good first post Sorry, eminemuk, I'm not trying to be a smartass. But please don't use the rolleyes lightly. It denotes irritation about some bad posting. I think this thread is great and doesn't deserve a rolleyes.
For the people who want JVG to adjust his system to fit Francis' talents more fully: What system on this planet can be implemented that is simultaneously consistent with a 7'5 center who plays best camped out in the low post who immediately draws double teams against most squads... and a PG who is a mediocre shot-up shooter and who's strength is penetrating the lane? You either have to: A. Clear the lane and make Yao a jump shooter or B. Dump it to Yao. You could alternate, but teams that alternate offenses tend not to be experts at either. Repetition is the key to improvement. You could, I guess, let Steve go crazy when yao's out of the game... but that's not much of a solution, except for 10-15 MPG. I think such people really mean this: Despite all the evidence, I still am convinced that Francis is the best player on this team. Since Yao has shown some long range ability, let's let Steve do his thing. Which is crazy, since that essentially means you're A. minimizing your most efficient scorer and B. are forcing Yao out of the team. Yao would be insane to stay at a team that stuck him on the perimeter.
No they did not. Posey got the MLE, had KT stayed the most he would a have been offerred was an MLE too. The MLE is much lower than that paid to most veteran NBA players who are average-ish starters. In fact the MLE was in place precisely so that teams over the cap would have a way to attract role players. Either would be a great benefit. And now the Rockets have little options left but trade their 1 high value commodity (Francis) or use their MLE to acquire above average role players (e.g, players with the skill level of Posey/KT). Like I said, losing these two quality role players just created an extra hole we have to plug at sometime in the future, and is contrary to what most the best teams (keeping quality players even if it raises the team payroll) have done to build their team.
I think Jimmy Jackson is doing a fine job of filling in for Posey. In fact, his numbers are higher then Posey's so why are there still people complaining about losing Posey? As for Kenny Thomas, again, Mo, Weatherspoon and Cato are doing a great job. Kenny Thomas wasn't going to be out starting PF, and we have plenty of quality back-up PFs. Posey may not be making a ton of money per year, but he is locked into a long-term contract. I guarantee the same people complaining about Posey leaving would rip the Rockets for "blowing a big contract on another role-player". Heck, Mo is tearing it up off the bench and people are still complaining about HIS contract, even thoug hit's not that bad. Some people act like James Posey is an All-Star or something. I didn't lose any sleep over losing Posey after finding out we got Jimmy Jackson. Good luck to Posey, he's a nice player. We're not going to live or die with him, and it doesn't matter that's he gone. The Rockets have plenty of quality role-players.
Either would be a great benefit. And now the Rockets have little options left but trade their 1 high value commodity (Francis) or use their MLE to acquire above average role players (e.g, players with the skill level of Posey/KT). Little options left? We can trade Francis. We can trade Mobley. We can trade Cato. We still have a $6.9M trade exception. We have our Middle Class exception. That sounds like alot of flexibility to me.
A good post, and very valid comments. I like KT and I kinda wish we had been able to keep him but I don't know how his game would have meshed with Yao's. Mo and Cato seem to play well with Yao, for the most part; would KT have done the same? Tough call. KT has the same tendencies of holding onto the ball forever, and we have plenty of those players. But losing Posey for nothing? Yep, JJ's giving us Posey's production, but JP is a lot younger, is perfect at the 3, and is a lot younger. I do miss the guy and wish we had kept him. (Not to mention how badly James wanted to stay, given his home in Houston.)
I think that all the trade Steve talk is nonsense. Steve is one of the best players that has put on the Houston Rockets uniform. His shooting is down because he was asked to completley change his style of playing basketball. That is a lot to ask of not just a player but a star. The ball goes through Yao in the new offense. But Steve is stuck in this system as the point guard. A point guard who has consistently been one of the Rockets best rebounders. So, how can he run a great break when he's the one pulling down the rebound? Yao only get 8+ rebounds, Taylor only get 5 or so rebounds. Steve averages at or near 6 rebounds a game. (By the way should we ask SF to fly around the world and turn back time so that it will always be 94/95 where the Rockets rightfully win championships at the end of the season. Superman did it, why can't Steve.) Let's face facts here. The Rockets need to MOVE Steve to the SG position. The Rockets should not be thinking about trading Steve. I think that a lot of people take Steve's hustle for granted. Believe me, there are not too many players who put their body on the floor as much as Steve ( and Iverson). If Steve was shooting 45% I think the Rockets would be challenging for the best record in the league; instead they are in the 7th spot. Steve has shown that he can be a consitent 45 to 43% shooter, let him prove it again; the guy is 26 and being asked to change his game. Let's be honest without Steve the 7th seed might be the ceiling for the Rockets. But with Steve shooting in the 30%'s the 7th spot is more like the basement. Steve is just that special of a talent. Let's not throw it away on one bad year!
RM & Roxtx: One major difference is JJ is like 32 or 33 and JP like 27 or 28. One has a future in this league after a couple years, the other does not. One is a quick fix, the other likely will be an effective player while Yao is in the early stages of his maturity as a basketball player. 2nd, the choice was never between JJ and JP. Pike and Adrian Griffin were brought in to replace JP, which they totally have not. JJ came in the picture later only when Sac decided to go in a different direction and fortunately, at least in the short term, we took advantage. 3rd, There would have been plenty of PT for JP, JJ and CM at our swing positions--and we could have kept our vets minutes (Cat/JJ) at a much more reasonable pace heading into the playoffs. 4th, since Posey was our RFA and did not cost us any part of the MLE to sign--it clearly was not only possible but worth the extra 2 mil or so to sign Posey & JJ instead of Pike, AG & JJ. What is Cato worth on the market as his contract--at most a similarly underperforming player relative to his contract. His trade value borders on the negative because of his contract. Mobley is worth some, but the odds we could get an equally effective player for us in return for him are slim. Barring bringing in a star 2 (Ray Allen), in all probability we are much better off keep Mobley as our future 2 than trading him for something else. Besides, we can probably bring in close to Mobley's value via the MLE (player like Brent Barry) and keep Mobley in the process, why not do that. That is why I say the MLE is one of our main plays left, though bringing in role players--not stars or borderline stars --is far more of a reasonable expectation. That leaves to me our major play for a star or borderline star (probably a PF or SF) via trade is Francis and/or some combination of the trade exemption. I agree this is a major value, and we could hit a home run. But this is our last swing with a reasonable chance for a home run for a while IMO, we better make the most of this cut.
This is boring. Same old, same old. The sides are getting more and more lopsided though. A couple of years I was wondering why a few people hated Steve and Cat so much. It all made sense to me at the beginning of last season. Those people were ahead of the curve. Some people just won't give up. They're so attached to Steve...but,but, he's a specialllllll talent. Yaawn. He's a great athlete, not basketball player. Your loyalty is blinding you or you've been deceived by marketing hype. Steve and Yao do not fit together with or without JVG. And NO, do NOT move Steve to shooting guard. Anyone who suggests this does not even truly understand the situation and is ridiculously attached to Stevie "Franchise"
stfu all you non stop steve haters!! I know for a fact that when he leaves and midway another team, YOU steve haters will look at him and wish you had him back on this team. See...you just dont realise how determental steve is to our team. there was a stat when steve was in the game and out of the game. The rockets are better when steve is in the game as opposed to when hes out. Hes positive side outweighs his negative IMO. one last thought -You dont know what you've got till its gone-
Yeah, you really told them.... Your ranting will change noone's mind..and just makes you look bad. STFU? take that crap back to the espn boards...you want to be taken seriously? You gotta do better than that.
I hope people thought I was making a feeble attempt at humor by repeating myself. I just saw this. I need more sleep. He IS younger, and has more of a future in the league. JJ will begin to decline a bit and, what's more, should be at the 2 more than the 3.
I believe the word that you're looking for is "detrimental". And yes, all the people who want to trade him do realize how detrimental he is to our team.
