Why? why? and why? Care to defend your position, rather than mocking mine? Do you want to see the Rockets win a championship again? I guess not. Kyrodis, I agree that the backcourt is an issue, but the Rockets need a starting power forward who has a physical presence and Juwan does not provide that at all. Despite all the open looks he gets, his FG percentage is 42%, so his offense is overrated. He doesn't rebound. And his defense is not impressive either. The bottomline is this, I'd like to see the Rockets back in the NBA Finals again, but the Rockets wont get close as long as Howard is on the team, stunting the Rockets growth, and guess what, that could be 3 years of Yao and T-Mac in the prime of their careers, wasted. The Mavs improved after they traded him. The Magic signed him to a 6 year deal starting in 03-04, and what followed was a 19-63 record for the Magic with JH as their starting 4. The Rockets went 12-5 after Juwan's last game in 04-05, winning their last 7. That's a higher winning percentage than at any point when Juwan was healthy. Stats don't lie. There's a reason Juwan's played on losing teams his whole career. He's not a winning player.
I don' t know how bad Tmac's back is, but if Tmac can maintain on 90% level of old Tmac, I'll still take Tmac. Maybe PPierce next if worse, then KG.
Just read this thread for the first time. Your animosity against JH is over the deep end. WOW! Clearly he's spent as a starter but to say "Juwan only holds the Rockets back" is crazy. The guy hustles and plays to the best of his ability. He isn't a lockerroom problem. He has no ego and is not selfish on the floor. As a backup PF he would be fine. There are a LOT OF THINGS that have held the Rockets back that have nothing to do with Juwan. I won't even bother listing some of them here, just choose a couple of other threads. And to say, "If Juwan is on the roster next year, then it's quite evident that Rockets management isn't smart enough to know what kind of players it takes to win championships" about an organzation that has won 2 championships is quite incredible. You probably don't think so but that is your opinion. My goodness, just 6 of the 30 teams have won the past 22 NBA championships! On the subject of the thread, we can pencil in Yao & Tracy. We must have new starters at SG & PF. Rafer has weaknesses but I think the guy is a keeper. Turning over 3 starters in the offseason would be a mistake. JH is close to untradeable and Stro is easily tradeable. One of those guys needs to be gone as we bring in a new starter. We need a much better offseason this summer and we especially can't blow the MLE again.
I want Wesley gone, bye-bye. I want every old Knick gone including Ewing and even JVG if he wants to quit. Then bring in a coach with a positive outlook, positive motivation skills, and an offensive-minded strategy. I want a new starting backcourt, yes, two new "starting guards," or one "starting guard" and a "starting SF." Move TMac to SG. I want at least one SHOOTER who can actually SHOOT! Consistently. Could we get Marcus Banks from the Wolves? I will settle for Howard and Swift, but without trading Swift I don't know how we get a shooter and another guard or SF. I don't want to see Brunson or Bowen play again. I want to see Hayes more, I want Head to improve, and I want Bogans to work on his shot, he might have potential. I want Ming to keep playing like he is now, and I want the old TMac back. I want the Rockets to draft a big, aggressive PF who can shoot. I want to win more games.
The fact that Juwan is and does these things you mentioned, doesn't matter. These aspects doesn't make him a good player, or a good fit for the Rockets. He doesn't impact a game, ever. I'd play to "the best of my ability", I'd "hustle", I'd "put my ego aside" if I played for the Rockets also, but that wouldn't matter because I would not be a good defender at the NBA lever, I can't dribble that well, and it would be tough for me to get off a good shot. and what has the Rockets organization accomplished since 1997? You realize that 17 NBA teams have reached the conference finals since 97-98 and one of them isn't the Rockets. Our last playoff series win was vs Seattle in 1997. The Rockets management has changed over the years, you know. I liked CD better when he was an assistant coach. I miss Bob Weinhour. Juwan cannot start for the Rockets next year if the Rockets are going to be taken seriously.
The Rockets went 16-4 (including 8 in a row), when Juwan was healthy. Later, they won the last 5 games he played. I think 16-4 is better than 12-5. Isn't 8-0 better than 7-0? Stats don't lie, right? Those are higher winning percentages than after he was injured. Go take a cold shower or something. Juwan is not the incureable disease that is killing us. Get over it. The JVG haters (and I'm undecided on him right now) at least have some real ammo.
OK. At least you are being reasonable. I think we're all unanimous against JH as a starter next year. I'm sure the organization is too.
I sure hope so. But I have my concerns when JVG comes out and says he is in love with Juwan's hustle and effort and when you have Les Alexander come out on Sportsradio 610 and say Juwan Howard is a critical part of the team. I like Juwan as a person, dont get me wrong there. He's a classy guy and a responsible person from what I understand.
Advocating flat out cutting Juwan shows a lack of understanding as to the ramifications of the luxury tax threshold, which Les said he would not exceed, except to sign a "special" player. Due to some good maneuvering in recents weeks, we have cleared room under the $61 or $62 million tax threshold this summer to sign an MLE player, sign our draft pick, and fill out the roster. We do not have the room to waste $6+ million for the next three years to flat out cut Juwan. At a minimum, the Knicks have $60 million in expiring contracts next year, and could probably be conned into taking him for cap fodder if Isiah is still around. Seriously, Juwan could still be productive off the bench. With our MLE, I would like to see us make a run at Posey. He would have to decline his $6.9 million option with Miami, and sign for less with us (at least the first year), so it is probably a long shot, especially since he signed with Memphis over us when Memphis was offering just a little extra. In otherwords, no Houston discount. But if we throw him the full MLE with max years and a starting role, maybe he takes it. With a starting five of Rafer, Posey, TMac, Stromile and Yao, we could play like the Showtime Laker teams of the 80s. That is, run for the first three quarters, and then when the game slows down in the fourth quarter, pound it in to Yao (Kareem). Posey can run, shoot the 3, and play good D. He can't dribble, but Rafer and TMac will be handling the ball.
That was a NICE thing to do. Explaining the MLE to the guy without being sarcastic or condescending, I wish we had more like you on this board. Thank you.
