<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Antoine Walker: One of the 1st calls Walker?s agent Mark Bartelstein received was the Houston Rockets wanting to talk. The Celtics followed, renewing their interest in re-sign Walker. So Antoine will have his suitors. Its believed Antoine ?expects? a sign and trade to receive more than the median exception, but uniformly most executives believe Walker will only fetch the median exception on the open market. Damon Stoudamire: Damon?s people would love to see him in Miami, one place he will not be back is Portland. The market for Damon is not major, but its believed the Rockets and Heat will at least talk with him, the money player with interest in Damon seems to be the Hawks, although they are still trying to nab a major name so Damon may become a second option. Donyell Marshall: Donyell has expressed a willingness to talk to the Bulls (his home is still in Chicago), but the Rockets have been one of the more vocal teams with interest in Marshall. Its believe more than a dozen teams contacted his agent, so a landing spot for Donyell has not been clearly established. Stromile Swift: The Houston Rockets are one of the notable suitors for Stro, most believe he wants to play in Houston, but other teams are in the mix. The Grizzlies have made it known they would entertain a sign and trade for Stro. It?s unlikely Stro is back in Memphis next year. HOOPSWORLD.com </div> So it looks like Houston's next PF will either be Walker, Marshall, or Swift. I havnt heard any news on other PFs possibly landing in Houston.
Antoine Walker, I dont think he would take a 5 million MLE to join the Rockets, also we wouldn't have to use Juwan Howard, but its a pretty good sign if we trade Juwan but he has a few more years in him and if he started in the lineup at the beginning he would average about 11 PPG, or maybe a little less. Damon Stoudamire, Um, No Donyell Marshall, not the type of power forward we are looking for, we dont need a shooter, we need like a great rebounder or maybe a great shotblocker. Stromile Swift, Good to sign, we give him and Howard , 24 minutes a piece and let Howard start, that would be good, also we need his rebounding and shotblocking for a good defensive-spark off the bench.
Few points I have to disagree with there Yugo. Donyell Marshall is a rebounder and shotblocker, trust me, I've been watching him closely for the past two seasons in Toronto. This season, because he came off the bench, Marshall didn't have a lot of impressive numbers but he's become a very prolific three point shooter, tying Kobe Bryant's record even. In 03-04, Marshall started every game for the Raptors and had 10.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 46% from the field and 40% from the three point line. With the Rockets, having someone with such range will be a luxury to stretch the defense and give Yao maximum space to work in the post. And I don't mean as in Antoine Walker range. Walker is the type who has to get his shots to be effective, and he doesn't shoot a high percentage from the field and from three. Marshall can take minimal shots and still be a factor. Swift, on the other hand, isn't a rebounder. He hasn't had good rebounding numbers and isn't good at boxing out. Consistency in performance is also a concern.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting YugoRocketsfan:</div><div class="quote_post">Donyell Marshall, not the type of power forward we are looking for, we dont need a shooter</div> A shooter would actually be good. The PFs on the Rockets get alot of open shots. The other teams PF usually left his man to help and that always left Juwon Howard with open shots. After Juwon got hurt the PF spot had alot of trouble scoring. Wheter it was lack of scoring ability or lack of size. And Marshall has both. Size and the ability to shoot the ball.
If I had my pick, Id want Marshall over either of the others...I think he'd be a nice complementary player...
Donyell would be great but unlike Trip I like Swift alot! I think he's quite a good rebounder, last season he got a bit less then 5 boards a game, he averaged about 1.5 blocks and he only played 21 minutes a game.. Donyell is also very good, he obviously is a great shooter, last season he averaged 6.6 rebounds but only .88 blocks, he also played about 25 minutes a game... In my opinion I think Donyell would be better, but he'd also be harder to get and doesn't seem to have much of an Interest in playing for Houston. If we can't get him i'd go for Swift, he's still young and can still improve, he'd be great, but straight up if I had a choice for either one of them i'd choose Donyell, but I don't think the gap between them is as big as some people here make it out to be.
Heres a nice mix of Stromile Swift, i'm aware mixes and tributes can make anyone look good, but this really shows what he can do... http://s26.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0VN1KC4...WP0QSA8Z5SFNJOJ Enjoy!
Marshall is going to cost less than Swift, that's for sure, although he has many teams interested in him as well. Dan, 5 boards in 21 minutes isn't anything to be proud of. Per 48 minutes, Swift's numbers would translate to 10.5 boards per game. Marshall's would be 12.6. Reggie Evans leads the league with 18.8 per 48 minutes, and even Yao is 13.0 rpg per 48. That's just to put things in perspective for you.
It's not great but it's not as bad as your making it out to be either, he's also quite a good shotblocker as I mentioned above and even took the time to post a video to try and prove my point, apart from that he's still young and has time to improve (and he has been, slowly but surely) and he'd bring excitement to the team that could build us momentum, also I think he would play better if he was in our team anyway...I mean we have stars on our team, unlike in Memphis he could feel more relaxed, I mean I obviously can't back that up but thats just what I think...
Swift sure would help attendance but I doubt by much. We already have two top drawers in Yao and McGrady but we still don't have a lot of sellouts. What's frustrating about Swift is that he has so much potential and physical ability but he doesn't know how to channel it. He has a poor work ethic, never has been a great rebounder, and his blocked shots are just courtesy of his hops. I concur in that we need a help side shotblocker and Swift would be good for that, but wasting something like the MLE for just two blocked shots and inconsistent play is just, as I said, a waste. Maybe Chris Andersen would be a better fit. Marshall is also not as good as Swift is at shotblocking, but he did average 1.5 in 36 minutes two years ago.
Marshal is a good choice. Swift is also a good choice. I want Howard to stay, I think he was very consistent starting. If we can snag a nice back up, we'll be right where we want to be. The reason I would favor Swift over Marshal is because Swift can also back up Yao. A back up for Yao is crucial, especially with him only playing 35 mins a game. I'm not totally against Walker, but I don't think he'll play more than a year in a Rockets uniform.
Backup argument again. Last year, Yao only logged 31 minutes per game. Mutombo backed him up for 15 minutes per game. And how did the Rockets do? 51 wins, very successful. With an improved backcourt and a projectedly better power forward position, we can surely outdo last year. If we can get someone who can back Yao up at center, I'll be glad, but if not, Mutombo would be great either way. Swift is also not strong enough to play center. He had to play there in Memphis, and that was because he had a 7 footer at power forward in Pau Gasol. If Yao is out and Howard comes in, shifting Swift to center, we'd suffer rebounding-wise.
Out of those four players above, I would choose Stromile Swift if you just take a look at price. He's athletically gifted for a player his size and has all the natural gifts needed to become a great powerforward in the league. However, the only problem is his work ethic and attitude. Still, I think that can all be sorted out with Jeff Van Gundy's style of coaching and his strict discipline. The reason his rebounding numbers are so low is that I don't think he's really utilized to bring down boards in Memphis. He's out there to score- which he what he does successfully. Remember at the beginning of last offseason when everyone were wondering if Howard could bring down boards? That was fixed by the middle of the season when Van Gundy got through with him. The other three guys on the list aren't really practical. Walker and Stoudemire are proabably going to be paid a lot and at that, even probably overpaid. Marshall meanwhile is likely to go to Philadelphia since he has expressed a lot of interest there since its his home town. There really haven't been a lot of deep rumors surrounding him and Houston so I don't really there's any plausabiliy here. Still, to me as free agent power forwards are concerned, I would go for Chris Andersen, Reggie Evans, or Dan Gadzuric. Btw, Hoopshype has us going for Bobby Simmons and Antoine Walker. Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AznxBaller:</div><div class="quote_post">Out of those four players above, I would choose Stromile Swift if you just take a look at price. He's athletically gifted for a player his size and has all the natural gifts needed to become a great powerforward in the league. However, the only problem is his work ethic and attitude. Still, I think that can all be sorted out with Jeff Van Gundy's style of coaching and his strict discipline. The reason his rebounding numbers are so low is that I don't think he's really utilized to bring down boards in Memphis. He's out there to score- which he what he does successfully. </div> What makes you think that Van Gundy's strict discipline is anything different from Fratello's or Brown's? If anything, Stromile has problems with disciplinarians. I think everyone in this thread has the wrong impression of Swift, and I'm not saying that to bash a player that I think will be a future Rocket or start a flame war, because I honestly do not think Swift has a realistic chance of going to Houston, who won't be able to pay him as much nor make him as much of an option as Atlanta can. After four years of watching him in Memphis, I have to say that almost all of what Trip said is true. He was picked way too high out of college because his athleticism was enough to intrigue scouts in workouts and give him that "potential" label. I honestly feel that he would not have even been a lottery pick if he stayed in college another year. When he works hard and gives it his all, he can be an absolute beast. I loved going to games and see him catch alley-oops or swat shots into the stands. Realistically though, he's the type of player that will give you back to back 30/15 nights and then put up 4/2 for a month. That's because his main problem, as noted by Trip, is his work ethic. I've never seen a player so unmotivated, and I honestly don't think it's anything you can fix. Last year was his contract year and he only put up a quiet 10/5, so think how he'll play with a thick, six year contract. He's even on the record for saying that some night's he just doesn't feel like playing so he doesn't give it his all. He's a real fan favorite, and he can easily put together a highlight reel like the one posted above. However, you have to realize that he's going to give you an alley-oop like that or block a shot like that, but then he'll disappear for the rest of the game. He's not going to be able to play Center for the Rockets, and I don't think he has the post moves to start at Power Forward. He really gets by on his athleticism more than a player should be a allowed to, and he's a weak defender. If I had to sum up Stromile Swift's game in one word, it'd be 'laziness', and that's not something you want on your team. It's not just a minor flaw like poor ball handling or a faulty jumper. When you can't work, you can't win.
i believe that the best option is to get chris anderson. He is the same type of player as swift and has great work ethic. and since he came out of Blinn college in texas im sure he wouldn't mind coming back to texas. Besides for all this he would cost considerably less than swift. This would leave us some money to get a third scoring option. The way i see it if we could get anyone that can consistly rebound and be a defensive presence we have a chance at a championship.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting KfrumHTOWN!:</div><div class="quote_post">i believe that the best option is to get chris anderson. He is the same type of player as swift and has great work ethic. and since he came out of Blinn college in texas im sure he wouldn't mind coming back to texas. Besides for all this he would cost considerably less than swift. This would leave us some money to get a third scoring option. The way i see it if we could get anyone that can consistly rebound and be a defensive presence we have a chance at a championship.</div> Yeah, a lot of us felt this way, but Anderson has pledged himself to the Hornets, and I do not really think the Rockets were showing that much interest. Had we signed him, he would've come cheaply, and we would've had some money left over to try grabbing a good role-player. Now that we're offering the MLE to Swift, the only other way we can aquire a good 3rd option is through SnT, which for some teams doesn't make sense. Instead of taking the contract against the cap, they can take it off the books and get it over with. Hopefully, we'll be able to get a good back-court player, either the FA or Trade, or even the Summer League.
Do ya'll watch ESPN??? Chris Anderson is resigning with New Orleans...damnnnn ya'll need to keep up-to-date!
man i guess i am behind.... do yall think we could be a championship caliber team if we just got a swingman this season and hold out for someone next season? or is a pf the only way we cancontend? personally i believe that if we would have had juwan in the playoffs we could have contended because tmac would have been fresh for the 4th instead of being tired out by guarding dirk! i dont know i just have faith that the rox were good enough.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Do ya'll watch ESPN??? Chris Anderson is resigning with New Orleans...damnnnn ya'll need to keep up-to-date!</div> Show me a link. Shouldn't something about it be up now? I mean, really the ESPN websites got jack on it and their pretty updated. Usually there's some kind of breaking news thing on the right hand side but they've got nothing. If we didn't get him, we definitely should have at least tried. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">do yall think we could be a championship caliber team if we just got a swingman this season and hold out for someone next season? or is a pf the only way we cancontend?</div> It wouldn't have mattered if we had Howard. Of course, it would have helped and we wouldn't have ended up with a forty point loss. And no, we didn't lose because McGrady couldn't close out the fourth quarter. No, in fact it was because Dallas held all the role players to crummy shooting with defense and a fast paced strategy (not to mention small ball) that burned our guards out. McGrady and Bowen pretty much canceled out Josh Howard and Dirk. So I don't think it would have mattered whether or not Juwan was there. Instead, we had no answer for Dallas' athleticism and their guards. By adding Head, I think we addressed that issue a bit, but without a legit powerforward do you really think we can beat the best? To contend for a championship, you need to be able to win against the champions- so do you have enough faith that we could have beaten the Spurs with just Howard?
