[Yahoo] Kelly Dwyer isn't convinced this will work

Maybe Dwyer is Richard Justice's long lost love child?

 

does Kelly still have that 'soul glow' type perm? my guess is its effecting his brain

keep up the great work

 

I agree with his two main theses, but I don't agree with his conclusions. Battier is better at defending swingmen, but the team is still better by replacing Battier with Artest. Artest is 90% as good as Battier on the defensive end, and 125% as good on offense. And nothing stops both of them from playing at the same time.

 

Great post. My sentiments exactly

 

Also, you have to figure that since Ron Ron is now the third option, he'd have more energy to spend on the defensive end locking people down as opposed to before. I expect him to be that much more committed to running through screens and chasing defenders since he'd have that much more energy to do so. And while Battier is the league's premiere team defender, Artest is a better one on one defender. So I would love seeing at the end of games, Artest on the other team's best perimeter player, with Battier roaming around taking charges, blocking shots, and playing outstanding help defense.

 

I think Kelly Dwyer is really not giving RonRon his props as a big time player for being the third option on a team that features Yao Ming and T-Mac. Also I’m sure RonRon can play better D than he did the last couple years, he said himself he’s been a greater focal point on the offense on the crappy Kings team so it’s taken away from what amount of energy he could exert on the defensive end. Now that he’s the third option he can focus more on D again. Personally I think Ron’s the best possible fit for the Rockets...

 

I differ in that I think he's somewhat more of a doofus. A volatile one, at that, who's made bad mistakes.

My biggest concern about the guy at this point is that as his dj buddy said "he really thinks he's as good as anyone in the NBA". A listening to the podcast from 7/1 pretty much confirms it.

So we'll have to wait and see. But on the bb side he might be exactly what we need, and it's possible that some of us are underestimating his impact too.

The bottom line is for what we gave up, you give a man with these talents (and this baggage) a shot on this team any chance you're able.

 

It wasn't a de facto "Hell Naw this ain't gonna work!" like the garbage Justice writes. Kelly made some valid points. He has a right to be skeptical and even I have a couple of doubts. But you know what? This deal right here blows the Gasol-to-LA deal out of the mother effin water. Why?

1. Artest's contract is up after the season. If he pans out, great, we'll try and work out a new contract. If not? His visit will be as brief as Randy Johnson's. There's no max contract to worry about and certainly no 3-4 years remaining to worry about.

2. We gave up two draft picks of the future for a star in the present. Everyone SHOULD realize that Yao/McGrady's window ain't getting wider. This is a win now team for this year and maybe the next. If it doesn't work out? Morey has gotten this team financially stable to be players in the 2010 FA class. So going for broke this upcoming season is the best course of action. Two low 1st rounders aren't going to be real difference makers on a team that has a tandem of Yao and McGrady.

3. Contract. Year. If Ron Ron don't want to play for the Rockets, he needs to play his ass off for himself. His financial future rests on this season. And, probably to his surprise, going to the Rockets actually puts MORE pressure on him. If he doesn't show the league he's a team player and can play with control, no one this side of the Atlantic is going to sign him for anything more than what he's getting paid right now. If he can help the Rockets get past the 1st Round and into the Finals? Guess what? Cha-ching. He doesn't even have to post All-Star numbers. 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists on an elite team will get him the praises he needs for a bigger payday. So those thoughts of selfishness? I don't think it will be detrimental to the team because the guy sounds smart enough to know that if he torpedos the Rockets season, he just also sank his own financial prospects.

Sure we all have doubts but there shouldn't be any reason why there isn't an overall sense of optimism when Artest coming here. Worst case scenario: he comes here and royally screws the season over. But guess what? He'll be gone before we start training camp for 2010-11. That's the beauty of it all--the worst case scenario isn't as bad as all the other star trades (e.g. Jason Kidd and his mammoth contract for the next few years).

 

Sorry for the late reply, but I should warn you guys not to confuse "isn't convinced that it's going to work" with "not going to work."

I'm not convinced any NBA team is "going to work," meaning bringing home a championship, next season. I wasn't convinced of Boston's chances late last year, or the Lakers at their peak.

It's just, for all the potential, the Rockets have a lot of work to do and Adelman has a lot of mixing and matching to do rotation-wise (something he's never been keen with, the guy insists on having the tiniest rotation in the league now matter how good his bench is), to make it work. That's all.

I think Houston has as good a chance as LA, Boston, and New Orleans next season. But just because I didn't come across as fawning, that doesn't mean I don't think that Artest in Houston will work.

We all know Houston gave up absolutely nothing for Artest. If you want to read a column about that, for the 132nd time, go somewhere else. I was moving onto another subject.

 

My opinion is that the Houston Rockets are not a contender without Ron Artest even if Yao,Tracy and the rest of the team are fully fit.

 

i think you made that statement b/c yao, tracy, and the rest of the team are NEVER fully fit.

 

If the team stayed healthy and Adelman worked it all out, they would have easily been a contender without Artest, in my opinion.

 

I am actually about 75% sure the Artest experiment will not bring a Championship to Houston. Furthermore, I'd say it's a 50/50 shot that the guy blows up, kills the team chemistry (off the court and on the court) and has to be traded or simply sent home. Anyone who thinks Ron coming here guarantees a Championship or even guarantees a better season than last season is crazy.

Having said all that, I think this team has little or no chance of winning it all without Artest. Even if Yao doesn't break something (and that's a big if) we know he and Tmac will enter the playoffs banged up and not ready to carry the load. The only shot this team has at a title without Ron is for everyone to be near 100% throughout the playoffs. History says that is nearly impossible for this squad.

I would rather take the chance on Ron (considering he was basically free) knowing he gives this team a small chance of winning it all rather than watching the current squad overachieve all season long only to stagger into the playoffs and be bounced again.

 

You're right its not a guarantee, but you have to love the odds. Adding a top notch defender to a top notch defensive team; not to mention, that top notch defender can score the ball too. A change for the better isn't a guarantee but it is highly likely.

Everyone knows about the baggage that Artest brings. Thats nothing new. But you can't make moves based upon what can go wrong. If this thing pans out the way that it should the Rockets will be championship contenders, if it doesn't than they are still gonna be pretty damn good.

Thats just the long and short of it.

 

I think it was a great trade, and is POTENTIALLY an amazing fit. I actually worry more about the ball "sticking" to Artest, than his attitude, since this offense requires moving the ball around. But, that will probably have a lot to do with his attitude too.

The proof will be in the pudding. We really don't know how well this will work, although I think Adelman could make it work better than anyone. But, with what we had as trading chits, and what we gave up, I think it was the best move out there to fill in our missing blanks. Will we get a championship? I hope so. But, I've got to see these guys play together for a bit, before I go crowning them just yet.

Good article, Kelly ... ... proud you're a poster on this board.

 

Agreed and that's why I went on to say the team had to do this trade to have ANY shot at a ring. If you're Morey you make this trade every day of the week and twice on Sundays because the worst case scenario is Ron is a distraction and a cancer and is banished from the team. That still leaves last year's team minus Bobby Jackson but with Jon Barry and a more experienced trio of second year guys who are ready to carry even more of the load.

 

Excellant analogy. I also think that people underestimate Artest's desire to be a team player on a championship team. I think he intends and wants to be the #1 lock down defender on this team more than an offensive "ball stopper". The guy has clearly said more than once in interviews that he fully intends to defer to Yao and Tmac on the offensive end; yet people won't listen to that. I guess he just has to prove it.

 

I believe he 100% means what he says and thinks that he can/will do anything to win a ring. The problem is that he is crazy. I mean he is quite literally insane so no matter how much he believes what he says I don't think he is capable of controlling himself. What's worse is that you read quotes from his former coaches, team mates and management and many of them say the same thing.

He is crazy but I have my fingers crossed things will work anyway.

 

I hear you man...we are both on the same team hoping that he is on his best behavior. But what makes you think he is insane? The brawl? His wanting to make a rap album? His saying that he is from the hood and ghetto? Which one of those makes you think he is insane? Or is it something else that I didn't mention or don't know about? Just curious.

 

Crazy may be too strong - I'd term it more of an optimism born out of sheer desperation. This is just another in a long line of shortcuts undertaken by this franchise to cover for its ineptitude and I expect it to end up in much the same way as the others. You see for this move to not blow in their faces, the Rockets and those here are taking a huge leap of faith that somehow, some way, Artest can divorce his persona from his athletic ability - in essence create a split personality where he's actually normal and highly productive on the court and while reverting to his old psychopathic self off the court. This is unrealistic in the most extreme sense possible because he can no more do something like that than any of the legion of folks around here could. But it's fun to pretend that he can do this.

Chance to win? What chance is that? Their history is what it is because they haven't been good enough to win period. They haven't been good enough because their management has frittered away years with its stumbling and bumbling. So now they turn to this in the hope that this move will allow them to escape the consequences of their past actions. Yeah, that'll work. Putting Two-Face on the team will instantly make them competitive with other organizations who have drafted better, scouted better and were smarter about finding players. I wish them luck because they will need it - boatloads of it.

You are in essence, betting the everything on a guy who is unstable, unpredictable and just plain nuts in the extreme. Said guy is supposed to now be the difference maker for this team. Meanwhile your competition at NO, Utah, SA, PHX, LA and even Dallas don't have to worry about having to deal with something like this on their teams - they can concentrate on winning because unlike here, their key guys won't be Ron Artest.