fredv: I would keep Yao, for sure. Centers, even if they ARE injured a lot, are still very, very rare. I would not keep TMac or Alston, because LeBron James is available, should we so desire him. Scola and Artest? It depends on how they do/mature this coming year. Yao and James = probably get closer to a title than Yao and TMac. I'm not trying to be a ***, but it really is true. James > TMac.
If Artest has a good first half, expect him to be resigned before the end of the season next year. Yao will definitely be extended before ever becoming an unrestricted free agent, that will NEVER happen. Tmac most likely will be, unless he wants another max contract. He will get a decent contract offerred to him before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Scola is potentially where we could lose. He will probably enter the restricted free agent market, and then we will have to see if we will match his offer sheet and pay the luxury tax that it will take to keep him. I am betting that we will match all offers for Scola and pay the luxury tax as well as sign the others; and that we will have these four in our starting line up for the next 5 years to come. That is a definite recipe for a possible dynasty type championship contending team for this year and the next four to come!
last year, we got our PF. this year, we got our 3rd option and health,hopefully. We looked better on paper every year, but the results had been the same. I have to fix my eyes on the unchanging part of the picture. yeah, it is PG. my prediction: Rockets will go no further than passing the first round. Raferness at PG is just too big a hole to fill, not even by Yao, TMAC, Scola, Artest and Battier.
I concur. That's why this year is probably the most important year of the Tmac era. IF the team wins a 'chip, Les will probably go above the lux tax to keep this team together. If the team shows signs that it could seriously contend, I expect McGrady to take a pay cut to remain with the team. Probably Artest as well. Scola's the tricky part. Now that he's made it in the best league in the world, will he be content with a small paycheck in return for success? Teams are probably gonna give him contracts above the MLE based on his production for us and in international play. Any way I see it, we are definitely going to have to break the threshold to keep the core together. Here's just hoping this season's a good one.
As we all know, the biggest problem the Rockets have faced for the past five years has been offense. We go on droughts whenever T-Mac is out of the game and sometimes when he's in the game. Half of that was due to JVG's half-court style, and the other half was because we lacked the offensive personnel. Adelman did his best to help alleviate that last year, but we still lacked that scoring punch. I predict the addition of Ron Artest and Brent Barry will help our scoring, however, there are still glaring holes in the Rockets offense. The biggest hole is we still have noone who can create their own shot on the perimeter. More specifically, we don't have a guard who can move without the ball and catch and shoot, someone like Jordan Farmar or Sasha Vujacic, who can both also drive and score if needed. Actually, Brent Barry can help us with that, but I'm not banking on him being able to drive and finish consistently. Anyway, the additions of Artest and Barry make this team better offensively, but not to the degree everyone is proclaiming. We'll still go on long offensive droughts, and I doubt we'll finish in the top 10 in offense next season, a requirement for championship teams. As for Francis, the biggest barrier for him isn't injury, or being out of shape, it's his ability to grasp Adelman's offense. Last season Francis said he was fine and didn't understand why he wasn't playing, when it was obvious it was because he struggled with the offense. I predict Francis will still struggle with the offense, however Adelman will still play him when we are really struggling to score, as Francis is at his best when he puts his head down and drives to the basket.
i was starting to pay attention to this then i saw it was by the same guy who gives think somehow Francis will get more playing time than Barry and Battier what a dumass i dont think coach adelman is that stupid
the injuries last yr to tmac were freak injuries (the elbow, the knee in the dallas game). but yes, playing him less minutes is always good. but even when he plays, i think his load will be less. i don't care if he averages 17-18 ppg as long as he doesn't carry too heavy of a load.
08-09 = WCF appearance and pushing to 6-7games 09-10 = NBA Title anything else means failed. theres no more time to make excuses
Rockets would have been a true contender had Yao wasn't injured. So as Ron Ron said, anything less than a champion next year is a failure. I am just not optimistic about the health of tmac and yao. Any season from now on could be their last healthy season, so the window is really small.
Aaron Brooks will be an important piece. If he plays up to his offensive potential he will be huge off the bench. If he does'nt we will have to look elsewhere for a backup.
If we got title in next 2 seasons.. everything will be fine..do not worry.. i mean including lux tax if i was les
You calling me a dumbass? You know...it's one thing when you don't agree with someone on certain points, whether you have a logical well thought out reason or not...which you obviously don't; but when you start to insult people because of it, then it only shows your lack of intelligence. But you can do me and you a favor...don't pay attention to or respond to anything else I write Mr. Sensitivity; tell your boyfriend to do the same.
lakers can get to the finals with pau gasol playing center. the celtics can get by with perkins and KG. yes, yao is the last breed of the true post-up centers, but in this game nowadays, you don't really need a true center to win. the game is faster and more versatile - PFs like duncan or amare or kg can slide over to play C just as easily as they play PF. if yao is injured again, the logical thing is to think about trading him. i don't think it will b/c money always comes into play.
oh man you got me crazy excited for a minute there, you had said that tracy was in his last year of his max deal.. McGrady signed a 3-year contract worth $63,000,000.00 on Aug 3, 2000. Will be a free Agent in 2010. but then again i remembered the free agents for 2010..gonna be pretty tough to see what direction we're going to go.
Hey this team won 22 games in a row! Can it get any better? Every offseason brings something new, some hope so as this, even more than every other. I predict a good playoff spot and possibly a NBA championship. Call me crazy, but a team that has one of the best wing players in the world, best center and one of the best defensive players in the league equipped with a lot of offensive skills and bunch of others quality players like Luis Scola, Shane Battier, Carl Landry, Brent Barry, Rafer Alston is ready for it's 3rd NBA championship. There I said it, after all these years.
Coach Adelman, you might recall, was "stupid" enough to believe that Francis would be the starting point guard last year.
Hey, I'm also gonna go out on a dumbass..pardon me, as you say "dumass"... limb and say that Francis and Rafer's minutes might even switch if Francis is fully healthy this year!
