I personally would like to give Stro some time- but this is getting to a point where we may end up betting on "potential" with the same results we had in the past. While he still has some value, I don't think it is beyond logic to see what we can get for a Stro/Moochie Combo ( or even a pick) I will give him a week or two to shape up. Pretty sure that Chuckster and Baxter have done well enough to light a fire underneath! What a week!
Trading Artest is based on how many guys it would take to fight him to a standstill in a fight, and Stro, Mooch and some really big 2nd round PF just might be able to do it.... Larry Bird wants equal fighting power back.
Now that Stro has been out for almost 2 weeks with pinkeye, his trade value is as low as it has been. Trade him in the offseason if you have to.
Based on Jon Barry's comments about Artest I would never want him on the Rockets. He said players in Indiana told him that he was crazy and a jerk. Artest would go up to ladies pushing a basket in airports and just flip them over for no reason.
I did not know that, we don't want to put our woman and children in danger for the sake of winning a championship. That is serious dementia, reminds me of the story of him showing up at the gym at midnight in his underwear to practice his jump shot.
Unless a no brainer trade comes along we need to hang on to Swift. Let's not forget our biggest problem with last year's roster besides our lack of a 3rd scorer was a simple lack of youth and athleticism. At 26-years-old and being one of the most athletic players in the league he provides just that. Plus, to a lesser degree the Rafer Alston, "We got absolutely raped in the Mike James trade" defense kind of applies to here as well. Perhaps we should wait until everybody is healthy before passing judgment? He's rarely played with both Yao and T-Mac in the line up and certainly not with everyone else at full strength. ....and what kind of message does trading him send to potential FA's out there? We're throwing the towel in on our marquee off-season acquisition after barely half a season? TRANSLATION: if you're under the age of 30 and have interest in becomming a Rocket you had better be all that & a bag of peanuts or we'll give up on you in your first season. Apparently patience is not a virtue after all.
If you like jerks on the team that's okay I guess, but Barry went on to say that he wouldn't want a player like that on his team and that most of the Pacers don't want him either. We can sell out for a player like the Eagles did, but look where they are now.
I think the message is if you are a bust, we will ship you out. The injury bought Stro some time and delays the evaluation by 3 weeks or so. He needs to be productive whether Yao or Tracy play or not. He's finally had a few good games but the guy doesn't inspire my confidence at all. The thought of relying on him in playoff games is scary. If we make it, I betcha Stro's minutes in the playoffs this year go down vs. the regular season, not up. Just a guess.
The idea behind signing Swift wasn't to acquire a franchise player yet that seems to be the standard everybody on this board has held him up to. The reality is we were seeking a young, athletic and reliable 3rd option with only the MLE to work with. Is Swift at that point yet? Obviously not, but I don't think i'm being unrealistic by suggesting he'll be a solid starter by the end of the season. He's not the most intelligent player in the world by any means, but he's shown flashes of brilliance on the court and although it's very frustrating, labeling him a "bust" after barely half of a season is being a bit premature in my books. Even if we never get the kind of dynamic, K-Mart-llike player we were hoping to get, if he ends up being a 12-14 PPG, 6-8 RPG kind of player that's good enough for me. Currently with the way teams are overpaying for players, that's not bad production for your dollar.
I know you prefaced it with "He's not the most intelligent player in the world by any means" but you then proceeded to use the word brilliance in regards to Slowmile Swift. He's shown flashes, sure, but never before has he been associated with the word brilliant.
It's time to trade him....no matter how athletic you are and have no basketball IQ you are still a crappy player.........
If he was a reliable 14/8 player nobody would be complaining. But after 5 1/2 years in the NBA, it's clear Stro has some serious motivation and focus problems along with a serious lack of basketball smarts. You never know what he's going to do from game to game. He's still a foul machine after 400+ NBA games. There is NO excuse for that. This season Stro has been what he's always been: A big tease. I don't know where you are coming from in your opening paragraph. NOBODY, not even the most hopeless Stro lovers here, expected him to be a franchise player. At best he was expected to be our 3rd option on offense who would hustle, run the floor, rebound, defend well and block shots. The only thing he's done so far is block a few shots and slam home some highlight dunks. He doesn't have near enough skills to be a 3rd option on offense. He rarely hustles. (How many times has he hit the floor?) He doesn't defend his man very well and is a below average team defender. He has very poor rebounding instincts. This crazy idea he would "protect Yao" was total lunacy. He doesn't have the physical strength or attitude to "protect" anyone. I'm not trying to be hard, but "flashes" aren't good enough. He's always shown just enough "flash" to make people salivate, but he's never delivered. Stop thinking of him like he's some young rookie who just needs time. He's not and it appears he won't get much better. Dream on if you like, but if he doesn't start showing some serious intensity and desire every single game, we need to dump this loser. Stro needs to dump his flash in the trash can and bring tools and a lunch bucket to every game. That all said, I'm still OK with letting him finish out the season unless a very good deal materializes. But please don't resurrect the "Stro needs to start" garbage. He must earn his playing time or he can sulk on the bench for the rest of the year while JH, Chuck Hayes and Baxter give 100% effort. I really do want him to succeed but the "blame JVG for everything" people and the notion that "T-Mac needs to trust Stro more" nonsense drives me crazy.
He is exactly the kind of player you look for if you translate his stat to 30min stat. So it is a no brainer to keep him. Of course, if he can be traded for Artest, I am all for it.
Based on the play of Hayes the last couple games (and to a much lesser extent, Baxter), is it time to trade Swift? Absolutely not. Hayes has had two great games where he did precisely what we want our backup powerforward to do. Baxter had a great game against the Bucks. Still, that's two games, one of which we didn't even win. That's a nice start, but not enough of a statement to automatically catapult either of these guys forward in the depth chart. Is it time to make Swift earn every single minute he gets? Absolutely it is! Swift has had a couple of great games this season, too. His skills are NOT the same as Hayes'. Hayes will likely never catch an alley-oop from outside the lane, nor will he beat 8 other guys down the court on a fast break. Hayes will never block three shots in a game, nor will he ever throw down a game-changing facial on a noted defender. But Hayes can do things Swift cannot: Namely, catch an unexpected pass and convert around the basket, nab a strange rebound, or clean up a miss. Swift hasn't had a proper chance to show what he can do with a healthy roster this season. He deserves more time, unless some other team has a huge hard-on for the guy and will give up too much for him (Isiah?). But he will have to EARN that time in practice. The play of Hayes (and Baxter, I guess) is not only a good thing for the Rockets, but for Swift individually. We're going to see how he responds to the pressure of a little competition for playing time. Can't be a bad thing!
