Excellent point. Head is a rotation player on a 52-win team. Cook is a end-of-bench player for a 45-win team. That's why Head for Cook straught is not fair. Head + 26 for Cook + 19 is a fair trade when you factor in the slight premium that bigs demands over smalls.
I would do the trade if the picks were swapped, but not straight up. Cook is softer than my girl's maxi-pads.
Just want to point out a fact, Luther Head actually average 3.2 rebound and 2.4 assist, and 1 steal per game... Luther's 3 point % is actually 44% compare to Cook's 40%, this 4% different is pretty significant in my opinion. Ppl who are saying they are about the same at shooting 3 points just like saying Rafer shoots about the same 3 point % as Cook, which is 36% and 40% respectively...
Head's career average: .421 fg%, .406 3fg% Cook's career average: .465 fg%, .397 3fg% Head is slightly better at 3pt shooting. Cook is significantly better at overall %. Of course, Head's overall % is lowered by his volume 3pt shots. Head shoots way more not just because he is a rotation player. It's also because of the offense he plays in. Cook plays fewer minutes (16 mpg). But he is not a 10-12 end of bench player. 16 mpg is a significant role. And he shoots more mid-range shots. Anyways, they are about equal in terms of shooting.
You’re comparing the efficacy of a player that has averaged 16.1 minutes throughout his career to a player that has averaged 28.3 minutes throughout his career. Might as well say Cook is a better shooter than Tracy Mcgrady. Kirk Snyder played over 14 minutes a game for us last season, not much less than 16 mpg. Would you say Kirk Snyder played a significant role for this team? If they were equal in terms of shooting, I find it very hard to believe the Lakers wouldn’t have played Cook more. A big man that can shoot the ball as well as one of the top 3-point shooting guards in the league? They would be insane not to play him more minutes. Think of all the space he would create for Kobe.
As a guy who has got to see all of Cook's games the past couple years, I can confidently say that he's among the softest big men to have ever played in the NBA. For a guy his size(he's probably 250-260, weight isn't an excuse) he never bangs or protects the rim. He RARELY fights for offensive rebounds when he isn't camping out and his post game is ugly and unreliable. His only redeeming quality is that he is a very accurate shooter with range, but the Rockets already have Novak.
Phoenix sold off the number 7 pick to the Bulls just a few years ago. That pick ended up being Luol Deng.
More "soft" is not what the Rockets need, they need some hyped up sociopathic psychos. Artest anyone?
mismatches are supposed to happen when someone is just an amazing talent and can be amazing inside and outside (dirk, kg, etc...) why the HELL do we want a forward who can shoot? do we not have novak already? cook is good for one or two surprise three pointers a game (not bad). but what the hell else can he do? i'd rather have my guards shooting and my forwards patroling the paint. Fu(k brian cook. get a real PF. yao needs some musle, not another soft forward.
Head is a much better individual player than Brian Cook. He gets more if he's offered on the open market. That's not saying that Cook is terrible and not to go after him, but he's worth less than that. Turiaf is who I wanted instead of Luther, so if they get him, too, it gets much better. Offer the Lakers Sura and the 26th for Cook, otherwise, no dice.
Head is much more valuable than Cook....Head consistantly hits big shots in the 4th quarter... He shows up. Cook is a decent shooter, but he isn't a guy who makes clutch shots late in games... Like someone already pointed out....We already have Novak.
Head is slightly more valuable. And it has less to do with the current state of the players or production when given PT (on/off, Roland rankings) than the fact I think Head has a better chance to add new wrinkles to his game--without them he will remain really limited and good teams know they only thing you do is not leave him wide open. That said the Rockets have a much bigger need for a 4/5 than an undersized SG. As for clutch shooting, in the limited playoff minutes for both players, Cook has performed better and more clutch shooter. They playoffs exposed Head's limitations against a team good enough and smart enough to cover him.
There are plenty of role players who shoot a higher percentage than T-Mac. What's your point? Superstars like T-Mac have to create for himself and for teammates. Role players like Head and Cook shoot wide open shots. Snyder played in 39 games, started 1. Cook played in 65 games, started 24. Big difference. He has Odom and Turiaf in front of him in their depth chart. Odom is their 2nd best player. And they need Turiaf's toughness. Again, 16 min a game for 65 games is not a small role. Look, no one is saying Cook is a great player. If we had to rely on Cook to be our starting 4, then I am not very optimistic about next season. He is a one-dimensional player. So is Head. I wouldn't want Head to be my starting SG. In fact, Head playing 28 mpg is too much, imo. He played so much because Snyder was hurt most of the season and we had no backup PG that JVG trusted. I watch a lot of Lakers. Cook is not a bench rider as you guys want to make him to be. His value is probably a bit less than Head, mainly because of Head's 3-pt shooting. But with James and Wells on board, Head is not going to play as much as before. Like I said, a Head-Cook trade with the swapping of first round picks is a pretty fair trade. But I am not sure if Cook is the right PF for us.
He isn't the right pf for us... he's a backup at best, and a side option for Adelman to play around with when things don't go our way. He's better than Novak, so I guess that spells the end of our team favorite if the trade goes through.
cook is superior to novak...a huge upgrade....trading head puts wells in a position of having to come thru unless we trust snyder
i don't see the big deal. by trading for cook, the rockets wouldn't be saying "we've got our PF! on with the season!" he would be a rotation player. off the bench. someone that can spread the floor for yao. they would be moving head's shooting to the 4 spot. that's a good move. however, people don't want to give up luther. do those people realize that he will be out of the rotation next season? maybe if he's not traded (unlikely) and the season starts with him getting zero minutes, people will be more receptive to him being traded. we're talking about trading a guy who will get zero minutes for us next season, for a guy who was out of the rotation on his team last season. with that trade, both players can stay in their new teams rotation and probably thrive. lateral talent swap, good move for roster balance.
that still doesn't mean the Lakers don't view Head as the better player. The Lakers need talent everywhere. why trade down in the draft unless you were getting something more valuable in return? The Lakers should be able to get a better version of Luther at the #19 pick. At the #26 pick, less likely. Plus, as much as their fans hate him, they'd get to keep Cook, or trade him for someone else... may be the best of both worlds to the Rockets, based on positional needs in the sense that if they are going to parlay him into a lesser player, might as well make it one who is a better rotational fit for the team and who woudl be more valuable to us then the selling team.... ...but overall, it would still a signal to me that Luther is the more valuable commodity in general.... I'm pro Luther + #26 for Cook + #19 I'm against Luther for Cook
My point is you can’t compare the efficiency of a player that plays major minutes and has a major role on a team, to a bit player that plays sparingly. It’s the same as people saying “Kelvin Cato averages as many rebounds per minute as Ben Wallace, he must be as good a rebounder”. Teams actually head into games preparing for Luther Head and expecting Head to contribute. Nobody does that for Brian Cook. And the Rockets don’t need toughness? Luther Head had Tracy Mcgrady and Shane Battier in front of him in the depth chart. Didn’t stop him from earning 28 minutes a game. We shouldn’t be relying on Brian Cook in any way, shape, or form. Starter or backup. The combination of him being soft, slow, unathletic, a whiner, a terrible rebounder and defender does not appeal to me at all. One dimensional players are not all equal, despite what you may believe. The number of minutes a player plays is not as insignificant as you make it out to be. It shows that a coach has enough faith in a player to stay on the court without becoming a complete liability (ie. soft, weak rebounder/defender) and that the player can shoot consistently well enough to warrant getting extended minutes. JVG’s trust is not easily gained (ask Bonzi and Swift), but Luther Head was able to do it the past 2 years. Brian Cook has not been able to gain the trust of his coaches the past 4 years. I don’t know what would make you think he’ll be able to do it next year. He certainly is a bench rider on an elite team. Afterall, that’s what we’re trying to be. It is extremely difficult to win if you have a big man as soft as Cook as part of your rotation. With Wells on board? Wasn’t it you that just a few days ago said the addition of Wells should not make anybody expendable and how he was just a short-term rental? Wells and James have both been on board with this team before, and they’ve both blown it before. Just because they’re here does not mean we should throw away Luther Head for garbage. If we can get value for him, than by all means trade him. If we can’t, than wait and see if you can get more value out of one of our other guards.
