my bad.. gay isn't a superstar.. and probably won't what I meant was he has some potential to be one.. and this is a good time to see.. when west traded battier, he already knew grizz was going nowehere past the first round with its current line up so it took a chance with gay.. and swift did start for them before and did pretty good right? what if they didn't trade battier, who will their starting pf be? how can trading battier hurt grizz when gasol is out? i think losing a couple more games which will actually help especially when they're already lottery bound as is.. or do you think battier can jump from being the number 5 option to the number 1 option while gasol is out? or grizz can be like spain and win it all next year with gasol out? and you havent answered my questions, if west knew gasol was going to be out, will he still have traded battier for gay and swift? if cd knew 1 or 11 was going to be out, will he still have traded 8th and swift for battier?
Exactly my sentiments. Memphis is in rebuilding mode. West knows they don't have the right stuff to do anything more than a 1st round exit. So they have to think for the future. Battier for Gay clearly showed that. Plus not making any other strong summer moves is not indicative of a team trying to improve this year but rather preparing for the future and a possible lottery pick in a great draft. So losing Gasol for part of the season helps toward that goal.
i dont know what you guys are talking about. gasol's injury will give guys like swift and warrick to shine, not rudy gay. the guys is a 6-8 swingman (sg or sf) not a pf, or anywhere close.
I'm pretty sure Swift is going to break out, being motivated by the cut by the Rockets, and given the ample playing time to show his stuff.
I love how everyone talks about Gay like he would elevate the Houston Rockets to a three-peat title run. To me... Gay is a guy that has a good deal of potential but will probably never be a star in the league. He'll probably develop into a solid player, but he'll never be a starter on a USA team in the olympics or world championships. I've read up on Gay and he just doesn't seem that impressive. I would much rather have Battier. Battier brings a lot to our team. He is perhaps one of the most underrated players in the league, and showed in the world championships he can out bowen bowen. The only thing our team lacks at this point seems to be depth and experienced players on the bench. We have a very potentially good bench, but a lot of the players are young and unproven. Hopefully the bench will be sufficient and allow our starting 5 (specifically our big 3) to win big and take the team well into the playoffs.
Well, that's just what you hope now that the deal is done and it's too late anyway. (*crosses fingers* let's hope we didn't F*@# UP this time! and let's pray someone's career is a complete bust so CD doesn't end up looking like an tool..)
Meh... when I had found out we picked Gay I was totally let down. We were lucky to get such a great player for an unproven player like Rudy Gay. Battier isn't a superstar but he is the kind of player that helps bring the title to town. Battier is the kind of player that makes the whole team better and gives us a legit shot at the title over the next 5 years. With the young players we have coming into their own over the next couple of years... we will be a threat in the league for awhile.
you're talking battier helping bring a title to hosuton? he can't even help bring a first round win to the grizz..
and swift did start for them before and did pretty good right? swift didnt start for them on a regular basis. and no, he didnt do good. he had a nice dunk here and there and he puts up decent #s but he was hardly a good player ,overall. what if they didn't trade battier, who will their starting pf be? warrick, gay, cardinal, roberts, whoever, but i think swif tis far from a lock to start. Especially since he's been giving memphis the cold shoulder since the trade. I'm pretty sure Swift is going to break out, being motivated by the cut by the Rockets, and given the ample playing time to show his stuff. right. i said the same thing after memphis let him go.
Regret?! Battier isn't a scorer or a go to guy. The Grizzlies are going to struggle regardless of who plays. Swift is most likely the starting 5, unless Tsakalidis starts. Gay will most likely be the main weapon, unless Mamphis plays Mike Miller more or one of the old guards (Stoudamire or Jones) finds some more offensive firepower. Really, this injury will hurt them the first month and a half of the regular seaon but Gasol should return early on and try to get this team back to respectability.
Battier so far has shown up consistently playing hard for college, NBA and olympics. Battier has shown up on a regular bases in his career than these guys combined. Stro and Gay you have yet to see them overachieve, Battier an overachiever evrynight. He may not be able to carry a team but he's carried a team further than either of these guys in college as well as in the pros already. You can't say these guys are going to be superstars anymore than you can say Battier won't help us get further in the playoffs than we have in the last couple of years. The grizz got there with less talented superstars than we have so Battier had to have done something right.
Why would they regret the battier trade now? With Gasol out, Battier would not be the one who would pick up the slack, he cannot take over a team. THis will give a chance to Rudy Gay or others to step it up when it is already proven that Battier cannot do it.
If Stomile couldn't step up on our CBA team last year, what makes anyone think he will in Memphis? Although it would have been nice if Juwan wasn't taking his minutes.
Memphis doesn't have the talent the rockets have either. Battier playing along with T-mac and Yao, the best center/swingman combo currently in the league when healthy, will take the Rockets to a new level. Now we've got the most dominant center in the league, one of the best swingmen, and an amazing defensive stopper that is just hitting his prime and can also hit the 3. As opposed to having a raw but talented player that may or may not play up to his potential (he certainly didn't play up to his potential in college) and a huge bust. Yeah, give me Battier any day of the week.
