That is a pretty good lineup. I think he goes back to Boston from a gentlemens agreement he agreed to when they used him to obtain Twan.
I don't think San Antonio, Phoenix would want him simply because they have better PG's at this moment. Even Miami's Damon Jones is having a solid year. It's likely for GP to go over to Miami and try picking up a ring there, if he's wanted. Things could've changed, perhaps not dramatically, after the trade deadline. If I'm GP I'd wait a few days and see how teams are playing before jumping onto any ship. I think the only way Rockets can even get GP is if we play great in our next 5 games or so. Even so, I don't think GP wants to get on a west team unless it's San Antonio or Phoenix. Go Rockets!
I forgot about Miami. I'd bet that is his first choice. They could use him and he and Shaq already played together. So I'd give Miami the best shot. Dallas and now Phili are probably also strong options. SA and Pheonix. No. GP wouldn't be a starter. Seattle. Hell No But I'd say Houston is as likely as anybody not named Miami.
Saw the Jazz/Celtic game on friday and was very impressed with this kid Delonte West. GP may not return to Boston, they look like they want to groom the young guys West, Allan and Banks on the firing line. Miami has been pulling out all the stops and I think they are looking at this season as an all or nothing opportunity to win it all. They have signed Steve Smith, Qyntel Woods and soon Zo. They'll probably make a run at GP but I think we can get him if we want him. If we move Sura to his natural SG position, we could offer him the starting PG position, none of these other teams could. My mouth waters at this lineup. Originally posted by krosfyah 1. GP, James 2. Sura, Wesley 3. McGrady, Barry 4 Howard, Baker, Padgett, Spoon 5. Yao, Deke
As long as Miami is interested in GP, there's almost no chance for us to get him. Regardless if we offer him lots of money and a starting spot. He's not looking for either. He wants a ring, and I don't think he's willing to wait for another year or two (possibility of us getting a championship this year is pretty slim, but I hope I'm wrong).
Payton in his prime was one of the best point guards of all time,but the glove can't D up anymore,and has lost quite a bit of speed.That said,at his present level he appears to qualify as a hybrid 1/2.Threfore I see no reason why he wouldn't work well in our system.Still,a streaky shooter,GP can handle the ball,get people involved,and create once in awhile for himself.I do wonder about how effective he can be without the ball in his hands all the time.He HAS to know his role.
Look. If you got a chance to get Gary Payton, you f-ing do it! You dont sit around and talk about it on clutch's message board or go ask your wife, or dog, or local bar mates. You just f-ing do it! If Paytong wants to come here, than start making him a jersey.
Payton is done. Has anyone seen him play defense lately, because I haven't seen it in about 2 years. And this dude is a chemistry killer with his attitude. I don't want to give him minutes over probably Barry who's been the utimate chemistry guy since he's been here. He'd be alright as the backup behind James, until Sura gets back, and then he'd be a great 3rd PG. But does anybody in their right mind think he'd be willing to take such a role. Hell no. Just say no to the Glove.
look man. if there is one time in life when you have no idea what your talking about, this is the time. Look im not a man of statistics but payton was putting up better stats than any guard we had this year. and that aint even what its about, its about that something, that something bob sura brings, that edge and atttitude. go read the boston papers and see just how much the players and coaches thought of gary payton. you are underestimating gary payton and what he can bring to the rockets man.
At this point in his career Payton is a defensive liability. If we sign him JVG will eventually bench him for not being able handle anybody off the dribble. And once he gets benched he'll be squawking about playing time. And his FG% has gone into the crapper lately so don't even suggest putting Payton out there with Sura as our backcourt. Having an average shooting backcourt is not the right way to surround Yao and T-Mac. Edge and attitude is nice, but I don't see him bringing anything to the table that Barry doesn't already provide. Barry's been providing an energy and infectious uselfishness his whole time here. AND he isn't going to be complaining about minutes and disrupting chemistry. If Payton was a good soldier, I would agree with you. That he would be worth pursuing for the minimum. But he's a locker room disruptor, who's lost a step, and can't even shoot straight this month. Not a good combination.
An Arizona paper speculates that the Suns would pursue Payton if bought-out as insurance in case Nash continues to have health problems. http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0226suns0226.html
I take back what I said about Payton's FG%. I was looking at the wrong column on his stat sheet. My bad. But his defense and complaining still goes. I saw him a lot last year on the Lakers, and he was getting toasted on defense all the time. Sure Barry's defense isn't that great either, but if you're going to make a change, you don't want to just add a lateral move for the heck of it. And BTW Sura will grab a bunch of boards, and Barry can shoot the 3 and is okay with coming off the bench. Payton.... Payton's been fine in the locker room in Boston this year, but that's because he's starting and getting 32 mpg. I can pretty much imagine what he'd be like coming off the bench and getting 20 mpg. Payton has almost always been a locker room disruption of some kind (a bunch of years in Seattle, last year in LA). It's just that the trouble he causes is starting to outstrip his performance. And like I said, earlier I don't like the Sura/Payton backcourt. Even though Payton's fg% is better than I expected, both Sura and Payton are more effective with the ball in their hands. Both of them being on the court at the same time would not be a great fit with Yao and T-mac. So if it's a choice between Sura and Payton, I'm choosing Sura because his work on the boards is something that this team really needs. Like I said, if Payton didn't have a proven history of b****ing in the locker room and to the media, I probably wouldn't mind bringing him in. Or if Sura was done for the season, then signing Payton would be the right move to make. But as is, he's just not worth the trouble.
I'm not sure that Payton has any more leverage to b****. He's not the star anymore. And he's not starting. If anything, he'll humble himself a bit and become a team player. If not, he'll get the boot. Not saying that I want him backing up Sura. I thought that James and Sura will be the tandem. Not Payton. So, if we can't get Payton, then we should look at NVE. IN both cases, we can't take on big contracts. What's in store for both of them? Cheap role players.
Payton wasn't really as bad defensively as people made him out to be last year with the Lakers... For the most part he was just getting burned on screen and rolls, esp. in the Finals, because Shaq wouldn't show and Karla could barely walk. His D has been solid this year.
You're calling GP old? How many times to folks on the board have to eat crow before you stop discounting old players? Individual defense is overblown. JVG plays team defense. GP may not be the on-the-ball defender he once was but that isn't going to be so important with JVG's system. What strong individual defenders do the Rox currently have? * Howard? Please. * Yao? No, when he plays defense he gets a foul. Yao is big so he changes shots but he's slow. * McGrady has always been known as a poor defender until JVG. * Sura? He's scrappy but I wouldn't call him a stopper by any stretch. * Wesley is pretty good but he's short. * Bench? Let's not even get into that. Other than Deke, they are all bad individual defenders. Look GP could become a good team defender and that is all that is needed. Strong team defense overshadows poor individual defense. If you have a chance to sign GP to a cheap contract...that is the biggest no brainer of the century.
T-Mac has the ability to become a defensive stopper, but I don't think he's got the passion. When people said to MJ and Kobe that they lacked defense, those guys worked hard to put an end to it. I don't see McGrady working extremely hard at it. Only times I see McGrady playing some good defense is when he's matched up with other superstars or when the game's on the line. He needs to put that competitiveness to work 48 minutes a game. T-Mac, you're my favorite player! Go Rockets!
