I feel that this has to be an A+++++. Our gm makes Jerry West look like a total schlub, and should get the gm of the year for sure. Expectations are high for all of us here I think, just remember to keep your heads up if we come slow out of the gates. It may take time, but this team won't dissapoint this year, I feel that this is a great year for a great run. Here we go for another season, lately, each one has been better than the last.
I give them a B, because I think they did a very good job adding some talent and athleticism to the team, but we have a lot of bench warmers (Ward, Moochie, Baker, etc.) if the rockets do a good trade in the rest of the offseason, I will give them an A.
I gave them a B too. We did do our best to fill our needs in pf and added athleticsm to the back court but like leebigez said we have yet to see how Swift will do as a Rocket. I like DA but how long will he stay healthy. I saw the rockets offseason as this a) picked up athletic pf with great potential but besides some certain flashes I have yet to see him do it consistently. We are just hoping with added minutes that his production will improve but it no sure bet yet. b) DA good player. IF he stays healthy he is a great pick up and is under rated. But the key words are if he stays healthy. c) Resign Deke good job d) resign barry good job e) gave yao new contract so lakers fans can stop babbling how Yao wants to play in a big market like l.a. and how l.a. is so much better than houston. or the best one. if he plays with kobe he has a better chance of winning a ring. But overall good but I am not convinced they deserve an A. I will admit they did a great job with the money they had available but I still see a glut in the back court with moochie ward luther head still on board. We still need a better back up for Mcgrady. I also think we need a better third string pf besides Gin Baker. Maybe he isn't so bad to have as a third string pf but at the money we are paying him? woah.... I would have given the rockets an A if we had picked up finley for that LLE but hey can't have everything... After a month or so in the season I think we should rate the offseason again.
I give them a B because miami had better offseason if we had gotten a good point guard and dumped ward instead of spoon then i would have given them an A
I give them a B because I am not thrilled with the draft. If they are going to draft an experienced college player, then it better be someone who can step right into the rotation, not someone for whom the NBDL is a viable option. I would have preferred that we trade our pick down and get two second rounders, maybe from Golden State. The Warriors probably would have given up a couple of middle second rounders for Simien, and we could have gotten Ukic and Taft at their picks. They did a solid job in the FA/Trade market, as per usual with CD and the Rox. Swift is just another in a long line of big offseason acquisitions for this bunch.
Ouch, maybe I should change it... I personally think CD and he Rox staff did a hell of a job this offseason. Now its up to the players to make it happien.
B. Once Swift can prove himself, maybe they'll get a better grade. They can't get an A when their biggest acquisition is a question mark.
The rockets got freakish athletic overnight, which was their major weakness. They now have one of the top shotblocking frontlines in all of basketball, which should make them the #1 defense in the league. There defensive rotations with the foot speed of Swift and Andersons should be dramatically better than last season. They can now throw just about any diffrent lineup combination on the court. DA can get his own shot when McGrady is on the bench, Swift can play the 4 and the 5 against most teams and Head is the now part of the future with his athletism and defense. And they gave zero assets in the process. All in all they get an objective A in my book.
I was looking at DA's stats. He had his career high points against Dallas. And last years season high against Dallas. This guy really has something against Dallas. I like him.
I gave them a "B" only because I think we have too many guards. But overall an wonderful offseason. Swift and Anderson are great moves.
Offseason Goals Lock up Yao - Check Get a good PG... but not a superstar- Check Get a powerful young PF- Check Re-sign Vets- Check Keep Yao out of China as much as possible- Check Get rid of baggage salaries- Sorta Check...
I'd have voted B+ or A- if it had been available. Instead, I voted B, since A is the highest...and the Rockets didn't have a perfect or near-perfect off-season. They did what they needed to do. They got more athletic, and they got a PF who can better fit with Yao. That's all to the good. But a perfect off-season would have been getting someone without the serious flaws of Swift...and a more permanent solution at SG. Our backcourt is still an ad hoc collection of decent players, none of which really fits with the team's long-term future (save maybe Luther Head, but he might totally bust). Swift is a seriously flawed player, having been (a) lazy, (b) has shown poor bb iq, and (c) generally underachieved. That's all fine. We have an excellent team. We've got Yao and McGrady. And the rest of our talent isn't bad. Despite his flaws, Swift is a good pick-up. But it's not the best ever.
A+ Although Swift wasn't my 1st choice, we landed the best talent availabe that fits the team. Not only that, but we got them at a bargain and they really wanted to be a part of the team. And we needed to get this done this year because the fa pickings are looking to be sparser in the next couple of years. PF was obviously a huge concern and we got one of the top 3 pfs in fagency. Keep in mind that it's not like the other pfs didn't have their fair share of warts. At the very least I think Swift will provide a Cato type role-player with a lil less d and a lot more o. Maybe he wont put up gaudy stats, but he'll make plays. After that sg was the priority imo. With only the 1.8 mil exception we were looking at scrubs like Greg Buckner and Dermar Johnson. Then we pull DA out of the hat, a versatile guy who could be a potential starter for a few years. Sure, Finley would have been nice, but he didn't really seem interested so we got the next best thing. Head? I dunno, we'll see. I'm not going to be too critical of a late draft pick. And then we resigned all the important fas from last year and got an extension from Yao. I don't know what some of you guys are expecting, it's not like we can pull off another superstar deal with the trading chits we currently have. Best we can hope for is a salary dump for the expiring contracts, and the rox are still in position to make such a deal if a decent one presents itself.
Is anything else going to be happening this offseason? Trades? Where is Latrell going? We needa make at least one more move.
I think expectations for Swift on this board might be out of control. Swift is what he is but you got him at a decent price if he dedicates himself to playing hard every night. If you get the moody, low confidence version of Swift the Rockets will probably be looking to trade him next offseason. Houston's improvement is tied to Yao though...Yao is going to have to be better than last season.
I haven't read most of the replies in this thread, but I think most people here have fairly realistic expectations for Swift. An 11/7, maybe 12/8-type year, and just some energy on offense and quickness on defense. Which would be better than anything we've gotten out of the PF position since Barkley retired(Unless you consider Kenny Thomas... But he didn't block shots)... We don't need him to be a star or anything... He just needs to do his part.
