Still might be a way to add another person to the roster. They think there might be a few guys that they can get at a good price due to the luxury tax. They are keeping their possibilities open. He did not sweat out the letter of clearance. He never felt uncomfortable after "loooking into the faces" of the people in China. He re-confirmed that they were going to take Yao no matter what. No way to make up for the lost time with Yao but he learned as a coach that things don't always go the way you want them too. What they want to do is have an opportunity to make some contact with Yao when he is in Indianapolis. They want to give him some material and some video tape just to give him some idea of what they are doing. Rudy has looked into a lot of different plays and even before they got the first pick he was changing thing around offensively. He wants to get Griffin closer to the basket more often. The new offense would put the center in the high post and give him the opportunity to go into the low post as well. He said he spoke with Nachbar's dad who was the kid's first coach and he drilled him on ballhandling because he knew he wouldn't be a center. The European leagues drill their players heavily on the fundamentals. Rudy said that he has a serious first step and that his dunks will get a lot of "ooh's" and "ahh's". He wouldn't mention anything about who will start. He said that "Boki" really respects Glen Rice and he is excited to play with him. He wants the team to really get out on the break a lot. He said the biggest disappointment over the last two years was not being an efficient running team.
Now talking to "Boki" Nachbar. As a kid (he mentioned 10 years old), he saw the NBA and loved watching it and wanted to play. Toni Kukoc was one of his idols growing up along with Scottie Pippen and Grant Hill. He said he felt at home in Houston and so he played better here but didn't intentionally play poorly in the other places. He said he can't wait to start playing with Yao. His girlfriend is coming here to live with him (she just finished college) but his family is staying back here though his brother is likely to go to college in Houston next year. He has been playing pro ball since he was 16 years old. He played two years in Italy and then a few years before that. He'll be wearing #8 last worn by Eddie Johnson. Good omen I bet.
Things that they talked about, from when I started listening. The host asked Rudy whether Nachbar would have a chance to start, and maybe have Rice come off the bench as a sharp shooting type. Rudy explained that he didn't really know; that it's something that would be decided over the course of the season. He did mention that Nachbar had a "true" respect for Glen Rice, and that he was excited that he had a chance to learn from him. The host also asked that now with a athletic center and small foward added to the roster, would it be possible to begin using the "up-tempo" type of basketball that some of the better teams use. Rudy thought that the up-tempo would be able to help the Rockets alot; that alot of our games could be decided by how fast and up-tempo we could play. Sorry that I dont have much on Nachbar, I wasnt really listening to this part. What I did get out of it was that he had a huge influence from Tony K. Also they mentioned that Nachbar would be wearing Number 8. One last thing, the hosts think that it would be best that Nachbar start for the team and that Rice should come off the bench.
Jeff: Interesting to hear that we might add another person to the Roster due to another team's concern about the Luxury Tax. Did Rudy mention the type of player that may be added? Thanks for the info!
I think what Rudy meant is that a lot of free agents won't be resigned by teams because of the fear of the luxury tax. And that the rockets may be able to pick up one of them with their MLE. Obviously Rashard first comes to mind but there are others, Michael Redd etc. What I'm thinking is if we sign anyone else than Willis, Langhi, Brown, Walt, Torres or out and we have to look to trade Collier and KT.
Man, I think that Michael Redd would be an upgrade from Torres. That would be sweet. He avg like 11pts playing behind Ray Allen and getting 21 mpg. Check out his shooting percentages, .48fg% and .443pt%. He would be a nice pick up. Him and Oakley for some veteran leadership, rebounding, toughness, and old man grumpiness. But I guess he might go to the Lakers, get his ring, and Phil won't feel bad about trading him before they won a championship with the Bulls.
