Which ONE player should the Rockets be targeting this offseason?

"We need to add the guy to give us the best 48 minutes of quality play in the 4 spot between him and JH"

Completely agree. The rockets still need an upgrade in overall talent level. If Yao was a star on Tracy's level, then we could probably get a little more picky with our role players. However, there is a significant drop off between Tracy/Yao and the rest of the team. This team needs a legit 3rd scoring option, and if SAR is the only attainable guy on the market, then i think you go get him provided it's not ridiculous money, and the MLE is not out of question.

 

I just dont think Gadzuric will cost us that much, considering the amount of players available through FA or draft at the C and PF position. Who is gonna pay this guy... Cleveland, NO, Charlotte, Atl... all these teams are looking to acquire the Dalemberts and the Curry`s... so I`m thinking that Gadzuric might go under the radar. Granted, this guy cant shoot worth a crap... he can block shots, grab boards, in essence *get Yao`s back*... kinda like Cato.

Although I do believe that your knowledge of his past injuries and present injuries that might be hendering him are greater than mine, I do believe someone of his skills... a defensive presence with a knack to grab boards would indeed help Yao. We can slide Yao so that he can hit the 15 foot shot and leave DG to grab the boards if needed to be. Now as much confidence I have in Deke, I dont know how many more years he has left. So maybe this would be an insurace type of a pick as well.

Finally, if he costs too much forget about it. We obviously have a higher need for a 3rd option scorer, an athletic 2 / 3 defensive type to take pressure off TMac and PF... I hope CD can address those with 1. pick 2. MLE 3. Vet Min. 4. expiring contracts (trade), I`ve seen crazier things happen... like the stros letting Kent and Carlos go without any return.

 

Without trying to put words in his mouth IMO NIKE is trying to say Gadzuric is not a PF and will never be a PF no matter how much or how little we pay him. Some people can be a PF/C and some people can't.

I personally think a b/u center would be a good idea if he can play PF in the mean time like Cato did. We have two C's, providing Deke returns, but if anything happened to one of them like when Cato went out for a few weeks 2 years ago neither Yao nor Deke can go more than 30 MPG and we would be in deep trouble.

Gadzuric isn't that man, but maybe Zaza Pachulia, his teammate, is because he can slide back and forth. Rebounds (5+), points (6+) in 19 MPG. He is a 6-11 and 265 lbs PF/C and only around 21. He is also a restricted free agent. I don't follow the Bucks so I don't know how athletic he is, but most Euros are fundmentally sound and can shoot from 12+ feet. Maybe someone has better knowledge of him and can comment.

 

Pachulia and Gadzuric are both restricted and Milwalkee needs all the interior help they need. It puts us in a bad spot, we have to outbid what his own team thinks he is worth--and they have major needs there. At least with Reggie Evans his team is deep, deep, deep in PFs and Seattle has a lot of guys to take care of first in FA (Allen, Radm, James, maybe AD, Wilkens). I think that could get us a fighting chance at him even for a less than ridiculas price. Because of various market factors I see a much better chance to get a worse overall player at a terrible contract for one of these guys (Pachulia, Gadzuric, add Songaila from the Kings as another) than SAR, Swift, Evans or Donyell.

 

I see alot of people suggesting that we target Bobby Simmons or Gerald Wallace with our MLE as our first options and I just don't understand this. It's not because I think they're not good, they're nice players, but I think you guys are buying a little bit too much into Kenny Smith/TNT and that 40 point ass whooping. Like I said in a different thread, contrary to what the naional media has led us to believe, our guard speed is not a problem and certainly was not the reason we lost that series. Had we even had a halfway decent rebounder alongside Yao, we would have won all 6 of the first games. The only place we were hurt was on the offensive rebounds. A 40 point loss is such an anomaly that you can't blame it on any one aspect of the game. Lack of athleticism never was an issue in the regular season.

Like I've always believed, if you have a great defensive scheme (which we certainly do) and shotblocking big men (Yao) to keep guys out of the paint, you're going to be 'ok.' Individual defensive ability on the perimeter in the NBA is really overhyped. Except for EXTREME exceptions (Matt Maloney on offense or Ron Artest on defense), pretty much any NBA starting guard can drive around his counterpart if played one on one. Do you think Sam Cassell, Kenny Smith, and Drexler were good defenders? Hell no, but they had Hakeem and Bob Horry cleaning up their mistakes. You just need a great scheme and great team defensive big men. We have Yao, but now our biggest need is someone who can make up for his lack of athleticism and chase shots or grab rebounds after he's challenged a shot. That's why stromile Swift should be our #1 target and why I might even consider looking at Kwame Brown. Not SAR, not Simmons, not any of these swingmen. They would be nice luxuries, but a shotblocker/rebounder at the 4 is our biggest need.

You can try your luck with guard/small forward athletes in the second round, but spend your real efforts and ammo on the big men, because big men rule the NBA.

 

cabbage: By-in-large I agree with you about the 4 spot. JHo is ok, but I'd like to see a Badiane type athelete backing him up or starting ahead of him, if he's better than JHo. SS and REvans are boarders. If you are going to have slow-footed guards you better have Hakeem behind them. We had Sam and Mitch Wiggins and Vernon Maxwell et al, they were anything but slow.

SS is OK. I messaged up Kwame in the Dish and was shouted down.
Conventional wisdom from the TV pundits still says he has a world of potential if he can control himself. I like him and he might come to play with TMac and Yao, even for the MLE.

 

I'll agree this team needs an athletic 4 that can block shots and get rebounds, but I think you're underestimating the importance of having speed on the perimeter. It's not just about having guards that can stay in front of their man. It's also about having players fast enough to rotate quickly on defense.

When Jason Terry penetrates the lane and one of our players has to help Yao out in the paint so he doesn't get into foul trouble, we need faster players on the perimeter that can quickly rotate and put a hand in the face of their shooters. Our 3-point defense in the Mavs series was atrocious. Our perimeter defenders were all a step too slow and gave up countless wide open 3's.

Our lack of guard speed also costs us a ton of long rebounds that were picked up by the Dallas guards.

 

"our guard speed is not a problem and certainly was not the reason we lost that series"

Completely disagree. It really all goes back to what philosophy you believe in. Would you rather be vulnerable on the perimeter and have shot blockers back there to clean it up, or would you rather have speed on the perimeter that won't allow as much dribble penetration so your big men aren't in a vulnerable position. The chicago bulls of the 1990s might have been the greatest defensive team in the history of basketball. And they did not have one premier shot blocker roaming the floor. They were great cause they quite possibly had the 2 greatest perimeter defenders ever.

Until Yao learns to block shots, not try to draw an offensive foul everytime, and in general stay out of foul trouble, then we need to make our defensive scheme less vulnerable for him. And to do that, we need less penetration in the lane.

 

I don't think they were equal to the 93-94 Rockets team defensively. The Bulls never had to play a Dream or Shaq in his prime either (when they faced Shaq he was largely still acquring a half court game).

I will agree you can build a defense on this. Nothing wrong with trying to get the best of both worlds like Detriot.

I still wonder why so much of ya'll are focused on defense. Yes we can use a guard/swingman with decent length and athleticism (it is not that Wesley/James are slow, it is that they are not long, and Barry is slow), but offense was our bigger problem anyway. Our defense just needs a little tweaking (pick up the extra back-up wing defender for the occasional bad match-up like Stack/Finley versus Wesley), but our offense (legit 3rd scorer and more production from the PF) needs more of an overhall.

 

Udonis Haslem is a player I like a lot. Hard worker, good rebounder, and has that nice jumper from the baseline. He reminds me of P. J. Brown a little bit. Not going to create his own offense, but going to grab some rebounds and hit the open jumper. BTW, I think we should still start Howard. Howard played poorly off the bench. Some players are best suited for starting roles while others are fit for the bench.

 

Udonis Haslem is the perfect example of what good scouting can do for a team. This is a guy that had a solid but not spectacular college career, went undrafted and now is showing signs of being a starter for years to come. Talk about a "diamond in the rough."

I cannot place enough emphasis on how important scouting is and how our scouts need to come through. We need the next Mobley, it's a great way to get an NBA player for cheap.

 

bu2002:

wouldn't you aree though that it would be just a little easier for us to add another decent shotblocker, rather than find two perimeter defenders the caliber of Jordan and Pippen?

and don't forget, that wouldn't have worked without cartwright or rodman.

 

"Our defense just needs a little tweaking (pick up the extra back-up wing defender for the occasional bad match-up like Stack/Finley versus Wesley), but our offense (legit 3rd scorer and more production from the PF) needs more of an overhall"

On that note, then yes i agree, that finding a 3rd option on offense would be my higher priority as well. I was just arguing the merits of how one goes about building a defensive scheme.


Cabbage, i agree that you'll never be able to get a Pippen/Jordan combo on the perimeter, that was a unique combination and won't be duplicated probably ever. With Yao on board, i guess im trying to find balance between having an imposing presence in middle while at the same time having guys who can man up on the perimeter. And to be a great defensive team, you need great rebounding regardless if you have great perimeter defenders or premier shot blocking. Im just trying to find ways specifcally to help Yao out and decrease the overall energy level he expends on the defensive side of the floor. If guys aren't getting into the lane as much, he can stay back and get position for a defensive board. His rebounding numbers would probably increase if we didn't allow as much penetration into the lane.

 

Because JBG uses and teachs 'team defense' and the rules have changed significantly since MJ/SP days we don't employ such skilled independent defensemen. We had one of the best defenses in the league cobbled together out of a box of bandaids. A long defensive minded 4 and a long offensive/defensive minded 2 and a 1 that make an entry pass is 'all' we need. Make it so No. 2.

 

The Rockets must pursue a trade with the New Jersey Nets to acquire one of the best point guards ever -- Jason Kidd.