Weatherspoon Baker Norris Ward Man what a bunch of worthless crap. Man it would be nice to get rid of some of this deadweight.
Probably won't happen until mid-season when the teams that are out of the playoff hunt try to reduce payroll for '06-07.
I like your probable roster, Desert Scar. But given JVG's comments and the expiring contracts I think anyone's up for grabs if the right deal comes along. We all hope we resign Deke, but that's basically up to him. CD worked hard to get James here, and there would have to be some really compelling reason to trade him. I'd like to think Barry will have a roster spot, but I see that as iffy. I think it's clear CD and JVG want to see what Sura can do when healthy, and as his trade value is minimal I definitely see him here. Howard stays unless we have to deal to get a pf we like better. If DM's our target there's no question he'll be here. Wesley's the hardest for me to figure. JVG heaps praise on him, but JVG probably bears some responsibility for the way he ground down at the end of the season. And his expiring contract and ability makes him nice trade-bait. Padgett probably stays unless we need to throw in his salary to make a deal. But Yao and T-Mac are the only ones that are really safe.
The Rockets are still 3 starters away from being a true contender so it wouldn't surprise me if many of the rotation players from last season are gone. Van Gundy does not seem like the patient type, which is probably good when dealing with older players. Being too patient with veteran players is a recipe for disaster (ex. Minnesota). Howard is stuck here since his contract sucks. Barry will probably return for cheap, but I think he'll see a reduction in minutes. Wesley I think is the most likely to be traded with either Sura or James packaged with him. Basically, I see 3 new players coming in (via trade, MLE, and draft) and 3 players either leaving or moving to the end of the bench (Wesley, Barry, James or Sura).
I think it's pretty obvious that there will be some changes though. But if you listen to what CD and JVG had said on 610 we know there is going to be come big changes. I don't think JVG says we need to bold for nothing if he wasn't implying something.
The odd man out will be either Bowen or Padgett. They bring exact opposite skills to the 4 and both are undersized as well. Too bad we can't morph the two into one complete player!! I for one do not think the Rox are 3 starters away. With a younger, much-faster version of JHo on our squad and one more sf/sg type player on our bench we can compete with Dallas or Phoenix on speed. If you run T-mac, and faster 4 and add MJ on the court with a faster 2 guard off the bench that's pretty much all you need to slow down Dallas and/or Phoenix. San Antonio is about to prove to the rest of the league that a combination of size, speed and yes, defense will still win championships!! Having said that, we're only a couple of players away and the chemistry was so good on our team last year that we simply cannot start tossing players just for the sake of "boldness" despite JVG's comments. Besides, I suspect that bold to JVG does not necessarily translate to "boldness" as defined by Clutchfans.net!!
You got that right. After they lose to Detroit, everyone will see the importance of having 3 quality bigs, along with tough D, and the speedy guard play that wins championships. Detroit will win because of the superior play of their big men.
I think getting SAR or Swift (MLE or S&T) plus say Raja Bell or Spree (using the 1.7 exemption or part of MLE if left) would constitute "big changes". We could do this and still plan to keep all the heavy minutes players from last year except Bowen. Yao(2), Deke(9), JH SAR(3), JH(8), TM(1), SAR, Bell DW(5), Bell(6), Barry (10) Sura(4), James(7) That would provide a very quality and flexible 10 man rotation. Bell might start over DW, just depends, but Wesley's minutes certainly come down. Padget could occasionally play the 4 and possibly 3 as the 11th man. Average minutes per game: TM 38 (34 SF, 4 SG) YM 32 (all C) SA 32 (28 PF, 4SF) BS 26 (all PG) dw 22 (all SG) RB 24 (15 SG, 9SF) MJ 22 (all PG) JH 24 (20PF, 4C) dm 12 (all C) JB 7 (all SG) While the minutes are a little squeezed, this is only true if everyone is healthy--big assumption with the age of many players. Padget is also not a bad guy to have as #12, so if you get an injury to a forward he will get minutes. The line up is also very flexible in going small, quick and shooters around TM (JH at 5, SAR 4, Tmac 3, Bell or JB 2, James 1), or going big/defensive with Tmac at the 2 with Sura/Bell(1), SAR(3), JH(4) and Yao/Deke(5) around him.
Well said. I think Detriot will suffocate the Spurs as they have everyone else. Spurs better hope Miami can take them out literally or figuratively.
If you don't have the names McGrady of Yao stitched on the back fo your jersey, don't buy a house in the greater Houston area or surrounding areas. I also heard Van Gundy on SR610 and he made it sound like there were going to be some major changes, the only players you can truly call safe are McGrady and Yao.
