We make one of the biggest trades ever and we're gonna get Ward next? I'm sure he was a very smart PG, a good passer, a good team player, but JVG is killing us. Look at the players he has elected to bring to this team, in only one season mind you: Mark Jackson, Clarence Weatherspoon, Charles Oakley. If I'm Les/CD, I tell JVG shut up and coach, not be the GM of the 95' Knicks.
I think we should give JVG a little more credit and cut him some slack. Jackson and Oakley were minimum contract players that cost us no players or draft picks (Oakley was only around for a week or two). The Weatherspoon deal allowed us to unload Moochie's contract and he was a decent contributor to boot. Now, how exactly did these ex-Knicks kill us as you say?
Those of you saying that they're OK with Ward, if he's the choice, could not have seen him play last year. Stop thinking of the Ward you saw playing with the Knicks. That Ward is long gone. The Ward who was here in SA last year backing up Parker got beaten out by 2 free agents,neither of whom Pop thought worthy enough to keep for this year. Even Manu played point ahead of him. How many times and ways do those of us who saw him extensively last year have to tell you guys? Ward is toast! He had nothing last year....nothing. Let me put it this way. The Mark Jackson who played for the Rockets last year looked like a prime Magic Johnson compared to Ward's effort last year.
How did they kill us? How about having two players over 35yrs old, wwwaaayyy past their prime, and were huge liabilities on the offensive and defensive end, recieving the majority of the bench minutes.
Thank You for setting the record straight on the Charlie Ward of present. That guy would not last 5 games as starting PG for this team.
Believe me guys, the Rockets would be much better off with another year of Mark Jackson than even thinking of signing Ward. He really was that bad. They were so lucky that Ward chose the Spurs last year and left Jackson for the Rockets!
Clarence Weatherspoon was more productive than Moochie and Amaechi put together. Not to mention, we got rid of Norris' contract. Mark Jackson was the best available option for a veteran PG who already knew JVG's system to step in. Charles Oakley didn't last 2 weeks and it cost us nothing. Bottom line is most of you guys said JVG was a flat-out idiot for dealing Moochie to NY, and we got the better end of the deal. Jackson came in and gave Stevie some time to rest. Oakley sat around. Why does no one trust JVG's decision making? Would you rather him draft tall, white Euros (excluding Nachbar, the fan favorite ) and pray they turn into something? JVG is assembling a team based on needs, not talent. That's why Portland could never get over the hump, and Sacramento. Talent alone will not automatically assure you a championship. Building a team and fitting pieces in will. Look at Detroit.
Ok. I've had enough of you "special" people (in terms of education, and you know who it applies to). No offense to the TRULY mentally disadvantaged. None of us are in any position to judge rockets management, and frankly, it pisses me off that we have so many internet nerds that are crybabys about our TEAM. Our team that represents where we live! I love houston, and everything it gives me. This is the best city in the the US! We are lucky to live hre, and be a part of the HISTORY that is goin down! That being said, some of you need to really grow the F**K up. I get the feeling that many on you are WAY older than i am, which is a damn shame. As a 31 year old man, I am asking you to please RAISE YOUR LEVEL OF AWARENESS. The Rockets are great to watch, and have pride in, but they are not life. Not for you at least. SO, Stand behind your team, and city, and see where the season goes. Period. Be happy with what you have. The oilers had the biggest CHOKE case in the history of football, but i bet you were all heart broken when they left. I know I was. Appreciate what you have while it's here! I sincerely hope that it's a bunch of kids posting on here, because a grown man should know what his job is, and what his limitations are. A man should not be controlled by his emotions. Following your emotions, and letting them rule who you are is some girl S**t. For real. Especially about something as TRIVIAL, and SUBJECTIVE as sports! If you are an accountant, it's because you are good at accounting. If you are a police officer, its because you are good at fighting justice (most of the time). If you are a teacher, it's because you ...are filling a major vacancy in houston..lol... Point is, there is a reason why you are not running an nba franchise. Let the pro's do what they do. It is obvious that some of you are looking for reasons to complain. To quote Prince, "maybe I'm just like my mother, she's never satisfied. " Is this how you want to be viewed as a MAN???!!! If this is how you control your emotions within your hobbies, godda*m, I would hate to see how you run your families. Hell, we got the -arguably- best 2 guard in the league, and a center who is going to be #1 after a while. WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE THIS SQUAD. SO...Quit saying CD needs his job taken, or JVG is ruining us. That is bullsh*t. Hey, they dont tell you how to run your waitressing staff at Chili's, do they? Let go of your predjudices, and revel in the INCREDIBLE future that this team has with these 2 major puzzle pieces. I guarantee you that we are the ENVY of the league right now. Now. Proceed with bashing me, because I have better things to do than to worry about what others on a CHAT BOARD think of me. Holla
From the earlier post: <<Ranks #10 in the NBA in Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage(0.408) Ranks #6 in the NBA in Three-Point Field Goals Per 48 Minutes(3.22) Ranks #17 in the NBA in Assists Per 48 Minutes(8.2) Ranks #16 in the NBA in Steals Per 48 Minutes(2.45)>> I'm with the minority too. I know that Ward isn't the tops of most of our list. However, during fantasy basketball last year, Ward continued to rank as one of the best PG's in the game until he went to SA. I know that fantasy basketball doesn't correlate directly to true talent on the court but it does give players credit for the little things like Percentages, Steals, Assists, (lack of) Turnovers etc. As the earlier post pointed out, Ward's main problem was just not ever getting enough minutes. I think the real question should be "Why didn't Ward get 30+ minutes a game in NY and SA?" In NY, it was clear that the Knicks were splitting time btw. Ward and Eisley almost down the middle. In SA, Parker was getting 35 minutes a game. That doesn't leave anything but scraps to the other PG's. My take is that SA only had Ward as insurance in case Parker got hurt. Other than that, they were more interested in seeing what Hart could do and whether or not he was worth keeping around. They probably wanted to test out Ginobili at PG also. Thus, Ward got no more than a few minutes a game. Finally, having Ward is better than Jackson in my opinion. The biggest difference is that there were times last year when Jackson couldn't hit the open 3 to save his life. Ward on the other hand made over 40% last year and is almost 37% for his career. Pros: Put's up good numbers for minutes played. Knows Van Gundy and system already. Should come cheaper than majority of mediocre talents out there. Can compete with David Carr at half time show to see who can throw the football farther. Cons: Is as old as me (YIKES! See Corby- I told you he has been in the league for more than 6 years!!!) May not be able to play alot of minutes (maybe he gets winded easy) Could get overpaid by us. All in all, I'll take my chances with the positives.
I understand people's furstration. But Ward really would be a good pickup, IMO. He knows JVG's system. He plays to the half court game. He HAS the court intelligence. AND he's a proven leader. Little things like assist/turnover ratio, we can be very happy about. Defensively, Ward plays tough. he may not be the quickest Ward we've seen in years past, but he still plays hardnosed and tough. And that would be a big lift to our locker room culture. approvingSAGE
I think Charlie Ward will be a fairly good fit for this team. He is a veteran player that can bring the intangibles at point guard that will help us succeed. The reason why he didn't do so well with the Spurs was because Parker, Ginobili and Bowen (the main role players) were given the minutes. Popovic probably could have cared less who played behind those three in the back court. I think the only thing that we really need to help us out at point is.... #1. Very few turnovers #2. Good distributer #3. Good defensive player As far as Im concerned if we find two points that satisfy those three things and then we bring Reece Gaines along slowly I think we will do just fine. I think we should be most worrisome about backup center. I still don't understand why we aren't throwing money at Dampier.
I would like to reiterate that a good portion of the reason why Ward's stats went down was because of a situation he was in. It wasn't because of his game because the stats can speak for themselves. Here is a comparison of the point guards we have looked upon at some point during the summer... Charlie Ward: 8.70 ppg, 4.90 apg, 1.97tpg, 1.34 spg, 0.408% 3pt Tyronn Lue: 10.5 ppg, 4.2 apg, 1.63 tpg Damon Jones: 7 ppg, 5.8 apg, 1.26tpg Mike James: 9.3 ppg, 4.2 apg, 1.53 tpg, 1.19 spg Derek Fisher: 7.1 ppg, 2.3 apg, 1.13 spg, 0.96 tpg Now guys by looking at these stats, who would you think are the best players? I would think that it would be hard to choose between them. Lue's points would probably stand out, as would Damon Jones' assists, but if I knew that Ward and Lue would together be as much as Fisher then I would have to take Ward and Lue. Then why are we all whining about the FA signings? I dunno, you tell me...
Why, all the naysayers, don't you think Charlie Ward is going to fit well in this team besides : "OMG OMG OMG, he's 34!" The guy can hit threes, defend well, and don't turn the ball over. Personally, I think it's an upgrade to last season!
Would you rather have a point guard who A) gives you about 9pts and 5 assists in 23 minutes, or B) one that gives you 16 pts and 6 assists in 40 minutes, and plays no defense, or C) one that gives you 11 points and 6 assists in 30 minutes and also plays no defense? What if PG A was paid the minimum, PG B the max, ad PG C the MLE. In case you haven't figured it out yet, A is Charlie Ward, B is Steve Francis, and C is Brent Barry. Charlie Ward doesn't look too bad anymore.
excuse my poor english .... but if you were to disagree with an idea, at least give some reasons. We know that JVG loves old Knicks, but it doesn't mean that Charlie Ward is a terrible player just because he used to be in a Knick uniform.
Oh hell, I hope it isn't Ward. The guy just can't give us anything more than Wilks or Lue, given the same minutes. If we want to parade the three of them out there for 16 minutes a game, I guess that's an option, but good Lord--I'd almost rather have Moochie STARTING. I'm not worried, because there's PLENTY of time before this season starts, and I'm really confident that the right deal is out there somewhere--I'm just hoping it doesn't involve Charlie Ward.
Lue and Gaines. The youngest we could get currently, is Mike James, second youngest Damon Jones and he's 28.
