someone mentioned this kid in one of the many offseason threads ... thought this was an interesting nugget: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/dailydime Sunday's Best Sarunas Jasikevicius, Maccabi Tel-Aviv: Game 1s in Miami and San Antonio undoubtedly were the focus for most of you, but we couldn't ignore one of our favorite point guards ringing up 22 points, six rebounds and five assists Sunday to lead Maccabi to its second straight Euroleague title. We've been saying for years that Jasikevicius, a fearless pick-and-roll specialist who always wants the ball at big-shot time, should be in the NBA. Perhaps this will finally be the offseason that some team out there -- and dare we say plenty, starting with Houston, could use a boost at the point -- puts together a package attractive enough (money and minutes) to bring the former Maryland star back to the States.
If we had him we would -- still suck defensively at the 4 spot. He couldn't carry ryan bowen's jock on defense, which is sad. And he has no offensive skills that Scott Padgett doesn't have.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim: YES. Marko Jaric or Jason Kidd: YES. One more quick denfensive player in SG position: Then we are set for championship run.
Point me instances where a player has ever done this. Stromile Swift wanted more money out of Memphis, not a different team. The Bulls would hardly hesitate in calling his bluff, and challenge him to wait out a year AND take less money to go to Houston.
I don't get the love for Marko Jaric. He was a waste of space for two years but had a decent to average season this year, is a relatively capable shooter and not a bad passer but not much else and is absolutely leaden-shod and would make Sura look like Derek Harper on defense. Plus he's a Clipper for god sake which is never a good sign.
Dont Panic! The Rockets are a really good team. We took Dallas to 7 games without our (arguably) 3rd best player. And without some bad calls we might have won the series. Of course TMac and Yao are the nucleus of the team. So that leaves us with an analysis of another swing man, PF and PG. The athleticism issue is being overplayed. I don't think Dallas could have gone small ball with JHo in the game. We would have owned the paint. I still think we should have gone to Yao everytime he was guarded by Nowitski. I'll take inside over outisde any time. In reality we only need one more athletic player to cover for their small ball. James and TMac are really athletic. Sura and Wesley are average. The good thing is TMac can be a SG or a SF so we can look to either position to fill the athleticism need. I would rather have it be a small forward. We have plenty of players who can fill in the 2 guard - TMac, Wesley, Barry, Sura. But TMac is our only good SF. So contrary to popular opinion I think an athletic SF who can defend, run the court and hit an open jumper would be perfect for this team. A James Posey type would be a good fit here. Wesley becomes expendable in this scenario. I would rather keep Barry because he is a good roll player, great for chemistry and is a good 3 point shooter. Sura is good for our needs. He does not make many mistake. Plus he hustles, gets rebounds and plays with heart. James is a great change of pace at PG. He can create his own shot and is lightning quick. His only problem is decision making. So I think he is perfect as a back up. So the PG is pretty much set. What this series showed is that we really do not need much scoring from our power forward. Because we got none and still almost won. What we need is a bruiser who can get offensive boards, defend and block a few shots. I'm not really sure who an affordable bruiser would be. Maybe this would be a good draft pick. Here is the team. C - Yao, Mutombo PF - JHo, ??? bruiser SF - ??? athlete, TMac SG - Tmac, Wesley, Barry, Sura PG - Sura, James. I would also go younger at both the PF and SF positions. We would then have a good mix of veterans and youth at every position. Plus we would have so many option. Defensive, offense, big, small. This would be a very flexible team.
That was a great post, Nike. I think that we have to accept the fact that we might not be able to fix all of our flaws this offseason. If we get Antonio Daniels to be our starting PG for the next few years and can draft an athletic 3-4, I'll feel pretty good about the offseason. If we luck into something like last offseason and can add a stud, of course we'd do it, but otherwise, we might have to wait one more year and just go with Juwon Howard again at 4, which might be OK.
While I want to see Deke and Barry back this team desperately needs youth. Anyone the Rocks sign or trade should be under 30. Boozer isn't a bad idea, Mike Miller, Joe Johnson.... The Rockets have an incredible tandem in T-mac and Yao but they're also verrry young. Whoever is brought in needs to match that youth and grow with the team. While this season may make the fans think we can win now I'd rather be patient, bring in the young guys and let the team grow together. With our dynamic duo and a little more help, the Rockets could be a dynasty ala the Shaq/Kobe Lakers. This team needs a third reliable scoring option, a glass eater, and a young tweener 3/4 from the draft. IMO The Rockets should do whatever is in their power to move up and take Danny Granger. I attend UNM and have watched this kid play. Solid weakside defender, great rebounder, range out to the three point line, good man on man defender. Plus he is humble with a strong work ethic.
We definitely need a backup 3 or tall 2. ------->Bonzi Wells Athletic 4------> Chris Wilcox Pass 1st 1-----> Brevin Knight Draft -----> Hakim Warrick/Wayne Simien/Garcia 1: Sura/Knight/James 2: Bonzi/Wesley 3: T-mac/Warrick 4: Juwon/Wilcox 5: Yao/Deke
I will rank Bobby Simmons over Wells. I don't think Wilcox is alvailable this summer. He is a nice add though.
Great post/summation Nike. i'd add that the hole at the 4 only exacerbated the problem of speed in the backcourt. if we'd had an OT type player backing up Yao, Josh Howard could've turned the corner on our guards w/ impunity and it wouldn't have mattered nearly as much. secondly, getting a PF who "just rebounds and block shots" won't cut it. just look at how much of a liability it was to have Bowen on the court on the offensive end, essentially forcing us to play 4 or 5. third, J-Ho isn't going anywhere. all those scenarios wherein "i'd package howard, spoon, and a pick for xxxxxx" will never happen. no GM is going to take a chance on a roll-playing, relatively soft PF w/ a big contract and a bad heart. fourth, don't when you're dreamcasting, don't overlook JVG "chemistry" comments and how much he has enjoyed coaching this team. anyone who comes here will have to fit in with this team's spirit. this rules out guys latrell "i have to feed my family" spreewell, mobley, etc., as much as i love modes. lastly, one guy i haven't heard anyone mention, who is a free agent, and has had some great games against us in years past, although not this year, is marcus fizer. granted, he's had some issues lately which may rule him out (see four above), but he's young, strong, talented, and cheap.
No Doc, I think this issue goes to the heart of what's wrong with this organization and why they won't win another championship here unless some things change. I get the impression that in far too many situations, this is an ownership and organization that will take the easy way and settle. Look at what transpired on Saturday: his team had just made NBA history turning in the worst performance ever and there was Uncle Les outside the locker room being a gracious loser saying that the Rockets' future was bright, the team did better than expected yada yada yada. Now imagine for one moment what the scene would have been like if it had been the Mavericks who just got their butts waxed by 40 points. Mark Cuban would have been so livid he would have needed to be sedated. There is NO way he would have been so meek and accepting of such an embarassing display of pitifulness. There is no way that Mark Cuban or anybody in the Mavericks' organization would accept losing in such a manner because from the owner down, they literally are burning with the desire to win a championship. Cuban may be many things (and not all of them are good) but he has shown that he will literally do "whatever it takes" to bring a championship to Dallas and he has backed up his rhetoric with actions - not all of them good ones, but actions nonetheless. I just don't see that level of desire and commitment here. Rockets fans are being asked to trust an organization that has stumbled and bumbled along for over 10 years after their championship seasons under the guidance of Les & CD. My point is simple: What have they done to convince you and everyone else that they are the right people for getting the job done? Look at the drafting history under CD (actually, it would be more accurate to say "What drafting history?"). Look at the personnel evaluations this organization has made over the years. Look at the bad FA signings. Why should I or anyone place my trust in them to get things right now? Based on what evidence? I just think that for far too long, this organization has settled for mediocrity particularly in it's people at the top. The same people responsible for all those years in the lottery are still here making personnel decisions. That does not fill me with confidence. With the current organization in place, the Rockets always seem behind the curve compared to other teams. Look at the rosters of the top teams in the West: San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, Seattle, Denver and all have built their teams around youth, speed and athleticism. Here it took a 40 point butt-kicking to drive home the point that to compete in the West you need younger more athletic players. (Now, I'm sure CD finally "gets" it) Yeah, I expect that some changes will be made this summer but given this team's past history, I expect those changes to be incremental at best. Such has been the way of the Rockets under the current regime.
What are you going to do? Les owns the team. I understand you don't have confidence in them, but we are just fans. We support our team and hope they make the right moves. Your chicken little outlook is disheartening. Always with the negative waves Moriarty.
I think that our SG problem can be solved two different ways: 1. move t-mac back to the 2 and find a sick SF this offseason. 2. find a legit starting 2 this offseason If we go with #1, I like Radmonovich. I think he will be a reliable 3rd scoring threat who can rebound. I really like this kid, he is like a poor man's Dirk. He plays decent defense also (especially for a Euro). Remember, CD loves this kid too. We wanted to draft him. Talk about matchup problems if you have T-Mac back at the 2. Also, I like Mike Miller. I think he is a great 3, and has obvious chemistry with T-Mac. CD loves this guy too. If we go with #2, I like Mobley or Joe Johnson. They are both quick as hell, have a great shot, and can create off the dribble. They are both capable of being staying with the quickest guards in the NBA.
Tracy will never go back to the SG spot. He doesn't want to, and Van Gundy doesn't want him there - so between those two things it's a pretty safe bet that it's not going to happen.
But you also expect Marko Jaric to turn into another Shawn Bradley. Considering that makes no sense at all, I think it is pretty fair to not trust your expectations. Not to be rude, but have you watched basketball outside of the Rockets lately? Jaric is a point guard, from Serbia, drafted in the second round. Bradley is a freak of nature drafted 2nd overall who is a mormon center from Utah. Joe Johnson would be the perfect fit for this team. A 6-7 shooting guard who can really shoot, hits the boards, etc. Can probably be a pretty good defender, too. It's too bad Phoenix won't let him go. I'd pass on Mobley, though. Yes, he can score, and he isn't a horrible defender, but he has that Mike James ability to just get an offense overall off tract, that seems to be better in a bench player.
Hillboy, They had a younger, more athletic team and we absolutely had no future, let alone a bright one like we have now. CD tried building this around speed and athletic ability and it didn't work, so he converted that talent into one young superstar that has the ability to take this franchise to another level for years to come. That move came with holes which he filled very admirably this season. Other teams are just not going to give up young, athletic talent especially for what the Rockets had to offer. CD got the best of what he could get and it worked as they were arguably the hottest team after all-star break and had every chance to beat Dallas this series. Every GM/team goes through peaks and valleys when it comes to the success of thier moves. CD has made some pretty bold moves and they just haven't worked out until this season. The fact is that he is trying anything and everything to make this a championship contender again. And, who cares how Les acted outside the locker room after game seven. First of all, the players don't listen to what the owner says. They just want their check every month. Secondly, your argument about him acting too accepting doesn't have merit. That's like saying certain coaches are better the others just because they are more demanding and are more of a tyrant. If this was true, JVG would already have 10 rings and Rudy would have none. It's about just getting the job done and, with two Rocket championships, four Comet rings and now a VERY bright future with two young superstars; they have done that job.
