Yeah but why didn't we press logo for the 24th pick so we at least had an asset to play in summer league, see if that player fit, or package as part of a trade before camp? Mgmt seems short sighted - ten year horizon here going back to '96. The kinda kid on the school yard you had to protect all the time cause some big kid was always trying to take his lunch money or his twinkies from his lunch box in the morning.
ha, get the f*ck outta here with this lame ****. Elton Brand and Shane Battier have nothing in common other than being players from Duke. Some on this site quickly forget (because it hurts their "Gay will be a bust" argument") that Battier was a lotto pick himself and IS A BUST. I, for the life of me dont understand the length some will go to defend this deal. Now Battier is simular to Elton Brand??? The season needs to hurry up and get here so some rocket fans can be knocked back into reality. By December you guys will realize how average Battier (Mr. 10 & 5) is.
What about the other way around, and the lost sense of reality people use on Gay? There are people comparing Gay to possibly Lebron James or Tmac. How ridiculous does that sound right about now. I scored 15 points a game in high school yet somehow did not become the next dominant player in college basketball. Also battier is not a bust. When he was drafted, he was expected to come in and be a solid contributor, play good team defense, hustle and be a glue guy. That is exactly what he is. No one expected him to score 25 a game or dominate the league.
Van Gundier (wouldn't Van Bungler have been funnier? ), you are just killing your argument here. Elton is an absolute stud. One of the best 4s in the NBA. I'd have wet my pants if the Rocks had somehow ended up with him, and I have good kidneys. Battier is a great role-player. You do Shane a disservice comparing the two. Really, you do. Step back from the abyss! I love that we got Battier, and I think he'll have a major impact on the Rocks this coming season. A positive impact. We're going to love the guy. But comparing him to Elton??
Of course Elton is way better than Battier. . I wasn't arguing that, but Tyson Chanlder (THE NEXT KG!) also was a more valued propsect than Rudy Gay was. Tyson went 2nd overall right out of high school, and Rudy went 8th as a sophmore in a draft where not only were there no high schoolers involved, the "Florida Four" also pulled out (Noah probably would get picked pretty high... the other guys... probably not, depends on the workouts) . Remember that Elton just had his absolute BEST season by far this past year--- basically ascended into the status of MVP candidates-- after droppoing 15 lbs. Back when he was traded, he was viewed as just the leading scorer on a pair of 20-win teams, ain't never gonna be a superstar becaue he's too short and was not that much of a high flyer... All I'm saying is gambles on the next great propsect don't always pay off. In any case, I predict a great season for HOU, barring injuries, with Battier getting major minutes. Memphis, unless they get some more help immediately, just guaranteed themselves some tickets in the Greg Oden Sweepsstakes.
and its still a stupid comparison.. as you said brand was the leading scorer.. its not like the grizz gave us gasol.. battier was the 5th scorer in memphis.. and we got battier.. its just like chicago giving up one of their role players/5th scorer for chandler.. but not brand..
Shane Battier is the 2nd best player on the playoff-bound Grizzlies last year. In fact, Grizzlies generally stink when Battier isn't on the court.
No one with any common sense is comparing him to Lebron. The McGrady references come about cause of their simular build and demeanor and skillset....no different than McGrady earlier in his career being compared to Pippen. Some have talked themselves into believing that Rudy Gay has to be a stud for Houston to look foolish for making this trade....sorry, but thats not gonna fly with me. Also, I dont care what you expected from him, Shane Battier was picked #6 and because of that he IS a Bust....PERIOD. So, knowing that I cant understand how he gets a pass for being a bust but Gay cant be. Since, he IS more athletic and more skilled it wouldn't take much for him to at least be Battier's equal. The fact that people have to rationalize this trade lets you know how bad it is. The fact that Gay has to be downgraded to make Battier look better lets you know how bad this is. The argument has very little to do with how great people think Gay will be....its about knowing Battier isn't great and never will be great. Mr. 10 & 5
And has either one of the Rockets star players ever gotten out of the first round? The problem with the Grizzlies was that they just dont' have enough offensive firepower/star power. A good defensive team can shut them down and a good offensive team can outscore them. Battier is a great glue guy, but there wasn't enough stuff over there that can be glued into a contender. Basically, the Grizz were an overachieving team that got their asses handed to them when their weaknesses can be exploited in the playoffs by better teams.
Look I like Battier, he will certainly help the Rockets, I definitely think he is going to be a great fit for Houston, however he has been Peja-like in the level of choking in the playoffs, I am not going to sugar coat what has been true.
This is ridiculous. People here are completely overestimating how good the careers of lottery picks tend to turn out, historically. Just compare Battier's stats to that of the previous ten #6 picks: PER: Career "Player Efficiency Rating"; WS: Win Shares prorated to 15,000 minutes PW: Player Wins prorated to 15,000 minutes; PL: Player Losses prorated to 15,000 minutes; PW%: Player Win% See here for details. Code: [COLOR=Navy]player MP PER WS PW PL PW%[/COLOR] 2001 Shane Battier 12787 14.7 107 40.7 14.9 73.2% 2000 DerMarr Johnson 5484 11.3 66 18.6 39.1 32.2% 1999 Wally Szczerbiak15893 16.7 116 39.5 18.7 67.9% 1998 Robert Traylor 6244 14.5 94 34.1 31.7 51.8% 1997 Ron Mercer 13407 12.5 37 11.7 49.3 19.2% 1996 Antoine Walker 28823 16.5 62 21.5 50.6 29.8% 1995 Bryant Reeves 12071 13.8 37 16.8 46.5 26.5% 1994 Sharone Wright 4531 12.8 36 10.9 55.3 16.5% 1993 Calbert Chaeney 22009 11 46 15.1 40.6 27.1% 1992 Tom Gugliotta 23556 15.9 82 27.4 41.1 40.0% 1991 Doug Smith 5833 11.7 41 12.1 54.0 18.3% Further, Battier happens to be MUCH better than his stats indicate, because of all the things he does on the floor that aren't captured in a box score. He's actually been one of the better #6 picks.
Novak vs Gay heads up in college WOW ! DD [Edit] - Credit for finding this goes to the hottest new rookie poster VanGundier
WOW! Damn, this kid looks better all the time. Dammit, I want a rookie to root for, and he's my guy. Bring it, Novak!
go look up his scoring average in the playoffs last year and then see what the guy he was guarding averaged
