I think the number one thing that Houston needs to do this offseason is to improve our bench. First off, Rice and Taylor should be starting. Posey and Griffin should be on the bench. We need some better players to fill out our bench. Anybody know who we should go after?
The number 1 thing should be finding a Glen Rice clone with that type of shooting and playoffs experience but 3-5 years younger (not so injury prone). Tonight's game showed how valuable a veteran shooter could mean for this team.
a back up point guard . NAchbar will be better next year on the side note Iron man Cat 53 minutes against Clips
#1 thing to do is to sign me up as Clutch the Bear so I can hang with the Rocket Power Dancers theSAGE
jiajiacarter's threads are driving me nuts, so I might as well write something meaningful here In my mind, there are three things of near equal importance that I'd like to see the Rox do. 1) Waive the rights to Posey 2) Sign Latrell Sprewell 3) Re-sign Rice 4) Promote Taylor to the Starting 5 My guess is that #3 will probably be the most controversial one on cc.net. But I feel strongly that this team needs some form of veteran leadership. And veterans, by definition have played a while, and don't come cheap. Why go with just any old veteran? I think with Yao in the mix, Rice fits very nicely with the new offense. If we can somehow compensate for his defensive sluggishness with perhaps a night and day backup, then perhaps a platoon at 3 could work. For the sake of controversy then, I choose #3 as the first thing we ought to do in the offseason. theSAGE
Resigning Rice will never happen. After his contract is up, he is done in the NBA. Look at Tim Hardaway, still had some game left (in Dallas he played well), but no one is even going to pony up the vet minimum with the luxury tax sitting out there. It is a sign of the times.
i'm not sure if you meant sign him to an extension, but we already have rice under contract for next year.
Erik Piatkowski, anybody ? Or try to trade for Brent Barry or Wes Person. Those guys are ZONE BUSTER, and could do WONDER to Yao's game !
Aquire a big bruiser to either backup EG, or replace EG in the starting lineup. Someone that can dish out some pain to the 4 or 5 hall of fame all stars that the Rockets will be facing for the next several years. You think EG worries TD, KG, DN, CW, or KM? All those guys, except KM, are in their prime, and the Rockets have no answer for them. Raven
I think we should sign a guard/forward combo player that can reduce the wear and tear on the back court and their minutes. Hopefully that player would also bring the defensive intensity of a Posey. Corey Maggette will be a free agent this summer; he can back up Cuttino or start @ the 3. A lineup of : >Francis-Maddux-Mooch(sitting in Sleepy Floyd's seat) >Mobley-Maggette >TMo(yeah I typed it)-Rice-Nachbar >MoT-Griff >Yao(can I write a check)-Cato(I can cash a check)
Maggette would be too expensive. Plus, he probably would not want to sit. Better possibilities would be guys like Jon Barry or Eric Piatkowski... guys that are effective coming off the bench, shoot well, pass the ball, and in Barry's case, plays hard disruptive defense.
Simple -- turn Rice's expiring contract (after next season) into a quality pick up. Include Moochie's waste of a deal and get an overpriced player who can play. Then -- turn the Cato renaissance into a productive player. Voila -- instant middle of the pack-West winning chances. No one in West appears likely to grow weaker. Ouch.
A Point guard that is a pass first player, one that can play defence. A Shooting Guard that is compatitable with the Big Mans Game, one that doesnt believe he should be an All Star, when he isnt. A crack three point Shooter, one who has brains and knows how to get open. A starting Power Forward, Mo T is good as a 6th. Man off the bench. Griffin should become a defensive specialist. Both Yao Ming and Griffin should be coached by Moses Malone for the next two years. Otherwise they may never get it together, neither realy know their roles yet! We need a decent back up Point Guard and a drive to the basket big player ( Nachbar).We need players that are friendly to one another and ones that help out each other on both the offensive and defensive plays(UNLIKE THE PRESENT SITUATION).We need better Shooters and Defensive Stoppers!!! Sounds like a revamp but it isnt, it just means developing Maddox for our back up Point Guard, developing Nachbar for our tall slasher. Trading Mobley, Moochie, Posey and Colliers( the last two by sign and trade), even Griffin could be on the trading block! We must make a serious effort in the Free Agent market.
A couple of things I'd like to see done, in order of preference - 1) New coaches. Not necessarily Rudy (although I don't think he has done anywhere near a decent job this year), but we have to shave better assistants. 2) Either a big time trade (Rice+Mobley+Moochie/Cato/Griffin) for more than a role player, or adding a quality role guy who can give you 13-18 everynight, oddly, like Cato has done this year. 3) If Emeka Okafor comes out in the draft, trade Griffin for the rights to him. He is the type of player and PF we need. 4) Move SF to shooting guard, bring in a decent starting PG - if Minnesota can cycle through and find good PG's the way they do, why can't the Rockets? 5) Growth and developement. This should be higher, but I figure its a given. Eddie, work on something so you don;t come back even worse than this year. Steve, you have a lot to learn about defense and running the point succcessfully. Yao, bulk up. Nachbar, bulk up, learn some defense, and prove you're not a bust, etc.
If it's the right trade, move Cat and/or EG, solidify the power forward spot and get a guard who can distribute better. It seems churlish to say "trade Cat" because the guy gave us 53 minutes last night, but we need a guard who has a better sense of team. Our collection of players doesn't mesh. Great 1-on-1 skills. Rudy leans on this too much, or doesn't get them to change. Too much iso crap. Not enough passing.
Until our best players become best players we are not going to win any championships soon. Yao and Steve has to become top 10 players for us to be a contender
1) Develop Yao. He's talented, but he's also tired (didn't get a break between playing in China and playing here). We should continue to physically build up his upper body (make him huge!), and we should polish his game play (keep the ball up high, don't get pushed around, build cutting plays around him, etc.) 2) Acquire a big bruiser (read Raven's post below) -- droxford
