Rasheed Wallace has a career shooting percentage of 48% and rarely turns the ball over. Plus, he plays excellent defense. Walker has a career shooting percentage of 41%, is consistently among the league leaders in turnovers, and is a bad defender. Wallace is a much more efficient player than Walker.
Rasheed Wallace will make $10.6m next and isn't available for the MLE or a SnT that probably includes Spoon. Walker may not be a good on the ball defender but VG won't allow a player on the Rox that can't or won't play good team D. Sheed is regarded as a good 3pt shooting big man. The career %age difference between he and Walker is nil. I'd rather have Sheed, too. But Walker is 2 years younger and for half the salary, I can live with an extra 1.4 TO's/48 minutes. EDIT: Career Efficiency: Walker = 17.65 / Wallace = 16.84.
When a big man that averages 19/9 has to settle for MLE money, doesn't that raise any red flags? Hey, maybe the GMs around the league know something we don't.
Those efficiency numbers are going to be off because Walker has played for bad teams his entire career and inflated his numbers. Wallace is not going to get the same points, rebounding and assists numbers because he has had to share the ball more. Steve Francis has an efficiency of +20.63, better than Ray Allen. But I think most would agree Ray Allen is more efficient.
Marshall, Swift, Walker, SAR. Of that group of guys, I actually think Swift is the one that falls into that category because when you talk about Swift, you are mostly talking about potential. In your mind, you can see where he could be huge for Houston in terms of rebounding and weakside shotblocking. Maybe even hit that medium range jumper for us. But we just dont know. He really has the potential to either be a huge cog for us or be someone that just completely disappears. That's why I am not completely sold on Swift. Marshall is the oldest of the group. But he can still shoot and plays decent defense whereas Taylor didnt. Shooters always tend to have good value though as they get older. I think Walker and SAR are the safest bets because they have the complete package offensively. Teams will always need these guys. Their defense? Maybe it is mediocre but both players play hard and are versitile. They would have good market value. If we are talking about which players will still be quality assets if they DONT work out in Houston, I would say SAR and Walker would fit the bill. Will, I would be interested in hearing who YOU are thinking about in your question. Who in YOUR mind do you think should be filled in the blank in your question.
One guy that nobody's mentioned so far is Udonis Haslem. He's a restricted free agent, but seeing as the Heat just drafted Wayne Simien in the first round, they may be reluctant to match an MLE-range offer for Haslem. Better yet, they may be willing to talk S/T. This guy would be a pretty good fit here, I think. He's a tad undersized, but he's a good midrange and FT shooter and a strong rebounder. His defense is not so good... But I think he can improve. He averaged a very respectable 10/9 last year. Considering that he's a hard worker and just 25-years-old, his game still has some room for growth. I think he'd be a good role player for us. Definitely a risk though, considering that he's restricted. There are probably better options available, but CD should definitely explore this one.
Aquiring either SAR or Walker will probably have to be done thru a sign and trade, and im perfectly fine with that cause then you can use the MLE exception on helping the backcourt. But either way, Im getting so tired of this notion that these power forwards "don't fit into the rockets system". I think too many fans are obsessed with copying other teams and want one big man who can post up and other big man who specializes in defense and rebounding. If Yao were a more dominant player, I could almost agree. He is not a superstar yet. He dissappared too many times in the Dallas series. When Yao gets into foul trouble and has to leave the game, we have no post up game whatsoever. If we could count on Yao playing 38 minutes a night, then maybe I could see another angle to this. But if we can't aquire a 3rd option on offense in the backcourt, then I wouldn't be opposed to SAR or Walker.
Perhaps, but a lot of that has to do with the market. The majority of teams in the NBA only have the MLE to work with. Of the teams with cap room, many of them are worried about their own FAs to go shopping. I dont think there is any question that teams will get MUCH better "value" for the MLE this year than last year. I mean this year perhaps Walker or Simmons gets the MLE contrasted to last year when guys like Fisher and Cardinal got the FULL MLE for 6 years! HUGE talent difference! This is the year to spend the MLE on one quality guy because it is a buyers market!
You make some fair points! I mean when the notion of Walker was brought up I laughed it off because he didnt fit into MY NOTION of what I want out of our PF spot. But when you take a step back and think outside of the box a little you can see where someone like Walker could make a big difference on this team, especially offensively. And as long as we have good quality TEAM DEFENSE it can mask some defensive deficencies. If Swift is the guy we think would be the best compliment next to Yao, we have to ask ourselves, how much better a defender is Swift than Walker? Then think offensively, how much better is Walker over Swift? You also make a valid point about what Walker can give us if Yao is out of the game. You get a guy that can work in the low post ala Barkley and be able to score, attract double teams and help create for our 2nd unit, giving the Rockets the ability to have some semblence of an offensive game when Yao is out. I cringed everytime I saw the Rockets offense run when Yao wasnt in the game to offer a low post threat. There just wasnt any flow in our offense. Our offense demands that we have some sort of low post threat. I am not sold on Walker on the Rockets. I dont know. But what I can say from what I have read over the last few days is the more I think about Walker's game and put him in the Rockets system the more it makes more sense to me wheras it didnt seem like a fit a week ago. Just things to think about.
The first thing Van Gundy did after taking over for Don Nelson was trade Anthony Mason away for Larry Johnson. He does not strike me at all as someone who would ever experiment playing a point power forward. Under that scenario, Walker is just as likely to make a bad pass, take a bad shot, or blow an easy layup as he is to make a smart play. He has good handles and passing ability for a power forward. But as a playmaker in general (including guards), he's below average. He makes as many mistakes as he does good plays. People see the highlights of him making the spectacular passes and think he's this great passer, but they don't see just how many dumb passes he'll make that will totally negate that one spectacular pass. If the Rockets are going to get a playmaker as a 3rd option, I would much rather they get a smart reliable guard to handle the ball and create plays, than rely on a boneheaded power forward. Give me a player that will make the smart play over the flashy play every time. Substance over style. Having a 3rd option is important, but there are so many more efficient 3rd options out there that would be much more stable than Walker. The last thing the Rockets need as the 3rd option is someone who will score 30 points one night and 7 points the next. His performance is all over the place. Totally undependable because you never know what you're going to get from him on any given night. Walker is the exact same way. Many of his outside shots are off the dribble. He's a volume shooter, just like Francis.
Easy - Swift. He really has very little basketball skills (like Cato) and is injury prone. He is athletic but that is about it. After 5 years in the NBA you are what you are. Marshall is second but only because of his age. He is a highly skilled blocker, rebounder, shooter.
No disrepsect intended Jeff but if they get Walker it will be a monumental mistake and that loud hysterical laughter you'll be hearing will come from the Mark Cuban, the Mavericks and me. Numbers alone cannot adequately describe a player - you have to see him in action to get a true idea of how good (or bad) a player can be. Walker does not play defense...period. By period, I mean not all. Nada. Nien. Not even dreaming in his sleep. He will shoot you out of as many games as he'll help you win - he can't help it - he's never met a 3 point shot he didn't like. He's not a very good team player and caused more than a few problems chemistry wise when he was with the Mavericks. Note to Jeff: If the guy could not get along with Don Nelson, think about what will happen when he bumps up against JVG. They (Mavs) were beyond happy to get rid of him and I'm sure that they would be giggly to see the Rockets make the mistake of picking him up in a desperate hope that somehow he will morph into a solid PF. I realize that there is a gaping hole at the 4 spot on this team but this is a problem that has been 4 years in the making and said hole exists due to the stupidity and incompetence of our front office. At the beginning of this past season, I pointed out the problems with the personnel manning the forward position: specifically a lack of size and ability. There did not appear to be much concern then. Now it appears to be a major point of concern because of how the Mavericks exposed and exploited this weakness in the playoffs. However, NONE of the candidates you have detailed above are the real answer toward making them competitive with other teams in the West and even if they were, the Rockets could not afford to pay them. When you find yourself in a hole (of your own making) playing catchup after years of drafting and personnel mistakes, there simply is no quick fix available and I'm afraid that the Rockets are going to have to bite the bullet on this one until next year.
Mo Taylor was the case of an offensive minded player that got inflated offensive numbers as the #1 or #2 option on a bad team (Clippers). That sounds to me more like Walker or SAR. Swift is more similar to Cato. Cato was player that was capable of being a great shotblocker/rebounder but was stuck on the bench in Portland where he never got a chance to start. Now the question is, which type of player is Van Gundy more likely to get the most out of? Van Gundy’s track record leads me to believe he is much more likely to get more out of Swift, a player in the same mold as Cato, Camby, Kurt Thomas, rather than Walker or SAR, players in the mold of Mo Taylor.
Hillboy, if you were CD which PF (that we realistically might have a chance to obtain) would you be targeting and why?
Swift is unproven. Shareef's a loser who doesn't play defense and needs a lot of space and shots to operate effectively. Donyell's old and his man-to-man defense is awful. Toine jacks up bad shots, doesn't play defense, and turns the ball over too much. There is no perfect fit. But we need, NEED upgrades in the starting lineup, and at PF in particular. Juwan Howard averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds last season. We need better production than that. If you're going to talk about how horrible Walker, or anyone else, is going to be, why don't you come out and say who you'd rather we sign? I guess there's always Mobley, Rice, and Eddie Griffin for Garnett...
There are many factors which lean Efficiency ratings away from exact science and more towards "relative" ratings. But there is no way I can agree that playing on bad teams inflates ER's to the point of where scrubs overtake All Stars. The ER's are lined with decent players.... http://www.nba.com/statistics/2004/...rs/LeagueLeadersEFFQuery.html?topic=0&stat=27 It is what it is...a relative rating. But to suggest someone is there solely because they played for the Hawks or Celtics is just not accurate. The 03-04 Mavs were a 52 win WC team and Walker's ER was 17.11. Not too far from his career ER.
Great post. I dont mind people posting their thoughts on some of these players shortcomings. But if you do, please post who YOU think we should get instead and why. It is easy to find holes in these players games. There isnt a perfect PF out there available to us. The key is to find the one that best fits with what we are trying to do. Find someone that best fits in with Yao and Tmac.
Walker will play defense under Van Gundy......period. Since he isn't a real good post defender (and there really isn't a single post defender in the league that can effectively stop Duncan and Garnett, the Wallace brothers give them the most trouble, but they still get their points), Van Gundy will mask this weakness by having Walker front his man in the paint and force the opponent to throw over him. Yao will then be at the basket forcing the kick out pass, where hopefully TMac and our 2 quick, defensive minded guards are rotating. The key to the whole thing is we have to get 2 defenders in the backcourt. Daniels and ?????Bonzi/Cat/??????Simmons???. Even if Walker is a big, gaping hole at the 4 defensively, I have come to the conclusion that we have to have an offensive minded 4 that will keep the opponents from collapsing on Yao and TMac. I'm not worried about him taking too many shots. He won't come here without the understanding that he has to keep the shot selection down, with the first choice of shots going to TMac and then looking to feed the post. He will feed the post...........probably better than any 4 that we currently have on the roster or have had on the roster the past 10 years. At at modest $5 mill salary, I don't see a tremendous amount of risk. Goodness, we were paying MoT how much to smoke blunts and play exactly how much defense. I think the real risk is when we add a player like Bonzi/Sprewell to the roster to be the starting 2. Lastly, there's going to be other 4s that are available because of the one time waiver clause that will bring post defense and shot blocking that we will be able to pick up for a little of nothing. I can't believe that Portland is going to turn loose Ratliffe, but if they do, he's ideal for defense and shot blocking.
Mo Taylor never, ever showed an ability to rebound. If he were capable of grabbing 8-10 boards a night, I guaruntee you he'd still be on this team. And at $8 million a year, he'd be a bargain. He got plenty of chances to start here though. And he was terrible. He finally started to play better in Yao's rookie year when less was expected of him, and was a pleasant surprise last season. But as good as he made our defense and rebounding, there were long, long stretches in the season where he was totally ineffective and found himself in JVG's doghouse. But there are some similarities. Both players are injury prone. Both can jump and block shots. But Cato was a very good man-to-man post defender. Stromile Swift is not. I disagree. I think the question is, which player would play the best as a Houston Rocket and help us win the most games? Swift is the only player who would actually NEED JVG to "get the most out of him." Shareef, Walker, and Marshall are all skilled enough, and they all work hard enough, to make the best of their abilities by themselves. I'd rather have a self-motivated, proven player than an immature player who needs a demanding coach to the most out of him. And I believe JVG feels the same way. SAR's a good lockerroom guy who can rebound and score in a variety of ways. He's proven that he can play in the league, and I get the feeling (and hope) that he comes here to prove that he can win in the league. Because he's in no way a leader, he's never been able to lead a team to the playoffs. But I think he's a perfect complementary scoring/rebounding option.
Good post. I really hope we can get Simmons. And at point we have a lot of options..find some quick defensive-minded guys who are also solid on offense..AD (not likely?) or Jaric. Or maybe Head and Spanoulis! Sura is just too slow on defense.. At power forward, there are a lot of guys we can get. Let's just get at least one of them. Rasheed would be awesome. But I don't think we can get him. Can we get Haslem?
