I hate to start another T-Rob thread but, whatever. Let me start out by saying I loved the Robinson trade at first. We get a high motor, super athlete who will rebound and dunk with power. I love his potential. But I see an issue people seem not have thought of - where does Robinson fit it, for now or the future??? We are probably going small with Delfino at the 3 and Parsons at the 4 according to Morey. If D-Mo backs Parsons up, then T-Rob isn't going to even get anymore playing time, which could hurt his development. But my biggest issue with this - if we sign a new starting PF with all of our cap room (Josh Smith), then what really was the point of getting T-Rob? Seems like wasted potential now that I think about it. I am a huge Morey fan, and I loved the trade at first, but now I am unsure.
Run, rebound, defend, the occasional put-back off Asik's missed layup, the occasional allyoop slam in transition. He'll fit in nicely.
I understand he fits the system, but when will he get playing time, and what happens to him if we get Josh Smith?
Us signing josh smith this summer will likely depend on several factors: how much money he wants, as well as the maturation and development of Robinson and DMo. The more Robinson and Dmo look like starters and future stars, the less likely it is that we blow $14 mil per year on Smith.
He fits as the starting PF of the Rockets. The Josh Smith stuff is speculation. If the Rockets get Smith, Smith will start and Robinson will be backup. If the Rockets get Howard, Robinson will start. I think DMo fights Greg Smith for center minutes if the Rockets sign Josh Smith. If don't sign him, DMo will be backup 4 and still fight Greg Smith for center PT. Parsons will also be in the mix for PF minutes especially if the Rockets don't get Smith. Terrence Jones is in a very weird position. He looks to be an NBA player. Sounds like he is still working on defensive awareness, but he looks to be ready soon. I just can't see him getting minutes over Robinson and he is already behind DMo. With Parsons in the mix, he seems to have ended up with Royce on outside looking in for the rest of the season. Royce White has huge upside. I don't expect to see him in Houston until next season. He has the talent to compete for minutes at the PF and Rockets may try him at backup center.
Starting PF on the Rio Grande vipers. He is very raw, not super athletic or explosive, and his game needs refinement. DD
He fits the team in two ways - 6'8 tweener forward project - Draft bust picked up on the cheap At some point (hopefully sooner rather than later) McHale will have to concede that playing super small ball is not good and one of D-Mo, Smith, Jones or Robinson will get the starting nod at PF.
It is just more of the same, as we now know in a good way. Keep building assets and wait for an opportunity. See if Robinson is the second coming of Millsap or perhaps Faried or package him in a trade for D Howard or another superstar. It is a bit tricky trying balancing gettimg to the playoffs in the next 25 odd games, which might require a more polished player, and being totally sure by summer whether Robinson is at the minimum a big time rebounder and starter. The Rockets are winning by running and nobody (including guards) is faster than Robinson. He was top two or three in the NBA combine in the 3/4 court sprint and the highlight tapes show it. Aside from his tremendous speed and large wingspaon he was the the top rebounder in college ball, a stat which has the highest probability of translating to the NBA. Interestingly Terrence Jones has very similar physical stats, but unlike Robinson, does not seem to want to be an inside banger.
I seriously doubt he gets any playing time this year given coach Macs reluctance to play rookies not named Chandler Parsons. I don't think he will get any playing time until next year. I would love to be wrong.
What I mean Aruba is he does not get off the floor quickly or does not elevate all that high, he does run the floor and hustle but as an athlete Imo, not that special. DD
Having too many good players is never a bad thing. Carlos is probably gone next season (we need to cut him to have max space) so Parsons will be at the 3 full time. Guys like Jones or Smith (if we end up signing him) can take spot minutes at the 3. Guys like DMo or T-Rob can take spot minutes at the 5. And knowing Morey, he will cash in on one or two of our PFs. The remainer of this season is a trial run: what can DMo, TJones and T-Rob do on the floor. Perhaps we pass on Smith because we feal our PF rotation is fine and we want to look elsewhere to upgrade. Perhaps we decide, it`s time to trade DMo or T-Rob for a good 1st round pick or backup PG/SG. If T-Rob is everything Scouts saw in him before the draft, he should be our PF of the future. If he is everything the Kings saw in him a couple of days ago, he should be either or backup PF or out of the door soon.
With his potential, give him 30 minutes of play time and he will give us 9 points and 8 to 9 rebounds a game. That's not bad, that will develop him.
he is not a high flyer because he has the body perhaps of a young Artest but man, can he dunk explosively
I really haven`t seen him play that much save for a couple of highlight vids. But your oppinion is vastly different from everything I read up on differenct scout sites and also from the highlights (his elevation is crazy). My perception was: he got by with his great athleticism in college, but is struggling with going against bigs in the NBA because his offensive game is raw. I thought his athleticism was his strength, and his weakness was adjusting to the NBA competition and speed of the game...
Could be, I just don't see it. He is not unathletic, but to me he looks more strong and a hustler, than super athletic. DD
I think he can develop... too bad we can't infuse some Royce White skills into him with his work ethic
He will make Morey, and everyone in this organization forget about Josh Smith in summer. He is no doubt the missing "alley oop" piece. Rewind to last season, you'd be astounded by the amount of sick long alley-oops Lin dished to Knicks scrub Fields and Shump. Greg Smith can catch ball and finish/ dunk, but he still ain't scoring without Lin feeding him at right time, at right spot (just look at Thunder game). And good news is T-Rob has a much better feel offensively than Smith. He will have better positions, better movement without ball, better scoring spots for Lin (and everyone else for the matter) to find him to score. There are just about 2 things why T-Rob doesn't live up to his 5th pick status: 1.) The trade negative-psyched him, made him feel unwanted in Sac (instead of wanted here), hurt his confidence. It happens to some players. 2.) McHale doesn't play new guys, as always, and gives him Darko minutes. Hell, we don't even remember T-Jones anymore although he looked like a beast in summer league and pre-season. My money goes to McHale starting Smith/ Motiejunas for first few games, maybe a few weeks, and every game McHale pretends he is invisible, "what trade? what new guy are you guys talking about? we got a new guy?". Of the two, #2 poses greater threat. T-Rob looks like a confident guy with enough self-esteem.
If he can average 7.0-8.0 rebounds in 15 to 20 mins a game regardless of his offensive game, I'd say that's a good start of things to come for him. Right now i ain't even thinking of Josh Smith. And the chances of him coming to us in the off season is still up in the air anyways. So let's just bide our time with whatever we have.
