HOUSTON IS OVER THE SALARY CAP. MLE is the only thing houston has to work with. This roster is basically set....they cant add much else to this team.
I was at the draft party and wouldn't say that CD looked down in the dumps. (not that he and JVG are the most enthusiastic people ever, but he didn't look like someone just killed his puppy.) I think he was just bothered by the fact that he had to give a press conference and he knew he couldn't talk about the trade but that was all the reporters were going to ask him about. I think that for the next two years or so, Battier will be the better player, and if we want to win in the near term that is important. Also, depending on who else gets thrown in when all the details are finalized we may end up with memphis' pick (a back up guard) or be able to get out from under Swift's contract. Not every trade is going to be a block buster. And, a lot of teams have been burned by trading up for potential.
Yeah Weezy I'm not sure where people are getting these ideas about us adding multiple players. If, and it's a big if, players like Wilcox, James, etc. are willing to sign for the MLE, that's great. But we still can only get one of them. They what? We have no LLE, and we no longer have any tradeable assets. And Luther head isn't a tradeable asset because his salary is so low. You can't get a resigned Mike James or a signed Wilcox for Head because he makes too little. So what exactly are we going to do sign and trades with?
I don't know about that....you may be the only guy in line trying to hop on another man's groin while wearing women's shoes....
Initially I don't like this trade at all. Gay could really be that 3rd player we need to compliment Yao and T-Mac. We likely won't be drafting this high for a while, so we really had the chance to acquire a solid player and potential star.
basically Houston put a cap on how good they can be. With Yao and Tracy healthy they'll never be in the lottery but with this roster they'll never be in the finals either. C Yao/Deke PF Howard/Hayes/Lampe SF Battier/Bogans/Bowen SG McGrady/Head PG Alston/MLE? thats the roster folks....its not getting any better.
There is only one elite athlete on this team (McGrady). Everyone else, save Yao and McGrady, lacks explosiveness. And lets not get into any injury scenarios. Aside from Alston, if any of our starters gets injured, we will be starting one of : Deke, Hayes, Bogans, or Head. Its like picking from a D-league squad. As bad as Swift was, he was cheap depth at a power position. The numbers dont make sense on this move.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...aft/2006/06/29/gay.rockets.deal.ap/index.html LOOK ON THE RIGHT
Check out this blurb from Rotoworld.... The Grizzlies are going to get Stromile Swift back from the Rockets on July 12 and couldn't be happier about it. "We feel like we've died and gone to heaven," an insider said shortly after the draft concluded. "We've taken care of a lot of needs." Swift had a lot of difficulty fitting into Houston's system. Jerry West, however, apparently never soured on Swift, but simply didn't want to pay him the $10 million per season he was looking for before signing with the Rockets. Now, they get him back at a discounted rate after a one-year hiatus. Of course, he'll still find a way to be a fantasy bust this season. Jun. 29 - 12:26 pm et Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal
I wish the Rockets had done more to ensure that they could land Brandon Roy, by ALL accounts "the most ready to play in the NBA." To think that we were very close to landing him and ended up with Battier pains me. Would you have traded Roy and Swift for Battier? Hell no. Roy is a natural SG and fits the characteristics for what is required for a traditional SG: 1. he can shoot, from midrange and distance 2. his height 3. he can create his own shot 4. he is a good passer and can create shots for others 5. he is a solid defender 6. quick enough to guard other SGs 7. as a bonus has shown the ability to post up Offensively, T-Mac is a miracle of the basketball gods and defies categorization. But defensively, with his balky back and demands put on him offensively, T-Mac is strictly a SF. He can't and shouldn't expend the energy chasing SGs around the floor. As for Battier, yes he can guard multiple positions because he is very smart and tenacious, but the trade-off is that he is a marginal offensive player. He does the little things to help a team, but we desperately need a 3rd scorer to take the pressure off Yao and T-Mac. I also think he is best suited for guarding SFs. So on offense he will act like a SF and on defense guard SGs. We'll see how that goes. Rudy Gay is a talent but a few years away from contributing. The guy is just a kid and doesn't seem to have the makeup to step in right away and make a big impact. I am less pained by the fact that we traded away Gay than missing out on Roy.
if anybody was upset bout this draft, it DEFINETELY was me! however.....after reading some posts and newspaper articles, i'm not as upset anymore. If we do pick up Rudy Gay, we will not be a contending team. it's going to take a while. the guy is only 19 years old!! After 3 or 4 years, he may then be ready to take the next step but it will not matter by then because t-mac and yao will be 30 and 29. the time to win is NOW!!! I know if you're a DIE HARD houston rockets fan, you're getting tired of your cousins from san antonio and dallas talking down on the rockets and how we didn't make the playoffs. Bruce Bowen did a decent job on dirk in the playoffs. now imagine a player like battier guarding him. he's bruce bowen but has offensive skills. he's a good shooter or better than what we got. Battier will be some matchup difficulties for other pfs playin defense. we need another big man! i like wilcox and radmonavich. but the whole MLE is the problem. maybe we'll find a more talented dummy than swift this year.
both of those guys will probably want, and get a bigger contract then the rockets can currently offer them.
