we can get a PF via free agency. Wilcox is better than swift and can be had relatively cheap. we're probably going to get another player/pick/te along with battier. all in all i think we did ok.
most likely the management is looking forward to the 2007-2008 because we are going to get the #1 pick in the coming year. The management is foresighted
Rockets pick Gay, reportedly trade him to Grizzlies for Battier CHRIS DUNCAN Associated Press HOUSTON - Rudy Gay shook NBA commissioner David Stern's hand and donned a red Houston Rockets cap at the NBA draft on Wednesday night. Then, he heard reports that he might not ever play for the team that picked him. The Rockets took the former Connecticut star with the No. 8 pick, then reportedly agreed to trade him to Memphis for Shane Battier. Neither team would confirm the deal, which ESPN reported on Wednesday night. Even if the teams had reached an agreement, it likely can't be finalized until next season's salary cap figure is determined. That is expected to happen some time in early July. More than an hour after the report of the trade, Gay said he still hadn't been contacted by the Rockets or Grizzlies. "I haven't heard anything," he said. "Basically, I've been kept out of the loop." Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said a league rule prevented him from discussing any trade. "I can only talk about our pick. Any rumors, I'm not going to talk about," Dawson said. "The only thing I can talk about is Rudy Gay." Grizzlies GM Jerry West hinted that team had made a deal, but avoided specifics. "We're not free to discuss that at this point in time," West said. "We had a really good night. We've had a pretty exciting night, to be honest with you." Gay is jumping to the NBA after just two seasons at UConn. He was the Huskies' leading scorer last year and is a capable rebounder and shot blocker. But Gay is only 19, and Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said his youth was a liability in the Rockets' eyes. "There's a learning curve in this business," Dawson said. "He's going to be a very good player, but it's going to take a little bit of time." Gay said he was excited just to get drafted. "I'm kind of on my heels, not knowing," he said. "But then again, it's a good feeling just to be here. I wouldn't trade this feeling for the world." Battier, a former Duke star, has played five NBA seasons, all with the Grizzlies. He's averaged 10.5 points and five rebounds in his career. Dawson would not comment directly on acquiring Battier, but acknowledged that the Rockets made moves that improved last year's team, which finished 34-48. "We're on our way," Dawson said. "We're not there yet, but we're doing some things. This is just a start but, yeah, we're really happy." The Rockets took sharp-shooting Steve Novak with the No. 2 pick of the second round, hoping to boost one of the league's worst offenses. Houston was the league's second-lowest scoring team in 2005-06 and ranked last in field goals made. They shot 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range, which both ranked near the bottom of the league rankings. Novak, a 6-foot-10 star from Marquette, sank a school record 354 3-pointers and shot 93 percent from the free-throw line in his four-year college career. "One of my greatest strengths is shooting the ball," Novak said. "There's no question that's what they had in mind. I will definitely be able to help them out in that way." Novak impressed the Rockets in a recent workout. "He blew us away with how well he shot the ball," Dawson said. "He has a really special talent." Dawson said this week the Rockets' biggest need was a shooting guard. He admitted the Rockets, like many teams, coveted Washington star Brandon Roy, who was among nearly 50 players who came to Houston for a workout. Minnesota snatched him with the No. 6 pick, then reportedly traded him to Portland for No. 7 pick Randy Foye. Dawson said the Rockets tried unsuccessfully to improve their draft position. "We put a lot of effort into that," Dawson said. "We did everything we could."
i cant believe we actually have people on here supporting this ludicrous trade. safe move = pu$$y there. you don't go for the "safe move" you have a talent like Gay fall in your lap. there are no serious "questions" about this guy.... none. he will be a solid NBA player at worst. but instead we trade away DEPTH and YOUTH for a decent role player???? and simply because he's a "better fit"??? total cop-out by the rockets brass here.
You don't think Wilcox will command the MLE?? The way he played once he got minutes in Seattle? And why / since when are we getting something else in this proposed trade?
You are high. I agree with the fact that Battier is a great defender, and a high-end role player, but he averages the same points and rebounds as Stromile Swift, and if we were going to include the 8th pick (valuable with Gay there), we should have got some much more. A terrible trade, as the Rockets merely added a role player instead of adding a potential superstar. Getting rid of Stro was a wash. He had a reasonable contract, but he wasn't even worth that. It was basically Gay for Battier, and i think we should have pushed Memphis to include Lowry and Johnson.
I'm undecided about the trade but I am leaning towards liking it. Face it S.S. just plain sucked and yes I would rather see Chuck H. lay in stead of S.S. "JVG doesn't like to play rookies" Maybe so but since hea ahs been in Houston it seems that he has given all players a fair shot. "Dwayne Wade and Shaq are as good as TMac and Yao." This is total bullsh**, Yao is way past Shack now and a healthy TMac is still better than DWade (But DWade is getting there)
If youth was his only liability, than Dawson should be mauled. Youth is an ASSET and a quality of a good coach is to take talent and develop it. There is a once in a decade draft where you can get a Lebron-Anthony-Wade class that can play immediately. Otherwise, you have to wait for your Kobes and Tmacs to develop. If laziness or disinterest or lack of passion or poor defense or whatever was the reason not to pull the trigger on Gay then fine, but youth? Every player worth a damn in the NBA had to overcome youth mistakes to become a dominant player. Dawson has outdone himself in this draft-- and I thought the Rashard passup and trading everything for a druggie from Seton Hall were bad enough...
wilcox wont come cheap, we only have the mle to work with for free agency, how do we fill all these holes with a damn MLE
I'm starting to drink the cool aid....but I am still a little underwhelmed at the Rocket's strategy, however I can see how it makes sense. This is one of those addition by subtraction things I guess. Houston must honestly feel Stromile does more harm than good on this roster - primarily that he is taking up valuable cap space for little results on the court. I can agree with that, but I'm not sure what's out there that is better to replace Stromile with....and we still don't have much cap room because in cap terms we basically traded 5mil Battier for 5mil Stromile and threw in Gay who's rookie contract doesn't count on the trade books, but will add something like 3mil to the Griz team cap over several years... I think Battier is a good pickup and if Gay turns into a Stromile type guy and we just traded two underachieving players away, then we made out like bandits. Problem is we won't know for another 4 years or so. My guess is the odds are good Stromile continues to wallow in mediocrity and Gay may not have had the right coach to motivate him in Van Gundy anyway so it would have been like having another Swift on our team...but under a guy like Fratello, who knows what Gay could become. In short Gay isn't the type of player for our personel. We didn't get the guy we wanted in Brandon Roy, but we did get a guy who put up similar numbers as a pro that Roy did in college(except scoring). Battier isn't flashy, but he does a lot of things well and he is still 27 which puts him in his prime. Roy's best case scenario as a rookie was to put up 12-14 non flashy points, 4.5 boards, 3 ast, 1 steal, 1 block, nearly 39% from 3pt, and 48% Fg. Basically those are stats Battier will put up once he is playing a full game and not that crazy substitution ball Memphis plays. Ya, we lose the upside, but I think Roy wasn't suppose to have a mega-huge upside anyway. My main problem is Houston gave up too much. I think we should have at least got a 2007 first round draft pick as a throw in. Next year is suppose to be a good draft and Houston could reevaluate at that time and either start building younger or add to the pieces of the current squad. TMac is a big questions mark and I think if he continues to have problems next year, the Rockets might seriously think to start bringing in young talent to take his place and even consider trading him. The thing is, we need SOMETHING that we can take with us into the future after giving up a potential guy like Gay. Memphis is loaded with role players - why couldn't we have used our salary trade exemption to pick up a role player from Memphis to be thrown into the deal? Are we saving it for a sign in trade with Mike James? Overall, I gotta think after hearing about Morey's methodology that this is one of those Morey moves we will soon become familiar with. Swift doesn't provide value for the dollar and Battier does. Gay as an uncharted prospect provides no value in a scenario like that. Morey would see this as a win since his matrices can't capture the potential Gay has. VG would see this as a win because he gets a veteran defensive stopper who is a reasonable shooter(although not offensive minded). Dawson sees this as a win because he gets to erase one of his earlier mistakes in obtaining Swift. Everyone wins....but the fans and the team. I think I just spit the kool aid back out...
Very well said. Some people complain that if we got Mike James he would be a ball hog... others wanted to go after Bonzi Wells as a 3rd option but worried that he was a headcase and would take too many shots away from Yao and Tmac. I think we got the perfect player for SG with Battier. Shane Battier I feel is vastly underrated and he is what he is. He's very reliable, low maintenance, hard working and CAN NATURALLY be the 3rd option (won't try to force the issue) as he will feed off of Yao and T-mac very nicely. If Battier had a higher vertical and threw down flashy dunks on ESPN the casual fan would appreciate him a lot more but from a team standpoint in what we're trying to accomplish I love this deal. Now, the important part is I hope there is a 3rd team involved in the trade so we get some compensation for Swift. Perhaps a MLE/TE/Cash whatever it is so that we can sign Wilcox or Radmon who have you.
I definitely haven't read this thread, but I'd like to offer my two cents: While Battier is a decent player, I just don't know if he can be that missing third link for us. I'd love to see him elevate his game (which I he definitely will, a little) and prove me wrong, but I just don't think he'll ever be an All-Star. On the other hand, I have a feeling Rudy Gay is gonna end up like Richard Jefferson, maybe even a little better. Now, I've never seen Gay play, and I've only read a few scouting reports, so this is probably all wrong. I'm in no way saying that he's gonna play exactly like Jefferson or anything, either. I just see Gay stepping in as someone who will unexpectedly contribute to his team in a BIG way. I think the kid has the potential. He may never live up to it, but I think he will be an all-star. Hopefully that goes into the classic quotes section, though. I just don't like the trade. As far as Novak goes, I love it. Can we say AIR BULL II. My prediction for Battier next year - 14.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.3 apg
On a Grizzlies forum, they were saying that Stromile would never see the court in a Memphis uniform again, saying he'd be packaged in another deal... Is that possible? I thought that if a player was traded after July 1, they couldn't be traded again until some date a month or two into the season. Could it be that this trade will be a three way deal when completed?
Here's a busier grizz forum: http://grizzlies.infopop.cc/eve The general consensus is Rockets got ripped off.
