So that's: Alston/Sura/JL3 Head/Snyder/V-Span McGrady/Battier/Novak Battier/Howard/Hayes Ming/Mutombo - Snyder will be asked to guard big 2s, and there are a lot of them that can score. Still, I don't see a guy we get for nothing being a starter, much less from the Hornets, and a reserve at that. Doesn't speak too well about our team if he starts. Better than Bogans in every way though. - I don't see V-Span getting many minutes early on having never played NBA ball. - I see Battier getting a lot of minutes starting at the 4 and backing up McGrady at the 3. - Novak will play only if the opposing team's 3 is not a scoring threat, which is not all that uncommon. - It'll be a lot easier keeping Head with Snyder available to guard bigger 2s. I really would like to see how well he plays in his second year rather than trade him now - there were just too many flashes of greatness (scoring 28 and 26) in his rookie year not to give him a chance. Still, I'd like to see a trade that does this: Alston/Head/JL3 Trade/Snyder/V-Span McGrady/Battier/Novak Battier/Trade/Hayes Ming/Mutombo
I'm going to put this scenario out there again. Trade Juwan,Head,Sura,and large TE for Murphy,Foyle, and possibly Petrius Why for GS? Gets rid of two bloated contracts (Murphy and Foyle) and saves about 20Mil. Why for Rox? Murphy fits the PF with range and rebounding. Foyle can still contribute defensively, undoubtedly more so than Deke right now. Petrius is the deal breaker in all likelihood. But if GS considers they'll be saving quite a bit with Murphys and Foyle's contracts gone, maybe they do it. Petrius is not starting anyway nor will he as long as Richardson is there. You have to give to get. If this is a three year window for the Rox the time is now. The only large contract left after three years will be Tmac(final year) Yao, and Murphy. Lineup Yao, Foyle, Deke Murphy,Van Horn(vet. min) Hayes Tmac, Battier, Novak Snyder, Petrieus Alston, Banks(2.5 of MLE)Lucas You can substitute Vspan for Banks depending on your taste
Anyone read this Rockets article written today from their website? Got lots of quotes obviously from this afternoon. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets_having_busy_offseason-184690-822.html Rockets making bold moves to compete out West Busy off-season could pay off with return trip to the playoffs By Damien Pierce Rockets.com HOUSTON - When Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson entered the off-season in April, he knew his team needed more consistent perimeter shooters and hard-nosed defenders to compete with the big boys of the Western Conference. Nearly halfway through the off-season, Dawson is convinced that the Rockets are closer to becoming a serious conference title contender than they were three months ago. ""I'm excited about this year," Dawson said. "We're getting healthy and we've made some acquisitions that will really help this team. We're getting better." While the Rockets' playoff hopes for the upcoming season will once again hinge on the health of All-Stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, the Rockets have made several bold moves this off-season to improve the roster for a run at the Western Conference title. The Rockets have acquired defensive specialist Shane Battier, swingman Kirk Snyder and sharpshooter Steve Novak over the past three weeks. The Rockets expect those three names to immediately help their team. There are no projects in the group. The players should help bolster Rockets' defense and improve their perimeter shooting after finishing next to last in the NBA in field goal percentage. Now, the Rockets have to figure out if they've done enough to compete with the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs for the Western Conference crown. "I don't consider myself the missing link to a championship," Battier said. "But I do think I can come in and make this team better. This is already a good team. A lot of people forget the Rockets were picked to go deep in the playoffs before they had all the injuries last season. They would have been in the playoffs without the injuries." During the Rockets' 34-win season last year, McGrady and Yao missed a combined 60 games from a team that reached the playoffs in 2004-05. Dawson said both McGrady and Yao are recovering well from injuries. McGrady (back) has returned to the hardwood and Yao (broken foot) is expected to begin playing in China around Aug. 1. The Rockets are also hoping to get shooting guard Bob Sura back for the upcoming season. Sura hasn't played in the past 15 months after having surgery on his knee, but has resumed workouts at the Toyota Center. If the Rockets can keep those players out of the trainer's room, the team shouldn't have any trouble returning to the postseason. But to compete with Dallas and San Antonio, the Rockets have been actively wheeling and dealing. Dawson believes the moves will pay off. "Getting Shane Battier, getting Kirk Snyder and getting Steve Novak fills a lot of holes that were on the board," Dawson said. "We've still got the whole summer to improve the team and we're still looking to trade. But we're real happy with what we have done so far." Battier, Snyder and Novak will certainly boost the team's perimeter offense. Since most teams are doubling McGrady and Yao, the Rockets have been desperately seeking perimeter shooters who would take advantage of getting open looks. Last season with Memphis, Battier knocked down 48.8 percent of shots, including 39.4 percent of his three-point attempts. Snyder made 35.5 percent of his three-point attempts last season with the Hornets and Novak, who the Rockets selected in the second round of the NBA Draft, is Marquette's all-time career leader in three pointers made. Besides shooting, Battier is considered one of the NBA's best defenders and Snyder brings athleticism that was once missing on the Rockets' defense. Battier's presense alone should help the Rockets in the playoffs since he is capable of guarding shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards. Along with those three additions, Dawson wouldn't mind adding a few more players to the mix. "I'd be much more comfortable if we can get a couple more veterans," Dawson said. "We really got a style of play right now where it's going to be hard to come in as a young player and play on this team." The Rockets are still in the market for a reserve point guard and reserve shooting guard. But even if the team can't find those players, Dawson and his team believes that they are closing to the conference's top teams. "This team is Tracy's and Yao's team," Battier said. "It's all of our jobs to compliment them and make them better."
^ I agree with everything you just said there but i also think that with Banks and Ariza we would be up there for the best offseason of any team and our depth would be absolutley ridicolous!
THey are banking on this Novak kid to make an impact , he was a 2nd rounder right?....My thinking was that he and Rybo will battle for 12th man... BTW, unless we take an overbloated contract of an overrated loser PF in return, we are stuck with JHo until the remainder of his contract, he is about as moveable as a fat person from a buffet line. Some of you still throw out the thought that he is moveable...it's like watching someone feed a dollar the wrong way into a vending machine over and over again.
Then there's something obviously wrong with your style of play if Dallas and Phoenix are continuously able to advance deep into the playoffs with young players. And they wonder why they find themselves with a broken down roster every summer...
Not a spelling convention, obviously! (I'm just having fun, being in a halfway decent humor because CD actually did something good)
Those of you down on J-Ho are not giving him nearly enough credit. When either TMAC or Yao were out for extended periods, Juwan stepped up and contributed an average of 17 ppg and close to 10 boards. And he's NOT the defensive liability so many say he is. He's not Battier on defense, but he's also not Stromile Swift, who despite far superior speed was absolutely LOST on the court when it came to defensive switches, and THAT more than anything else is why he was sent packing again. On the actual Thread topic, I'm all for a slightly bigger "Splash" than the one everyone is raving over as far as the SG spot, but I am opposed to bringing any other question marks as far as character or skill are concerned. Snyder might turn out to be all world, but he's been shipped off from two teams already... And, as CD says above, I do think we need an experienced backup at the point, and though I'll probably get flamed for this, I could easily see D. Wesley as the backup PG with JL3 as insurance. Before you start laughing, Wesley had a tough year because of nagging injuries last year and will definitely have a better year shooting the ball this season. The guy does anything he's asked, never complains, and plays better "D" than anyone but Tracy and Yao!! Also, there were times last year, when Rafer was out that Wesley did run the Point. It's not as silly as it might first sound. Anyway, with Team Chemistry still an issue, instead of bringing in someone who may or may not mesh with Van Grumpy, I say keep Wesley, bring V-Span to training camp, and hopefully add another possible starter at SG and then see how the first half of the season goes... By the time winter gets here, we'll know how far we need to go to truly compete based on our first half roster.
If the rumors are true and Battier will be our starting 4, then that probably means Rockets are trying to move Jho since we have Hayes for our back up forward. Probably for another big gaurd or a PF that plays D. Since the Cavs are lookin to sign Wesley, the rockets should do a sign and trade where: Houston gets : Gooden/Murrary Cavs get: Jho and Wesley
well since some early quotes from CD seem to point to snyder starting i would say we're looking at: yao-deke shane-jho-hayes tmac-novak-bowen snyder-head-sura alston one of those quotes being along the lines of: we have nice backcourt players with rafer, luther, and now snyder. no mention of tmac or shane here. the other from the article on rockets.com, he talks about now needing reserves at the guard possitions. hinting that snyder is a starter. NEXT?: a PG. book it. banks, vspan, lucas.
While I think the trade for Snyder was a good move, I am just a little confused by the shape our team is taking. This move basically confirms that the Rockets plan is to start Battier at the 4. That really worries me. I believe that he might be able to play there in spurts, but not for any extended periods. I really think we need to pick up another big (or 2) and a 1. I'd like to see us go after Banks as a backup 1 and maybe Songaila, Wright, or Ely if any of them could be had for the remainder of the MLE. I'd also explore a trade with Sacramento for KT for our TE. Here is what the squad would look like with an estimate of minutes. 1-Alston(30)/Banks(18)/Lucas 2-McGrady(12)/Snyder(20)/Head(16) 3-Battier(16)/McGrady(24)/Novak(6) 4-KT(20)/Battier(16)/Howard(12)/Hayes 5-Yao(34)/Wright(14)/Mutombo
This is just a question cause I don't know much about him but what is the big deal about Ariza ? He averaged like 3 pts and 6 rbs ? I'm just curious...
The big deal is that he is only 21 and has shown potential that is unreal. He is most definantly a high risk high reward type player but on a small contract. Some will tell you that he is Tmac before he got to orlando and though thats a slim possibility he has a 50 50 chance to be a star on the level of a Larry Hughes or Lamar Odom type level. I love the kids athleticism and his desire he also fits into a younger mold of players that we will try to get hince the Snyder, Banks, AND JL3 talk.
I dont think KT can fit under our TE and I think people like Ariza cuz he is young very athletic and plays good defense. I think the perfect off-season would be getting Banks/Spannolious and Ariza. Then with the exception sign a guy like Wright. pg-alston-banks-lucas sg-snyder-sura-head sf-mcgrady-ariza-novak pf-battier-howard-hayes c-yao-wright-mutumbo
We must trade either Mutumbo or J.Howard for a much tougher guy who can play 4 and 5. that's definitely necessary!!! Tony Battie is a good choice, and undoubtedly, Chris Wilcox is another one if Sonics'd like to.
