Agree 100% - Rid ourselves of a problem (Stro) and get the best 'glue' guy around No brainer The only mistake we made draft night was not trading Luther for the 12th pick and grab Thabo Sefolosha - He will be a sick perimeter defender - WATCH
Your criticism would only be valid if he was playing alongside Yao and TMac in those games. His percentages are good, why is it that your only perception is of what continuously happened to a smoke-and-mirrors team (Memphis), that was never as good as its record, during the playoffs? Yeah, memphis got trashed in the playoffs. Again. So? Using your 'logic', you wouldn't like the acquisition of KG either. This is a TEAM sport, after all. Battier can shoot better than any OTHER 4's we have; he'll get a lot better open looks in Houston than he was ever able to get in Memphis. You'd rather have Stro back, with Gay here too? It'll be interesting to watch Gay develop (IF he develops), but he's still extremely young, and by the time he would be ready to take meaningful minutes, TMac and Yao might already be heading in the other direction. You in particular I am going to enjoy watching eat crow, if this thing turns out well for the Rox. And if doesn't, and the Rox suck, well, then, I guess you win. Hooray for you. Personally, I will root for the team and the players to have much success, and that the decisions the organization makes turn out well for us.
Battier, very good for us. But still a bad move for Rockets. Just cause he's a good player for us doesn't mean it was a good trade. We don't have anything left after acquiring Battier. Could have got more and should have . This poll should also have in paranthesis: Do U Like Losing Gay + Stro? Good or Bad? Of course everyone loves Battier, as do I. But that's not the real question.
Of course, the voter's feelings about the loss of Swift and Gay is implicit in the question. For example, asking Houston fans, "How do you feel about the Jason Grimsley trade?" or "How do you feel about Eddie Taubensee trade?" asks as much about how fans felt about losing Curt Schilling and Kenny Lofton in those trades, respectively, as obtaining Grimsley and Taubensee.
Time will tell. I just thought the price we paid for him was too high, and we need a competent 3rd scorer that can create and he is not. He is an upgrded version of Keth Bogans.
like most have said. Its good to have a solid team player in battier (not to mention class act). He will bring a lot of assets to this team. Then you look at the other side. Gay could become a great player in 3-4 years and swift i gave up on after last season. My problem is that rockets didnt get anything else besides battier. I dont know if West just worked over the rockets or that West really did want to keep battier and the offer just had to be that much sweeter for him to accept. It would have been very cool to have got another pick or warrick (who hardly played).
I like Battier, but I think we needed more than a "glue" guy to make us contenders. I would've like to have added/kept some youth and athleticism that we had with Swift and Gay. In the West teams are loaded with quickness and athleticism and I think keeping Gay and Swift would have made us more competitive. Even the Heat with Wade are great getting to the rim. I also don't believe Swift will be able to play a lot of time at the 4. I still don't know why so many people here think he can play lots of minutes at the 4 or even start there. I'm thinking maybe 10 minutes a game. I just don't think his rebounding is good enough to play large minutes at the 4.
Nero, terrifc couple of posts. And I agree with almost everything you've said. This comment, though, is where we differ. I like Battier more and more, but I still don't like the trade. I just don't buy that the Rockets' two stars only have a two-year window. Yao is only 25. T-Mac is only 27. Presumably, Gay will be getting "meaningful minutes" in his third season, when they'll only be 28 and 30, respectively. At 28 and 30, you're only then entering your prime. I just hate this "win now" (at the expense of the future) mindset. We're not like we were back in '97 with an aging Hakeem and Drexler, where we had a clear closing window. With two superstars in their mid/late twenties, we have one of the largest, brightest windows in the entire league. (Nash is older. Nowitiski is older. Duncan is older.... Outside of the Lebron/Wade/Melo studs, we have the youngest A-list talent in the league. And as for the "yeah, but T-Mac's back..." argument: for me, that only strenghthens the case for Gay. If T-Mac's career is cut short, Gay is the best hope we have at finding a suitable replacement. I still think that Gay's floor is Battier's ceiling. I hope I'm wrong. (Although it is encouraging seeing him trusted in crunch time with the US squad. That warms the cockles. Whatever cockles are.) All this being said... I think that Battier will help the team, and, unlike other naysayers, I certainly don't think the Rockets will suck. I think they'll do great. I love all the other additions. (Although even without Battier OR Gay, the Rockets would do just fine this season. So when they notch their 50+ win season, I won't see it as a validation of this trade--they were on pace for that anyway.) This will be a fun season. Can't wait for a healthy T-Mac, a dominant Yao, and some exciting youngsters slashing and draining threes. JLIII and VSpan should be a treat. It'll be a fun ride. And finally, see sig.
Yea I really liked his game, too. That would have been a great trade for us. While Battier is a good player, he does nothing for us offensively. And that is our biggest weakness, scoring. Watching our games last year it was painful to see us run any kind of plays. We have the most stagnent offense in the league. I would have preferred to have traded Gay and Head for Morrison. We still will struggle to score this year. I voted Bad trade for two reasons. 1. When Gay shows us how easy he can score with his length, talent, and athletecism while Shane struggles to get baskets, I will cringe. 2. When Tmac gets hurt and our team becomes very ordinary, because of always taking the safe route and not the most upside, and this team drifts into obscurity, I will remember this trade. Gay's talent and ability is already better than Battier will ever be. After a year of playing in the league we will all cringe at the thought of this trade. And JVG will go down as one of the worse evaluators of talent.
I liked the fact that we got Shane Battier, but overall it was a BAD trade. We could have gotten more for Stro and Gay. Memphis is a desperate team and CD did not take advantage of it. We had the upperhand coming into the trade. We have the potential of Yao and Mcgrady, and even if the trade didn't go through we still have best wishes for Gay and Stro. Stro was bad last season, but his contract is very affordable, he's a decent backup, and theres hope that he can improve with a healthy roster next year. Memphis basically hit rock bottom- they're not gonna improve in anyways and all their guys are old. They were desperate for a lineup change, so we should have been able to get more than just Battier alone- at least trade picks or obtain another decent player.
Shane hardly struggles to get baskets. Outside his rookie season, he has been well above average each year in scoring efficiency. It's not like we traded for Ryan Bowen. He's more like ... Super Duper Ryan Bowen.
I still think it is about chemistry as much as talent, and Battier is a PERFECT chemistry guy. That alone will make the team better....heck Mike James was a chemistry question mark...Shane is not. DD
How so? and I never said he couldn't shoot, I was making the point that he didn't play well in the WC's, including shooting. and even worse for the rockets, he couldn't guard people bigger than him and he could rebound over them unless it was a long rebound. edit: i don't think he played badly in the wc's either. i just think rocket fans are trying to talk themselves into believing the rockets got something more than they did.
I love the shine a turd remark. We get absolutely raped with no lubricant or even a kiss at the end and a couple of months later these guys are like Wow! that was a good experience. Gay has to be such a bust that he's out of the NBA in a year or two for the Rockets to break even on the trade. Stomile will produce about the same as Shane as far as pts per game and rebounds. I know Shane does so many things that don't show up in the stat line. The pig has been sold.
lastly, just because you root for an organization doesn't mean you have to agree with all their moves. the question is do I like the trade so calm down.
if gay is a ten and five player after his first five years in the league he will be considered a bust.
Was Gay considered a Chemistry Question Mark? I cannot say Swift disrupted chemistry . . he may have just been . . limited Rocket River
