I know what some of you guys are thinking, but it's summer and things are slow. Anyways, what do ya'll think about Damon Stoudamire? He has always been a good player and it seems the Rockets have always had interest in him. He put up a solid 16ppg & 6apg last season and is a FA. He could probably be had for a pretty good deal, and I believe he has a home in Houston. He isn't a big upgrade over Sura, but Stoudamire could be a nice fit w/ his shooting and passing. And we all know how JVG loves his vets.
You are right, he is only a slight upgrade over Sura. Damon Jones has a player option for about 2.7M. I think he will opt out and look for a long contract. He is a bigger upgrade and plays better defense. How about him?
Assuming we can get younger and more athletic at the 4 and 2, I like Stoudamire as our 3rd option on the floor. Even though he's 31, he's still a very quick point guard that can penetrate and create for others. This team really needs a playmaking guard.
If Sura or James gets traded in some deal, then Stoudamire is a pretty good cost-effective option. I'd give him a look along with Antonio Daniels, Brevin Knight and Damon Jones
I really wanted Jones last summer, he stated his desire to play here and he ended up taking a small/short contract. I can't believe we passed him up for Sura/Ward, Sura was great but Ward was... I could see Jones resigning w/ Miami, especially if they win the whole thing. I'm sure Daniels and Jones will be looking for an MLE type deal and they have a good chance of getting it. Stoudamire could come a little cheaper, he has been off the radar for a while and I don't see a lot of teams in need of him. He is a playmaking guard in which we are in need of another.
Depending on what we do with roster moves and if we move Sura or James, I certainly would look at Damon Stoudamire as well as Antonio Daniels. They would fit on this team.
i'm almost 100% sure damon jones never said last summer that he wanted to play here. it was just assumed by most that he would because he's from the area. miami may have been his top choice all along. as for stoudamire, i wouldn't be against him playing here but it'd have to be on the cheap and obviously we'd have to have had already moved either james or sura in another deal. a healthy sura i think is better than the mouse.
I think offense first from the PG position should not be the Rockets' priority. Look at the most successful teams that resemble the Rockets: Championship Lakers PG: Fisher - pass first who could shoot the 3 Championship Spurs PG: Parker - really a pass first PG who could also score. 2005 Heat PG: Damon Jones - pass first PG who can shoot the 3. The Lakers, Spurs and Heat have something in common with the Rocketrs (most notably the Heat and Lakers) and that is the presence of 2 superstars (in the Heat and Lakers case) or one superstar and a 2nd good complimentary player (Spurs). I think the Rockets are in between the two (Yao being better than complimentary, but not yet a star). The Rockets should follow the successful model and go after a pass first PG who can shoot from outside and defend quick point guards.
Stoudamires's a solid player. Sura isn't capable of playing a full 82 games injury free, and isn't really a true PG anyway. David Wesley will turn 36 next year, and is streaky shooter at this stage of his career. Mike James' spot is on the bench. Having a 4-guard rotation of Stoudamire, Sura, James, and Wesley would definitely be solid. Throw in Jon Barry, and we have a nice stable of guards capable of complementing Yao and TMac. Important note is that Stoudamire's coming off like an $84 million contract, so he's already made his real money. At 31, he's got about 5 good years left in him. He averaged the following #'s last year: 15.8 pts 39.2% FG 36.9% 3PT FG 91.5% FT 5.7 assists 1.1 steals Honestly, I don't think there's a PG in the NBA who wouldn't consider the Rockets if they came calling. The question is, do the Rockets want to invest the full MLE into Damon. This one would require about 6 years, $40 million.
There is some rule in the CBA about a player's contract counting against the cap pro rata the years before he turns 36. Stoudamire will be 32 in a few months so most likely he will only get a 4 year contract. This was discussed when talking about Donyell Marshall who is also 32. This would mean about $26M over 4 years. I would prefer Daniels or Jones over Stoudamire.
Antonio Daniels and Damon Stoudamire both sound good..better than Sura imo. I don't mind SUra though. I don't want Nick Van Exel because of his age. Mike James as backup will still be good. I think we should replace Sura though. He's a good player too but I would rather have someone quicker and who can keep up with quick guards like Tony Parker and Steve Nash?
The problem with Damon Stoudamire is that he doesn't play well as a backup, and he's not exactly what we're looking for in a starting PG. He's certainly a Rocket Killer, but he would really be a liability defensively, and we really need some rebounding out of our backcourt, IMO.
Mighty Mouse might be worthy of a Clutch 'Possible Future Rocket' article. I didn't realize that he was that young. Thirty one is really still in the prime of your career. To me it comes down to who wants to come here even if it means a paycut. There has to be a player out there that sees us as the future champs and wants to sign a small enough contract to help sign others.
That's what I was thinking. Stoudamire is coming off a contract that was paying him HUGE bucks, hopefully he is looking for a nice place to finish his career and a shot at a championship. I know the Rockets have shown interest in Stoudamire throughout the years and I remember being real close to getting him a while ago. Doesn't he have a home here?
If the Rockets previously had an interest in Damon Stoudarmire, wasn't the Rudy T inspired? I would imagine that coaches tell GMs what kind of players or specifically what players they would like to have and then those GMs identify and/or attempt to pull the deal. I doubt that CD is dictating the roster. Is Stoudamire JVG's kind of PG?
Umm.. Damon Jones cant play defense as we see Chauncy continue to abuse him.. his game is all about pull up 3s and i really think it would be a mistake to pay him the full MLE.. Hopefully we can draft a PG or pick up Antonio Daniels. As for Stoudamire.. he is intriguing.. the guy has talent no doubt but would have to be properly motivated to be an impact player on the Rockets. If JVG could get him to polish up his game (less shots and still be effective) he could be a very dangerous player for us. Just my 2 cents.
