Good point. That would give us something like this in the frontcourt: C- Cato, Ming, Collier PF - Taylor, Thomas, Griffin, Stoudemire SF - Rice, Morris How are all four of those power forwards going to get enough playing time? I say forget Stoudemire and go for a small forward at pic 15. Once we get Ming, small forward is going to be by FAR our weakest position.
Everything that I've heard about Nachbar is that he is a MAN. He attacks!!! Also, my boy says that his J is just money! MING NACHBAR IMHO...however... I have weird feeling that some moves are still to be made...just haven't heard anything yet.
Well, if the Rockets take Stoudamire it will because his upside is just too good to pass up. Ofcourse, it is also possible the Rockets could draft Stoudamire with an eye on trading him. In the past Rudy T said "We don't know who will be available in trades and the free agent situation with small forwards". That leads me to believe that the Rockets may be looking veteran at small forward. Lee Nailon, possibly Glen Robinson through trade or maybe Donyell Marshall.
Nachbar has nice size at 6'9" and 220+ lbs. He is solid. Everything I have read about him is that he is "NBA read now" which to me is important to the Rockets because Ming still has some learning to do. If we got Nachbar he would probably be instantly in the rotation. He would be a nice "role player" for us. And like Doc said above, the guy just doesn't shot jumpers he also attacks the basket. I really think if someone does not fall in the draft that Nachbar is our guy at #15. He just makes too much sense and is a good fit. Chris
China is asking to much if he can't come into the league under the same agreemnet that the American and European players do then I say f@#& Yao. I mean if he wants to play for his national team thats fine, but giving money to a gov't that has no love for us at all, bodyguards, etc. All this for a player who's stats are slightly better than Wangs were, give me a break. Hell, if dominating the Chinese basketball players is what we are looking at then draft Chris Owens who set a U.S. record for points in a single game with Ming playinging down low. Which I love Chris Owens but noone stupid enough to draft him in the lottery. All I'm saying if he wants to play in America he should to it by Americas rule and there shouldn't have to be any meeting with them.
I'm feeling similar to Nike in that I don't get the Amare pick-up. Maybe I've just never fully bought into the draft-for-talent-over-need philosophy. There just isn't room in the frontcourt to justify picking up Amare except as a day-trading-type maneuver. I recognize that having too many options is a coach's/GM's favorite nightmare, but it just doesn't make sense how you'd keep all of Yao, Cato, Mo T, Eddie, KT, and Amare, not even bothering with Collier and still give them the minutes that all of them deserve. If Nachbar's as good and NBA-ready as advertised, and most importantly suitable for the Rocks, sign me up. Doc, is Nachbar's sweet J still money all the way to the perimeter? His Telebasket 3-pt. stats didn't look so hot to me. Good, but not great. Sort of streaky. One very minor concern I have about Nachbar is that he may be more used to creating his own shot than feeding off someone else. That's part of what Langhi's problem is (that and the fact that he just doesn't seem to get how to play with a team - hey, I don't enjoy saying that)
Relativist,It's not upto China to determine when the Asian Games occur,I think that's decided by the sporting organization which is analogous to the International Olympic Committee and the host country holding the event to determine when the games are going to be held.
Ok....well, here's something. KT is going nowhere. I know..I know...I thought he was too...but I hear he is NOT going to be traded. Nochbar is high on the list but it doesn't look like they could pass on Amare. I heard from a local radio station in Denver that the NUGS is interested on KT, But Rockets drop the ball on Denver that he is not gonna be trade. Big question is, who's the Rocks going to trade and with who??
What does Denver have that we could realisticly expect in return? Do they have anyone worth a damn other than Posey and McDyess? I think they have another draft pick (Dallas'). Could they send that to the Rockets for KT and then the Rockets could parlay that pick and their #15 pick to move up in the draft? What other options could there be? Chris
Denver talking to Houston about KT? They'd be about the last team I'd suspect, with McDyess, Juwan Howard, and Donnell Harvey. That said, I like what a guy like James Posey would bring: very good defender, young, athletic, good in the open court, good rebounder, solid passer, streaky shooter (though his 3P% and FG% are pretty poor). He fills the famous Rudy T "No VCR" rule-on April 16 vs. us, he dropped 26 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, and 5 steals on 11-17 shooting, and on January 12 vs. us, he poured in 19 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals on 6-12 shooting. Would anyone trade KT/15 for Posey/25 (Denver is owed 25 from Dallas)?
Deuce and NIKE Why continue a discussion about Denver by suggesting trades to Doc when he just said KT was "going no where." I've always hoped that to be true. A team with no depth shouldn't be trading their best role players. Guys like KT help build championships, not to mention he is an excellent practice player for Griffin to go against. He will be much more valuable trading commodity next Summer, as well, when you can sign n trade him straight up for value. Right now, we just have NO depth to be trading our most solid players. Using KT to marginally upgrade our draft position is way too risky for me. KT is a solid player and a fundamentally sound defender. He has the speed, strength and smarts to play positional defense perfectly, both in front and in back of players, and has that uncanny ability to strip people. He won't anchor a defense, but he gives your team defense flexibility, and give potent scoring off the bench and against starters. He cannot be guarded one-on-one. As the old cliche says, "sometimes the best trade is the one never made."
It seems that some of you guys just want to toss KT away out of infatuation with just making any trade.
HP, I was just continuing the discussion because Doc said that Denver has talked about KT. Even though Doc said that KT wasn't going anywhere, that can always change and if Houston has an open dialog with a team I think it is fair to discuss possible moves, no? As for KT, look, I love the guy. He is a great energy guy and he plays hard. I don't think anyone just wants to throw away KT. But in the NBA to get something you have to give up something. The bottom line is the Rockets see themselves having THREE PFs all of which can probably start - Taylor, Griffin and KT. On the other hand the SF position with Rice and Morris is very lacking. If the Rockets can improve the SF postion by taking a bit away from the stacked PF position then they would probably be wise to do so. Griffin is not going anywhere and Taylor is probably untradable so we are left by "default" with KT. Again, I love KT but if I can upgrade the SF spot by giving up KT then I do so. HOWEVER, I am not about to throw away KT just to "marginally" upgrade the SF spot. I only trade KT if I am going to get a significant upgrade. That is the most important thing. Chris
I wouldn't trade KT for Posey straight up, let alone throw in a #15 for #25 swap. I agree with hp. Unless we can get an absolute stud player for KT, then what's the point of trading him? KT is a great player, and who's to say we've seen the best of his game yet?
If KT was on another team, we'd all be thinking of ways to bring him here. He averaged 14 pts, and 7 rebs last year.
heypartner- I wouldn't trade KT to "marginally" upgrade draft position, unless a specific player fell to within reach of a trade up (ie Butler). I don't have a problem technically "trading down" in talent to upgrade the SF position, because even a guy like Posey is a substantial upgrade IMO from what we currently have. I don't think we lose much by trading KT, unless you get another extended injury to Mo or to EG. Put it this way-KT is our most tradeable asset. I don't see a need to carry Mo, Griff, and KT when you have a considerable hole elsewhere. Griff is not going to be the one to go, and I consider Mo and KT pretty equal players (Mo is more conducive to offensive flow, but that's another matter). Mo already has a long term contract, and is coming off an injury, whereas KT is coming off a career year, and makes relatively small money. Even if you think KT is a little better than Mo, you're going to be able to get a lot more talent for KT than for Mo right now.
In another thread Doc also mentions that KT will not be traded, for reasons he cannot post. I don't get it- that leaves us three deep at power forward. Assuming we take Ming (I do,) we're two deep at center (not including Collier as reserve behind them if we still have him). And sorry, I don't at all think Griffin or KT are going to be at the 3. Everybody here discusses Griffin as a possible 3, but there has been no talk of that kind from the Rockets as far as I know. I have only heard Rudy and CD discuss Griff as a 4 or 5. Never three- he can't defend there. KT played time at the 3 with Griff at the 4, some experimenting by Rudy in this awful season, and from what I heard and saw the experiment failed. We're three deep at power forward, and I mean truly three deep- Motay could start on many teams, Griff is a stud, and KT is a very very good backup and starter on some teams. But why is KT the untradeable one? Only one thing comes to mind for me- we're going to be two deep at PF, and KT will be a very necessary backup. Do we have a possible taker for Motay? Nah, I can't really imagine it. There have been no rumors about either Griff or Motay. And it's too soon to move Motay, any taker would want total assurance about his health. How would you rank our three PF's? If Motay came back at %90-%95 next season, I'd have him as starter, then Griff, then KT. But why is KT untradeable?
NIKE, just because you have a tradeable asset doesn't mean you overspend or trade him too soon. This is the wrong year to trade KT. We don't need a SF this year. Hell, we don't even need a great SF, ever, if Ming is the real deal. I would play a zone with 2 PFs with Ming in a heartbeat, especially considering how fast those PFs are and how much range they have. It is perfect. Keep Kenny because he'd make an excellent zone defender guarding both SFs and PFs. And I'm not talking about a zone to "protect" Kenny. We need a zone to protect Mo. I'm taking about Kenny being fast enough and strong enough and *eager* enough to contribute greatly to a smothering zone. Trading a guy whose stock is rapidly going up for merely potential, or a taller Shandon like Posey, imo, is reaching just to be making any trade. KT has no trade value, so you have to use a 2 for 1 package with something just to match salaries or you have to trade him for potential in the draft (you are not getting Butler or Tsiki...so don't even use that argument)...so I consider that overspending. And it is obvious to me that's a big reason Doc is saying that he is going "no where." Overspending this year is not something we can afford. You can wait a year. You'll get a better trade outta Kenny when you can raise his salary, and after showing again that it is not a fluke that he abuses people for playing him one-on-one. He is one of the best mismatch-able role players in the league. IMO, Kenny has the potential to be better to MoT, considering how superior he already is on defense and considering MoT is freaking injured. Keep Kenny for a year, take the #15, and revisit the trade idea next year after seeing who's better between KT and MoT. It makes me sick to think of entering camp with no hard working PFs to body up Griffin and pound on Ming, or to go another year with an exposed frontline if MoT gets reinjured. I'm sick of our frontline getting injured, so I don't consider us too deep. We are going on 3 yrs in a row where our frontline sustained big injuries. It is make me sick...sick I say.
Concerning Nachbar: It will cost a million bucks to buy out his contract, and depending on where he goes in the draft, it could keep him from the NBA next season. What range of picks will Nachbar have to go in for him to be able to play in the NBA next year? Will the Rockets be willing to wait a whole year?
