I wonder if Al Jefferson is on the way out in minny. Its obvious something going there. He has a medical just like martin and yao, but his age,production, and versitility makes him intrigues me. He makes good money for the next 3 or 4 yrs, but I wonder if he could be the consolation prize.
He very well could be. Have we seen the best of Al Jefferson tho? Not sure, obviously he is coming off of the knee injury so he may not be 100% till next year. Now with the DWI there is some homework to be done on him, between that and his knee. Not saying he is a bad person or guys don't make mistakes, but I would be concerned
Other than the health issue which is a big issue as it is with yao and martin, the guy has been pretty standup. He's a country dude, but has evolved his game since coming in as a high schooler. I like amare and bosh would be a dream, but going after a guy that can play pf then slide over to center would be great and give the rockets great flexibility. Battier,Andersen,Hill, and maybe a pick for jefferson would work. I guarantee if jefferson was opposite of yao, teams would never front or play zone with brooks and martin on the perimeter.
Don't get me wrong I love his game, He and Yao may be a great combo. I'm just saying there are questions to be answered. Now that I'm thinking about it, kinda devils advocate here, why can't Al and love coexist, since that is the rumor. Is there enough space for Al and Yao to work together? I don't know. Still, love his game and like the possibilities.
Al and Yao would be a disaster, they are both low post players, and slower than dirt. I do like Lopez though, Yao for Lopez would be interesting. DD
You know, when i watch them play together it does seem odd which shouldn't be the case. I think when they made that trade for love, they envisioned okur/boozer type with love playing on the perimeter alot. It seems like 2 young guys still trying to work it out and the transition of coaching and players don't help either. You asked a legit question about he and yao. Since yao can hit the high post jimmy at a high rate, not to mention he will be limited to about 25 mins a night, i think it would be good. Also, al is a good defender and decent shot blocker plus a low post threat. Martin and brooks would get a lot of easy scores playing with yao and jefferson. Then when yao goes out, al slides over to center and the team can either bring in a guy like jeffries to match the odom type or scola if he's resigned or the young draft pick. It really just gives the coach good felxibility in terms of lineup.
I was discussing this with my roommate. I was thinking that everyone is looking at this summers free agent sweet stakes just at the HUGE names. There are many other good free agents that we could use that would be excellent in contributing to our team and doesnt NEED to be the center attention or demand the ball. I was thinking maybe Manu Ginobili would be an excellent name that we should look at. Hes an excellent passer and can drive to the lane..and he has played with Scola before so im sure he would be excited to play with his Argentinian Teammate
I agree. they are both good mid range shooters. Take turns rebounding ;p or try. But Yao automatically turns us into a slower team so dont see the porblem here. Al wont make us any slower. Tell you what though, I doubt too many teams would get a point inside the paint.
Hell No! Lopez on his best day couldn't hold Yao's jockstrap! Lopez would be an excellent back-up for Yao
I'm with you. He's just like Martin, which is an all-star caliber player stuck on a crappy team. He has been struggling as of late but it's natural to be unmotivated on that team. We would be true contenders with Al Jefferson or Bosh. No reason to ever mention Lopez. Not happening.
Hill + Taylor + Battier + Jeffries + NY's 2012 pick + $3M → Prince + Wilcox (filler) rights to Eliyahu + Rocket's own 2011 pick + NY's 2011 pick (right to swap) + Rockets 2010 2ndR pick → rights to Splitter - Rockets reduce 2010-11 team salary by $3.615931M Brooks, (Lowry*), (vacant) Martin, Budinger, (vacant) Prince, Ariza, (vacant) (Scola*), (draft*), Andersen Splitter, Yao, Wilcox * 2010-11 Team salary not including unsigned: $56.387873M - Estimated salary space under LT: $8.612127M (not cap space)
I agree Yao is better when healthy, but the "Healthy" part is the issue. Not me, only room for one low post player...IMO. DD
I disagree, but thats cool. If yao was like deke in terms of range or al has zero range,then i would be totally in agreement with you, but thats not the case. Yao can post some and move to the high post for pick and pop and have al working backside. I look at the upside in terms of defending and al being able to slide to center and man that spot while yao rests or is hurt. Then you come off the bench with jeffries or that stretch 4 you're talking about and now the rockets always have a defensive and rebounding presence on the court. Not to mention he's 25 which helps with the long term plans of the team. He will also punish teams when they want to play with the smaller lineups.
