I think this is the roster we'll see Houston going into preseason with. I don't understand the Sessions rumors as the Rockets aren't looking to add on a big contract right now. I think it's highly likely the Rockets will trade Battier at the deadline for an expiring contract and draft picks/young talent in order to take advantage of Morey's ability to woo FA's (he won't have to undercut them for once). This is a roster full of above average role players, Ariza and Battier together doesn't work! 1. Tracy McGrady 2. Yao Ming 3. Shane Battier 4. Trevor Ariza 5. Luis Scola 6. Carl Landry 7. David Andersen 8. Kyle Lowry 9. Chuck Hayes 10. Aaron Brooks 11. Jermaine Taylor 12. Chase Budinger 13. Pops Mensah-Bonichiwa 2 out of the 4 will make the cut: Brian Cook - Expiring contract of $3.5 million, could be packaged come February. However with Battier likely to be traded at the deadline it's possible the Rockets let him expire in hopes of getting a big name FA. Brent Barry - With Yao out and McGrady having no credibility whatsoever, his veteran presence would be important to a team full of youngsters. James White - Can jump very high. Joey Dorsey - Had a great summer league performance... but so did Devean George.
Brent Barry and Joey Dorsey. Cook was absolute garbage last year. And Houston seems to still be interested in Dorsey, so White will most likely walk.
The rockets are currently thin at Dorsey's position, so I think he's almost guaranteed to make the final roster. Chase also had a good summer league, just like Deavan George. You say Ariza and Battier don't work together, how do you figure?
Still hopin we can package Dorsey + Cook + cash for a decent full sized center.... someone who can split time with Anderson. Then we also keep Barry for veteran leadership... and either dump White or add him to the aforementioned deal...
Keep Dorsey. He's been working very hard this summer, he has all the tools to be a Ben Wallace type player. I hope we can get rid of Cook and Barry before the season starts.
Barry was a benchwarmer+ bad passing+inconsistent shooting last season. Battier is a solid leader, we could add a solid veteran.
"Hey can jump very high." Lol well said. Because that's about it... I'd hate to get rid of Brent Barry because a big reason he came here was to retire much like his father and brother.. I'd feel bad for the guy. Plus, I think with playing time, he could be a bit of a spark off the bench. The problem is, is that there just aren't many minutes to go around..
I'm impressed that you've managed to come to this well thought-out conclusion without seeing the two play together for even a single pre-season game.
This is purely speculation from my part. But, since Mensah-Bonsu recently gave his verbal agreement and the Ramon Sessions rumor coming from the BBS. This will open up the possibility of Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry being traded to Phoenix for Amare together with Shane and Cook. It works both ways because Amare can fill the void of Yao not being with the team and we get an All-star who has an expiring contract but with the option for an extension. For Phoenix, they get to slash salary, get the point guard they wanted to replace Nash, replace Amare with the hard-working Landry, lastly they get DEFENSE from Shane Battier which Kerr has wanted for his team since he started. Now, if this gets done, the Rockets can offer the remainder of the MLE to Sessions for a 3 or 4 year deal, then we can have a true playmaking PG, who has size and athleticism to defend as well. If the following scenarios fall into place we get a lineup of: PG - Ramon/Kyle SG - TMAC/Taylor/Barry SF - Trev/White/Budinger PF - Scola/Hayes/Dorsey C - Amare/Andersen/Yao This would be great especially if Yao can come back next year around March if we're in a Playoff spot. Again this is pure speculation.
Chase is guaranteed to make the roster for the season, the Rockets would be hoping his game can translate into the next Jason Kapono or Brent Barry. Say what you want about Ariza but he doesn't have the handles or consistency to create his own shot. He can back his man down in the post or hope for a mismatch but you need a real offensive threat alongside one of these guys. When Battier has TMac, Ariza has Kobe, Prince has Hamilton/Billups... it works out fine. Your wing players (and post players) need to complement each other, it's the same reason I was against trading for Shareef Abdur Rahim back when the popular opinion was he would do great alongside Yao. That soft defensive mentality just wouldn't cut it at a time when Yao was tentative and unsure defensively. We saw this with Juwan Howard. Bring in a hard nosed guy like Scola and it's a much better payoff; you see Yao feed off of that as well. There's also the small chance that McGrady is an effective player next season, in fact, I kind of expect it. If the Rockets can land someone like Joe Johnson next year - that's fantastic. But in the meantime they shouldn't delude themselves into thinking they can make it work with Battier and Ariza because they are the cogs of the All Scrappy, All Hustle team that is the Rockets currently. It's too much salary going into the same end result.
Barry and Joey stay. Brent played a big role in the development Aaron as a player last year. I think we will be able to help with the development of our rookies as well this year. The rockets want to be 3 deep in front line incase of injury so having Joey available to play spot minutes at the 5 and 4 will be needed.
I see Barry and Dorsey staying on the roster at the start of the season, but I suspect Barry would be traded during the season if a contender has a few injury problems. Someone like Boston comes to mind, as they would want to go easy on Ray Allen's old knees during the regular season. Another team could pick Barry up fairly cheap - 2nd round pick or cash considerations.
i hope we keep white and dorsey. how do u kno shane and ariza wont play well together. why do yall keep bringing up a trade for amare. even with him where not gonna win a championship and hes a free agent 2010 theres no reason to get him
I personally don't think that Chase is guaranteed to make the roster with Tracy, Battier and Ariza in front of him. He played really well in his five summer league games, but he won't sniff the court if he's a defensive liability. As far as pairing Ariza and Battier together, I'm all for it especially with no true shotblocker or defensive deterent at the 4 or 5 spot. I see the rockets in a very uptempo type of offense this season with both Battier and Ariza playing together, alot of the offense should run threw Brooks especially on iso's and Tracy if he's still on the team. Also I don't profess to know more than Morey or Adelman and for some reason I think they know what their doing.
Why do people believe Sessions is that good? He's just a poor mans Rafer Alston. Each time Rafer was shooting the ball, people where screaming, saying watch out for the brick! And now, once we get a guy that can shoot, people want to trade him for a guy who can't. OMG people need to start appreciating what we have and not always try to get something different.
Dorsey is the only one I see making the team. The team needs a backup center, and he's been playing great defense and rebounding.
Who do you suggest we sign in FA next year with the limited amount of money we would have...Remember, we will NOT be able to offer a max...
I think that Joey Dorsey should make into the roster. James is going to be a goner so or later. Do not know about Cook, he is just collecting money.
