so we trade for james and they we trade him before the season? and now we need a pg again..dont tell me brooks is our starting pg
exactly. we don't really need lewis ppl. we need a PF. why isn't morey putting all his efforts into looking to get a good starting PF? we need james. he's that instant offense that we need when teams double tmac/yao. if we trade james, our PG problems remain the same. brooks is too young right now. alston still won't shoot well next yr. if we can get lewis, it's all fine and dandy. but our PF position will still be pathetic. we want yao to guard the worst big man of the other team so he stays on the floor. let hayes and the new PF guards guys like boozer...
Than he is perfect for us considering we already have 2 of the best players in the NBA and 2 bench scorers in MJ and Bonzi. And as far as being the third option on championship caliber team that works perfect. #1 option - Yao or tmac #3 option - Rashard
I really don't think we are seriously after Lewis: 1. He is a city favorite and he is a free agent, so fans will be upset if we don't say we are trying to get him. So its better to say that we are trying to get him even though its very unrealistic. 2. If he says no, then Houston fans will say that he's greedy and isn't serious about winning and won't harp on the organization about not getting him. 3. If we get him for a good price because he wants to be here, great! if he wants to take less money than he's worth, then we win, if we don't get him, then its not a loss. 4. If we say that we want him, he and other teams are going to think that he's more valuable, hence his price goes up. If we inflate his price with no intent to buy, then its another team's loss. 5. Do we really need him? ok if we are trading battier but battier is good value, not okay if we have nothing left to get a power forward. 6. Its rarely smart to say out loud you want something, you do that and they will ask for more, its easier to get a better price on a player if the player doesn't know you really want them. players are kind of like women in that sense. 7. we need a PF more than anything.
We do need Lewis, we need that 3rd all star. That 3rd bigtime player like the other west teams have. The reason Morey isn't putting effort into a good PF because there are not any out there, and we don't need a great PF, we just need a couple of decent sized guys that can play a little D and grab some rebs. esp. when you have Yao, Tmac, and maybe Rashard in a lineup. Maybe Joe Smith or PJ split the MLE, and then we could go small against Dal or Phx with Rashard at the 4. I agree, we really need james. MJ and Bonzi off the bench is very solid, i love it.
The meat of it would have to be Battier, Head, Sura (expiring) + more picks/Brooks, etc. If they wanted Alston for Watson or Ridnour that would be fine too. On another issue, I am more interested in the Cook trade than most of the other PFs options discussed here.
again, i'm not against wanting lewis. but let's be realistic. is there ANY scenario lewis can get here? we can only offer the MLE. orlando seems like the perfect destination for lewis. the money. he'll still get his pts and shots there b/c howard is not good offensively yet. he'll play in the weak east. if we want a PF, i suggest looking to nocioni like feign suggested. deng is improving; just drafted noah; has thomas. not a lot of mins for him. we can persuade him to get here and play 35+ mins EASY. he can run; athletic; can shoot; can rebound; tough. i prefer nocioni more than lewis in terms that he fits tmac/yao better.
I saw the article but dismissed it as simply more Rockets PR aimed at mollifying the fanbase that is POed about their "draft". The reality is that Lewis would leave far too much money on the table to come here and that's something that you never do because that's money that you will never be able to recoup. Just ask Bouncy Wells.
He should have been a Rocket...3 draft picks and they couldn't use ONE of them on Rashard.....stupid. DD
The first priority is adding better players around Yao and Tmac, and Lewis is that. Agewise he also fit is. Further, Lewis can play some 4. But to get him while retaining Tmac/Yao we would have lose Battier, Head, plus more. Thus Lewis and Tmac would start at the 2 & 3. I would be willing to go into the season with a start 5 of Alston or James at PG, Tmac at SG, Lewis at SF, Hayes at PF and Yao at C. Backups would be James or Alston, Wells, Deke, Snyder, Landry, Novak, etc, plus still having the MLE and LLE to use to add another PF. In sum, you can't let a Shane Battier keep you from a Rashard Lewis nor can the fact we don't have the PF spot figured out keep you from him either.
Nocioni is a 6'7'' SF, Rashard is 6'10'' and a better rebounder, does everything better than Nocioni. You want Nocioni at PF??? I could see him guarding Boozer or Duncan or Garnett or LaMarcus Aldridge. Hell No. Rashard might not be able to either to, tthats why you get your 3rd star with rashard and just a couple of OK guys at the 4 that can rebound and defend a little.
eff the height. yao is 7'6 and hayes is 6'6. who could have guarded boozer better? nocioni is much tougher than lewis. he's a "dog" if u know what i mean. he hustles much more than lewis. does not need the ball AT ALL and yet he can create his own shot most of hte time; he's not option 1/2/3/4/5 type of player. he plays for the team. again, lewis may be the better player. nocioni is the better fit.
I'm just going to get some things off of my chest: 1. Whoever thinks Bonzi Wells is going to be ANY kind of factor on this team, or any team for that matter, is delusional. The guy did not play virtually all season last year. He, I am pretty sure, did not keep himself in shape during that time span. So considering him as a "key player" for this team is a stretch. 2. Getting Rashard Lewis, you'll have to definitely give up Battier in terms of contracts. But is that a wise choice? People are clamoring for a 3rd All-Star needs to realize that you don't need to have a whole freakin galaxy on your team to be successful. You need the right pieces for the puzzle and that doesn't necessarily mean go out and find the biggest and shiniest piece. 3. That PF spot? The one that everyone says Rashard can handle? Well I find it laughable that everyone thinks we can roll him out at the 4 spot when you have got to remember that Duncan, Garnet (for now), Amare (also, for now), and Boozer all patrol that same position. You can't throw a SF on them and Lewis is SF. And I don't know about everyone else here, but I would like to see our PF have at least one year where he averaged 10 rebounds a game...or damn near close to that (maybe 9 a game). Lewis is a chucker/shooter. He doesn't have the desire to be down in the post and bang for rebounds. Which leads to... 4. The questionable things that came out of that article. I still have faith in Morey but if those are the only free agents he's targeting, I have to question his knowledge. Why are you thinking about signing anyone of those players when a team like Miami is in dire need of some of the things we ACTUALLY have? They need a PG to replace Payton (and maybe Williams) and a shooter to replace Kapono. Alston, Novak (or Head), and Landy for Udonis Haslem sounds pretty damn good. He's a banger down low and shoots at a ridiculously good clip at mid-range. That is all
What makes it look even worse was the guys they actually did draft (Bryce Drew, Mirsad Turkcan, Michael Dickerson) aren't in the league anymore... two of them because they were never good enough in the first place.
You said it. Battier just doesn't do enough / isn't good enough to start on a title team unless you are like the Spurs that have Duncan, Parker and Ginobili with him. Esp in the west where teams have mutiple great players. Battier is an overrated defender, he is 6'8'' but only 220 lbs, not a good rebounder, he is a 2 trick pony. Shoot the corner 3 or take a charge, that's it. Rashard is a very dynamic player at 6'10'' and 28 yrs old.
good job. i think u should give a call to morey about that miami situation. we have a TON of PGs and perimeter players that miami desperately needs.
Nocioni is a better rebounder, about 10RB48 to 8RB48 for Lewis. But I agree Nocioni isn't the player Lewis is. And I agree it would be worth trying to get away with say Lewis/Hayes/Landry/MLE FA fill in with the 4 minutes. That said, if you could get Nocioni on the cheap, MLE, or S&T with Head, Sura, future 1st rounder, I'd do it. There is no way to get Rashard without Battier + a lot more, Nocioni might be possible.
Screw it all. THe best defense is a good offense this year. Let the Rockets get as much firepower as they can, and let's have a shootout in the wild wild West. That, or, the Spurs repeat again next year.
oh i would if i could but i don't have the statistics and pie charts that would convince our statboy GM that it makes some sense to trade them a PG that fits with Wade's game, a perimeter shooter who is just as good (if not better) than Kapono, and a rookie PF that they can platoon that position with Dorrell Wright.
