Make that a starting PG and a replacement SG - because when McGrady's gone, 'perimeter scorer' will be our biggest weakness.
true. but i said morey will not even listen to any offer unless a legit starting PG is included b/c that is our main weakness right now. you have to include hamilton in it automatically b/c billups doesn't equal tmac (not even close)
No way. Rip is a good ballplayer, but he'll never be on the same level as TMac. I could care less about Sheed. We already have the PF position well staffed.
He's in the twilight of his career. The mere fact that he didnt demand to be the star of the piston team should show you that he's a team player. He may be better than scola on both ends, but since rip and yao are very capable offensive players, it would make more sense to have him coming off the bench.
If T-Mac gets traded for this scrubs(they are scrubs compared to him), just wait til next season when we don't make playoffs. How stupid are you to trade one of the best talents in the NBA for downgrade? Do you seriously think Rip/Yao/ works? Fans will go crazy.
Don't worry... Haters here may be dumb, but Morey isn't. McGrady won't be traded unless the deal obviously makes them better.
That's right. Morey is a smart person, he knows what McGrady can give the team and he understands Yao and Tracy just needs to stay healthly, you just can't play well with injuries. Right now McGrady is not our problem, neither is Yao. We just need to upgrade bench, pg, maybe add 3rd scorer.
The starting line-up will be the same next year, no Artest, no Miller, and no Calderon. We cannot upgrade on the PG, or any other position on starters, Houston doesn't have good trade assets. We just have to change the bench and stay healthy, then we are sey for a championship run.
Because there are no new news on the line people write crap, Tracy McGrady will obviously stay in Houston, no need for trading him as Daryl Morey and Rockets managament will try to work around him and Yao to make better team.
We have a legit starting PG. Alston was very good last year until he got hurt. He is not a superstar but he is serviceable. If everyone stays healthy we are a contender. The problem is we probably won't. So our priority is depth in this order: 1. Legit backup SG that can create 2. Backup PG whether it be Rafer or a backup to Rafer. 3. Backup C with some athleticism and semblance of offense. PG's are a very hot commodity. We won't be able to get one picking 25th in the draft and we have very little to bargain with. The only way to land a "legit" starting pg is to trade T-Mac, Yao, or Scola which most on this board have deemed untouchable. You don't have to be a T-Mac hater to consider trading him for the right package. Billups and Sheed for T-Mac would be good value, because Sheed's contract would fall off the books next year and he would be a great compliment to Yao. You would also solve your depth problem at PG. The problem is you would be throwing next year away, because you would not have even one legit sg much less depth at the position. I think the bottom line is we have to hope for a miracle and T-Mac and Yao stay healthy and Morey pulls another Scola/Landry scenario out of his hat. This time at PG, SG, C.
alston just cannot shoot well enough consistently for him to be a legit starter. when he shoots decently, he looks like it. the reason it looks like we need him is well, look at his backups (a 50 yr old bobby jackson who can double dribble with no one around him and a young rookie in aaron brooks). morey has said many times PG is still our main weakness b/c compared to the other teams in the west, we lose at that position if you rank it to most teams. but i do agree with you that we also need a backup for tmac and yao. they both must play less, save their bodies for the playoffs. and either we need a decent backup PG or a legit PG so we can move alston to the bench, where i think he'll excel.
Rafer is not that good. He could be a great point guard comming off the bench but with his as a starter we are not gonna win anything big. Rafer cannot shoot consistently and that is the biggest problem for him. He also is not that good playmaker, sometimes he shoots too much and makes careless decision. We need a solid playmaker, yeah real playmaker who can hit shots from the outside but can also make opponent's pg play defense, especially if it is Deron, Paul, Nash, etc... Right now this is our biggest weakness. Last year it was all about Chuck and PF (starter) and we came away with great power forwards like Scola and Landry. This time we just need to 1)change starting pg 2)add 3rd scorer 3)add players to the bench - who can score, create their own shoots and get to the ft line 4)get rid of Luther (I can't make shots in the playoffs) Head
If that trade went through, there would be a major uprising in the City of Houston. There's no way I would be able to stand for that deal.
Rafer is a bench guard at best...everyone knows that we obviously need a better PG, but we can't get that
These Yao lovers/ TMac haters like wekko, badgerfan, antisonic etc. are just unfrigginbelievable... thats all I will say...
Morey is on record that our main priority this off-season is depth at SG/SF not PG. We can win with Alston (55 this year - 22 straight). When Alston got hurt in the playoffs we were sunk. Ideally he would be a backup, but if he plays limited minutes because you have a viable backup to him, he is serviceable. There is NO serviceable backup to T-Mac or Yao. When either is hurt during the playoffs we are SOL. Alston is a favorite whipping boy on this board. We were one and out this year, because Yao was out and Alston was hurt. If the premise is that T-Mac, Yao, and Scola are untouchable. Then we should forget about the likes of Billups, Maggette, Brand, or Artest and look at realistic options to improve depth at SG first, PG second, and C third. Mo Williams is a viable option for PG. A combination of Williams and Mo would be an improvement, but not great. If Barbosa is really available and we have enough to offer that would be the coup of a lifetime. He would be our depth at both PG and SG. We would probably have to give up Scola or Battier to get him though.
This was in the Detriot Free Press today,(sorry if it has been posted) SCENARIO TWO: T-Mac The Rockets have never made it out of the first round of the playoffs with Tracy McGrady. They have tried a disciplined coach (Jeff Van Gundy) and a loose coach (Rick Adelman). They had Yao Ming complement McGrady and had McGrady complement Yao. This year, they even tried winning without Yao, who was hurt. And for a while, that looked like it would work. But it didn't. Right now, McGrady is a better player than Anthony. But he also is five years older and not quite as durable. Plus, the Rockets have another star -- Yao -- so they can trade McGrady and still plausibly contend for a title. How about McGrady straight up for Billups and Prince? It works under the salary cap. And if Houston is willing to part with McGrady, the deal makes some sense for both teams. Billups and Prince could elevate Houston in the West next year. And the Pistons would start Stuckey, Hamilton, McGrady, Wallace and McDyess. That lineup could contend for a title. McGrady has pouted on occasion and coasted at other times. But he has two years left on his contract. The Pistons could figure that McGrady would play hard in year one because he is on a new team, and then play hard in year two because he would be playing for a new contract. This is the full link http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/SPORTS03/306180022/1051/rss16
I agree... if Yao goes down again this year... we need to shop him... but really if LES wanted to win he would go over the cap... and he would have got Phil Jackson here...
