Power Forwards out there that fit the Rockets. Or at least, these are the type of guys, in my opinion, that Van Gundy wants. Most people around here hate Juwan Howard. Though it is understandble because he is old and slow and probably outmatched every night in the Western Conference, JHo serves a purpose on this team. He made jumpers. Now, granted that many of the jumpers he takes are wide wide open, b/c the double team sags to Yao before JHo even dumps the ball in, so the baseline 16 footer and the top of the key shot are there all day,..the fact remains that he still hits jumpers well. The circumstances might account for a slight advantage in jump shot %, but not too drastic. In sifting through the evidence, it's arguable that Juwon Howard a top 5 non-superstar Jump Shooting PowerForward. This is a big reason why JHo played a lot, and Swift didn't. And yes, I'm also taking into account that Swift can't rotate defensively, gets lost on offense, and can't box out his man. If Swift had a good jumper, he would be on the floor more because Yao needs the spacing. Also, Swifts' pump fake, dribble, slam move would be killer effective instead of just a once-in-a-while highlight reel. But that is the past. Van Gundy has stated many times that he likes Big Forwards who can shoot. I think Rasheed Wallace would be the ideal PF for Van Gundy's Rockets. But of course, he is almost a superstar and unattainable, but his qualities are exactly what I think Van Gundy is looking for in a PF: Defensive presence, length, quickness, and the ability to hit the J. Taking the above into consideration, here are some candidates for trades and or FA signings: (I computed the 2pt jumper % on my own, and the rest is from nba.com and 82games.com and hoopshype.com) For comparison sake, Juwan Howard 33yrs old .459 FG% overall .430 2pt jumpers (81% assisted) .518 inside 21.9 Rebound Rating 0.5 Block Rating salary 6.4 million contract 3 years Joe Smith 31yrs old(Milwaukee Bucks) .475 FG% overall .428 2pt jumpers (90% assisted) .551 inside 28.7 Rebound Rating 2.3 Block Rating salary 6.8 million contract 1 year Joe Smith is the PF that I want on the Rockets. His FG% on jumpers is almost identical to Juwon, and he shoots better inside too. He rebounds and blocks shots better also. I think this former #1 draft pick will be outmatched on most nights too, but he's veteran savy, and still has a lot too give. Milwaukee recently acquired Charlie Villinueva to go along with Andrew Bogut, Jamal Magliore, Dan Gaduric, and Calvin Booth. Put Joe Smith into that rotation and he's probably #4 or #5 in that 6 man post rotation. I think he's attainable, but the problem is he's one of Milwaukee's many expiring contracts. Heading into next year, they'll have $15-20 million in cap space, along with Bogut, Villnueva, Gadzuric, Bobby Simmons, Michael Redd. They have 2 solid PGs to re-sign, and maybe Magliore, but they are definitely going to be FA players next year, so there's no way they'd take Juwan (not like they need him). It'd have to be a 3-teamer or combine Rybo, Mutombo, Charlie Ward (is that possible or is he retired), and or Luther and Hayes and a draft pick. It'd be difficult to find the right combo of those players and not feel like it's too little or too much for a trade. David West 25yrs old(Hornets) .512 FG% overall .470 2pt jumpers (73% assisted) .590 inside 23.7 Rebound Rating 3.8 Block Rating salary 2.05 million contract 2 years On second thought, he's pretty much unattainble and considered to be part of the core of Hornets players that Byron Scott will go to war with. Brian Cook 25yrs old(Lakers) .511 FG% overall .429 3pt% .490 2pt jumpers (85% assisted) .609 inside 19.0 Rebound Rating 3.2 Block Rating salary 1.5 million contract 2 years If the Lakers trade rumors are true, then I truley believe this is who the Rockets are really after. It's pretty much consensus on the Lakers board that Cook, while a marksman, is expendable now that they've signed Radmonovic. They say he is took weak to play center and Phil Jackson chose to start Luke Walton over Cook in the playoffs. Basically, with Radmanovic, Kwame, Mihm, Bynum, Turiaf, Walton, and Odom sharing frontline positions, Cook could be the odd man out. The Lakers posters say that Cook sucks defensively, despite his 6'10" height and long reach, but that's not too bad compared to what we have in Juwan. And you can't disregard his 3pt range and jumpshooting marksmanship. This guy is make a living hitting jumpers when the defender sags off him to double Yao early or deny entry. Raef LaFrentz 30 yrs old (TrailBlazers) .431 FG% overall .392 3pt% .460 2pt jumpers (94% assisted) .487 inside 21.1 Rebound Rating 5.7 Block Rating salary 10.9 million contract 3 years Probably too close to a lateral move to warrant a trade. LaFrentz is not a vital role to Portland's future. He has size and better range than Juwan. I still consider Lafrentz an upgrade, because he's a better shooter and can block shots. But he might give the Rockets even a bigger disadvantage in terms of footspeed if paired with Yao...I mean Juwan ain't fast, but this guy can't move either. And the 11 million dollar salary sucks too...but it comes off the books the same year JHo's does. Jared Jeffries 24yrs old (Wizards) .451 FG% overall .308 eFG% jumpers (75% assisted) .620 eFG% inside 19.8 Rebound Rating 3.4 Block Rating Free Agent The Rockets are not going after this guy. Shooting less than 31% jumpers is no good on this team, no matter how versatile he is defensively. So with these perameters in mind, who else is out there that's attainable?
I'd scratch Jared off. He's not Pf-material. Otherwise I like everyone else, I really like Joe Smith.
dunno why people hate on juwan so much, he is a decent pf. Instead most people want jeffries who knows y.
Juwan Howard (6.3M) & Luther Head (1M) for Brian Cook (1.5M), Chris Mihm (4.2M), & Smush Parker(800K) Matches up pretty close salary wise... 7.3M vs. 6.5M And all 3 of those guys expire after this season I think... would be a sweet deal for the Rockets! But I doubt the Lakers would do that...
i like brain cook, but he's not our starting PF, no way. i can see him playing backup c and backup PF. maybe bowen and head for cook?
I thought Brian Cook was a SF? I didn't think he was strong enough or a good enough rebounder to play PF. I guess no one is up for Drew Gooden, he has a nice jumper and is a ferocious rebounder, dunno if we have enough for him though. Juwan Howard is a decent PF that floats our boat, and I hate him too, just dunno why, I thought Swift should have gotten more minutes last year...
Chris Dudley Someone find "moneyball" statistics on power forwards. It seems JVG has bought into the whole moneyball thing. I know Chuck Hayes is one of the leaders, and JVG spoke very highly of him at the breakfasts, but who else?
Overall, I'm not sure Brian Cook would be much of an upgrade over Howard. He might even be just as bad or worse on defense, and at least Howard leaves it all on the court every night. He fit in pretty well 2 years ago when we were healthy and all he had to concentrate on was rebounding and hitting his open mid-range shots. That said, I hope we do the rumored deal because Cook actually has an upside, and we would have Howard's contract off the books. However, I am still skeptical the Lakers are high enough on what Howard could bring to the triangle to want him for 3 years. To me, the length of Howard's contract is the deal breaker. I think with Battier, Howard, Hayes, and another FA, we can be okay with a PF by committee...but only if all our other pieces are healthy and our young guys step up.
Cookie would fit in nicely as a 4 who can space. Believe it or not, he still has some upside as a 26 year old. Big 10 Player of the Year 2003 Led Big 10 in scoring 2003 As far as not being big enough (6-10,240) I think not being tough enough is a better assesment. He has the wingspan of a seven footer, but has yet to develop beyond a defensive liability. I've heard he's a great kid and he would be an upgrade over JHo.
i think we need to put a banger next to yao, a defensive-minded rebounding PF. JVG's a defensive-oriented coach, and we've already tried a young, athletic, high-flying PF (Swift) and that didnt work, so putting a tenacious rebounder and solid defensive PF is the right thing to do
Why does everyone want overpaid underachievers like Gooden and Murphy? Chuck Hayes is better than either of these guys. He rebounds and bangs big guys and enjoys doing these things. When Chuck Hayes doesn't play (and if Juwan is indeed shipped off in the rumored deal), there's Battier, who played a good chunk of his minutes at PF. Battier can at least be the Scott Padget who doesn't suck on D. If Mihm is what the Rockets got in return for Juwan, he can probably play some PF against the bigger slower PF types like Duncan, Walton, Sweetney, Foster, etc. Don't buy into the hype, get guys who can actually contribute instead.
The days of the bangers are over my man. Guys like Dave Debusher or Charles Oakley just don't have a place in today's NBA. Now it's the hybrid position: Tayshaun Prince Shawn Marion Rashard Lewis Stro 4's in the NBA today HAVE to space the floor. There's just no way around it. Slashers like Tmac need the lanes and Bigs like Yao need shooters to kick to. Chuck Hayes will raise a few eyebrows this year. Look for him to contribute a la Ryan Gomes in Beantown last year.
