get more thatn just JH. Can we heave Colliers? KT? or even Langhi to get something back besides a serviceable back-up center.. In the sme vein I must also say I would give up Mooch....if onyl that screws Fegan.....
I don't think that you want to go there about the Wizard playing PG whether as a backup or not. John Crotty would probably school him. If Moochie does not re-sign, then we could be in a world of s*** when it comes to the backup PG. I saw where you had said something about Tony Massenburg. He only played in 10 games in the 2000 season for the Rocks, as that man had the slowest healing groin injury that I have ever seen. Plus he quickly jumped ship when he got the chance. So, I don't think he would ever be a possibility of coming back to the Rockets at least not with Rudy T and CD around. 200th post, yay!!
The question has become this: Would you rather have Walt in the backcourt, or Jahidi White in the frontcourt (C)? The answer's obvious, cause Jahidi would fare much better where he plays. Remember, Mo Taylor was our C for a while last year, he was average at least. I've been saying this a lot, it's not hard to play C in the West except against 2 or 3 teams. Walt for Jahidi, is a perfect deal for us. We erase the logjam at SF, and shore up the C/PF spot. I've got another question, can't Moochie back up both guard spots? I know he's not verytall, but depending on the matcgup, maybe Francis can move to SG or Cat to PG to help the matchup? I dunno, to me, three combo guards like Cat, Wink, and Mooch would be anough for our backcourt rotation. You may wanna add a 6'6 Project-type player to our IR. What do you think?
I didn't really read through this thread, but I figure this thread is as good as any to share a Wizard moment from this past season. Does anyone remember the game at Dallas when the offense was really out of sync, and for some unknown reason, Walt had the ball in his hands where Mobley would normally be for his Iso? I remember being at that game and you could see the look on Walt's face and tell what he's thinking, "Iso for me? What the hell am I doing here?", well anyway I guess he was having delusions of grandeur and thought he could take on Michael Finley (I think). Of course he lost the ball and that was that, but the reaction from the Rockets fans around me was priceless. "What the hell is Walt doing with the ball?" Yeah, Walt at the point position sounds like a great idea...
Moochie has an amazing ability to navigate through the trees (big men) up front. He's got a very underrated penetration ability, and an amazing floater to finish it off with. The thing about Mooch is that he's faster AND smarter than just about anyone he's matched up against. Cuttino undoubtedly is one of the best first step guys in the league, but Mooch isn't far behind. He will be past and around you in the blink of an eye, barreling towards your 5, totally ignoring the full foot of height that probably separates the two. He'll either get around the 5, pass to the open shooter, or put up a floater. And he'll do it consistently. He's both fearless AND capable. That is a rare combination.
In college, Walt was the man... He was indeed nicknamed the Wizard because of his ability to handle the ball and put the ball on the floor... He still has pretty good driving skills for a SF, but he's just too slow to take the ball all the way to the bucket... In a way it's kind of like Nowitzki driving, except that Walt is not 7 ft... Nowitzki doesn't have to be fast because he can just lay the ball over 6 ft 8 SF's... I thought Walt would be a star in the making...
