Just a short summer ago Ryan Bowen was our best option for a starting power forward in a playoff series against the mavs. So that being fresh on my mind, yeah, I'm high on Swift.
MLE for a former #2 pick who has the potential to elevate his game to become a star PF in the league and whose game is a great compliment to your star center. What do you not like about it?
Nuts to this guy, the excitement surrounding Swift is because he has all the talent that our front office theoritically wanted next to Yao. He was the guy they targeted and we got him bu the is not going to lift this team any higher than it already is we knew this already. Swift is going to be a hell of a complementary player and between him and Yao I don't think any team is going to drive it to the bucket against us. The idea is that our team is capable of hiding all his weaknesses therefore he is a good fit, is there a chance he could suck, yes but in the risk/reward world of the NBA I (and most people) think this was an excellent move.
Because people are all buying the best case scenario right now. If the light turns on inside of Swift's brain, we have a beast. I think it's also plausible that he'll be useful, but persistently lazy and tactically naive.
I'm excited about Swift because with his freakish athleticism and nose for the ball, he'll be putting up dunks all over the place on offensive putbacks. Half the other team is gonna be too busy boxing/fouling Yao, leaving Superman to put a serious hurt on the rim.
I've read this through all the posts in this thread, and I've seen a total of 2 posts that even begin to imply his being "the man." Nobody's expecting him to be the savior of the Rockets. He's a good fit for the team, and he's talented. Seriously, what are you complaining about? Did we trade someone valuable away for him? No, obtaining him didn't directly cause us to lose anyone. Did we pay him too much money? No, he was expected to get offers averaging 8 million a season. Instead we got him well BELOW market value at the MLE. We get it...you're not completely sold on him. Many of us are skeptical about his ability to contribute. However, the fact that we were able to get him for so cheap was more than enough to make me happy. We lost Weatherspoon/Padgett and gained Swift/Baxter while keeping our yearly Power Forward payroll roughly the same (a little lower I think once Weatherspoon comes off completely). Do you really think our team got worse this offseason?
When the offseason first started I was one of the major naysayers to Swift. Heck, for a long time my sig was "Just say no to Stromile Swift and Antoine Walker!" I agree that the best type of PF to pair with Yao is an athletic, shot-blocking, rebounding beast with a mid-range shot. The rebounding, however, is the most important. My problem with Swift is that in most of the games I've seen him in he barely puts in an effort to get those rebounds. It's like he won't even try for it unless the ball is falling right to him or he can get an easy putback. He has all the other skills we need from a PF, but the lack of force on the boards really puts me off. With his athletic ability he should be one of the best rebounders in the league. Some are counting on JVG to sharpen Swift's attitude on the boards. Some hope he'll finally live up to all his potential. I'm not. I've accepted the fact that he'll get 7rpg in starter minutes. Not impressive. But considering all the other skills he brings for a MLE contract I'll certainly learn to live with it. Chandler or Camby are the best people to match with Yao, but they can't be had with the MLE. Swift is the flatout best person, in terms of complimenting Yao, at that pricetag. And I'm finally glad to have him.
I really hate these "projected over 48 minutes" arguments...if he was really that good then he would have gotten more minutes...Pau maybe a girl inside a 6'11 body but if Swift couldn't cut into his minutes then it's a telling sign just how big of a gap there is from Swift and the better then average power forwards in the league.
the money we paid for swift is equal to the production he has put up until this point. if we had a back up 4/5 that averaged 10 points 5 rebounds 1 block per game we'd be quite happy. The reason people are giddy is because he is extremely young, very athletic and has had limited minutes for whatever reason. he still has a high upside especially in the right system. Much more upside than any other non all star on our roster. People are happy that the rare marriage of taking the midlevel which isn't considered a large contract because it allows financial freedom in the future and if he can't do more than he does we still didnt overpay.
Swift should be the best fit to YAO/T-Mac and our team, at least on paper. I expect him have better number than Cato at score and blocks, and about the same amount rebound as Cato. SO basically, we only trade Francis to T-mac now. We have to admit that CD is genius. At best Swift will be all-star in Rockets system, at worse he will be better than Cato with cheap price. I think that he is very good man too, because he did not complain or whip a lot even he only played as substitue as second pick in a so so team. Not a lof of NBA players can do that. I think West help us,I bet West try to low his market vaule and hope can sign him cheap.
I do think Swift was a great bargain, at least considering how teams overpay for potential. Given that, he was the best option. I don't consider him the best type of talent to play next to Yao. Yao needs a bruising pf to create space for him. Yao doesn't create space in the lane unless he's doubled. The "ideal" pf next to Yao imo would be someone like Otis Thorpe. Unfortunately they don't make em like that anymore.
all i can really remember about swift is him absolutely ABUSING chris mihm when LSU met Texas in the tournament. that day i wanted him to be a rocket. other than that... we'll soon see.
if you have doubts on him who do you think should the rox have signed? if you're not sold on him, who are you sold to? or would you rather have the rox not sign anyone? wasn't kobe, kg, tmac, yao, and amare all drafted based on potential?
Great questions, but Buzz1701 isn't going to answer these questions, he's just complaining for the sake of complaining.
I think the Rockets should have gone after Donyell Marshall. He's proven, he gives the Rockets exactly what they need. PF isn't a position you have to lock up right now. Then you could get a younger guy in an upcoming draft for the time when Marshall wears down.
I think the name of "whatever reason" is Paul Gasol. Granted, Stromile could have been granted more minutes. Stories abound that he doesn't always play full out and/or that he isn't the brightest player on the floor. Seems he would have had more minutes if Gasol hadn't been on the Grizzlies as well. They are both 4's having to sometimes play the 5; the Grizzlies never seemed to grab a true center. While there's certainly a reason Stromile was given the MLE and Tyson Chandler given a contract averaging 10 mil (Chicago did overpay, but what the heck), Swift will give us something we need: youth, athleticism, shot-blocking, someone to take the heat off Yao as the backup defense whenever a guard or forward sneaks into the lane.
Marshall would've been a good choice, although I don't think the Cavs ever said how much they signed him for. Blocking, 3pt shooting, rebounding, decent fg%, he has a good package...he's getting up there in the age though.
Yes, Marshall would have been an interesting fit on this team. But, if you were to watch a ballgame with Marshall playing against Stromile, who do you think would win that matchup??? If Swift 1) gets his confidence back and 2) plays with high energy, we'll all be high on him before long.
