So that was an... interesting deadline. We kept our core intact. One thing that sticks out about these trades are the playoff implications. We got old. Real old. That's one way to look at it. But in the short term, it means playoff experience. I don't have any numbers in front of me but I'm pretty sure the amount of playoff experience of Fisher and Camby have combined is more than the whole rest of our roster. These two will show their veteran leadership come playoff time and don't be surprised to see a game saving block by Camby or a game winning three by Fisher at some point these season. I still have to sigh about the fact that... we have damn Laker blood on the team now
Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA The Rockets will explore a buyout for Derek Fisher, but they do need point guard help with Kyle Lowry, sources tell Y! Sports.
Camby made sense, but the Fisher one baffles me. At least Hill could give us minutes and that pick is not worth a damn.
Exactly. I know a lot of people on this forum hate on Jordan Hill, but the man is worth more than a 37 yr old backup PG and a super protected 1st rounder that might as well be a second round pick.
Getting a bandaid PG and a 1st for Hill was good enough for me, it was obvious Hill wasn't going to amount to anything. And Camby WILL get us into the playoffs without being a burden beyond this year if necessary. I either wanted to blow this thing up or lock down a playoff spot, and we did the later without hamstringing ourselves in the future. So, I'm happy about that.
I know there are buyout reports but last I checked, Lowry is still out. As other have suggested, we'll at least keep him until he gets back, and maybe until the season is done.
Getting back to the thread. Look at the top three teams in the standings. 1. OKC 2. SA 3. LAL Our weak link against these teams is rebounding & protecting the paint. That is now rectified. We've shown we can compete with both OKC & SA. LAL was/is the biggest threat. We hung with them for three quarters that game & in the fourth their size just proved to much to overcome. I don't see that being an issue come playoff time. We honestly have a great opportunity at full health to potentially upset either of these teams. SA poses the greatest threat though. With Captain Jack back I can see that move possibly being the deciding factor RJ wasn't threatening against either Parson or Lee. Looking at the match ups I only see Kobe & Pau as threats come playoff time. Still, we are better at three positions. PG, SF, & bench. Finally OKC this would be the most favorable match up. Once again we only lose at the pf position not b/c Scola is inadequate offensively but defensively he is inept. Harden may pose a threat but I like the way we adjusted last game to their point-of-attack. Overall our advancement in the playoffs is better than before. Even if we win one more game. & we haven't been in the playoffs in two years. I'm ready to go to a playoff game once again.
Oh, and in regards to playoff implications, if healthy, Camby will solidify a spot in the lower half, the question is will the fans come and watch or care, when they know it is really a band aid and not a contending team? So, this trade got the Rox a little better this year, but next year is a mess right now.
Rockets are compiling first rounds picks to potentially move up in the draft, so that why they got fisher. camby will help the second team, and overall the defense of the team. The bonus is that his 9 mill comes off the books this year.