It's a Done Deal?

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - In the land where diamonds are a relative bargain, the Rockets' attempt to mine an old-fashioned gem may have come up with a glitter."It's done," said Dikembe Mutombo. "I'm coming."

PROPOSED TRADE
? Rockets acquire: C Dikembe Mutombo.
? Bulls acquire: G-F Eric Piatkowski, G-F Adrian Griffin, G Mike Wilks.

The 38-year-old former NBA All-Star confirmed that he has agreed to a trade with the Chicago Bulls that will bring him to Houston in exchange for Eric Piatkowski, Adrian Griffin and Mike Wilks. The Rockets will pick up the majority, if not all, of the money that is remaining on Griffin's contract.</div>



Houston Chronicle

 

It should be done very quick because Wilks just resigned a contract. It should have a sign and trade clause in it.

 

This is a done deal already, just not official yet. I like the way our 2005 season is looking, and look forward to seeing how we'll match up to the expectations. The biggest doubt that I have in our team right now is seeing whether Mutombo has worked on staying in shape this offseason season, or if he has grown out of shape and overweight over the summer. His play backing Yao up might very well make or break our season.

 

Well it has been made official, Rockets.com is reporting it. I am happy about this trade, we have 3 players who did not contribute last season, for a backup C. Would Wilks, Pike, and Griff have breakout seasons if they stayed with us? Will we never know. The rather boring rockets.com is looking very sharp, adding new font and a little "t.v." type ad. The "R U IN?" slogan is somewhat fitting, but I like the "Be Part of Something BIG" better. Oh well, a good trade, let's hope that there is some more news to celebrate about in the upcoming weeks!

 

R U IN or RUIN

hrmm.. u'd think someone in the PR department would have caught that

 

haha, that's a great slogan!

But man, this is a bad trade for Houston. A backup for Yao is less important
than a guy to spread the court like Piatkoski. Not a good move.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SunshineRain:</div><div class="quote_post">haha, that's a great slogan!

But man, this is a bad trade for Houston. A backup for Yao is less important
than a guy to spread the court like Piatkoski. Not a good move.</div>
Actually that's not true, we did not have a back up center after trading Cato. The list of moves the Rockets had to make after the McGrady trade included getting a good starting PG, and finding a decent vet to back up Yao. Pike played very few minutes last year and we've made moves that would change our roster enough that we don't need his shooting like we did last year.

 

I would have liked to have kept Pike, but the backup center was a necessity.

 

I believe the deal with Mutumbo is done

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SupermanRT:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually that's not true, we did not have a back up center after trading Cato. The list of moves the Rockets had to make after the McGrady trade included getting a good starting PG, and finding a decent vet to back up Yao. Pike played very few minutes last year and we've made moves that would change our roster enough that we don't need his shooting like we did last year.</div>

very true.. u cant spread the floor from the bench

i'd still like to see a 3rd player to play behind Yao and Mutombo. And we don't need Pike, we have Jim Jackson, Charlie Ward, TMac who can all hit from 3, and it also frees up minutes for Boki who showed he can hit the 3 last season too.

I've said it before, I really like the versatility in this team now, compared to last season. We got Sura who can play both guard spots, Gaines can probably play both guard spots and is much bigger than Wilks. Howard played a lot of C last season with Orlando, so he might see some time there if they go small, or they can go big with the twin towers inside. They still have frontcourt scoring in Taylor when Yao is out and Deke is in. Boki, TMac and Jim Jackson can all play either SF or SG.. Ward can fit into a slow paced game, while Lue can push the tempo and deny the ball to quicker guards like Iverson. I can't wait to see how it all comes together

 

Our team will be exciting to watch next season. However, the X-Factor for us is our bench. Last season, nobody on our bench was able to score consistently besides Mo Taylor. We had to depend on our starters a lot in the backcourt last season, resulting in our three starters having to play 40+MPG. Now, with the versatility and depth on our bench, we most likely won't have to suffer from that. Next season, if our bench is able to score 20-30 points each game, we'd have a much better chance of winning games.

 

www.nba.com/rockets/ <<<its a done deal.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">I would have liked to have kept Pike, but the backup center was a necessity.</div>

Yup no doubt. Cause I don't see Yao really being able to play 40 minutes a game. The man does get super exhausted when he play big minutes.

 

Good to see Dikembe coming in the help the Rockets at the backup center position, do you guys think this will have an effect on the minutes that are going to Yao? I think it will Yao is going to get a little, very little less than he expects because Deke can still play so you have to use him before the expirey date.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Buckets:</div><div class="quote_post">Good to see Dikembe coming in the help the Rockets at the backup center position, do you guys think this will have an effect on the minutes that are going to Yao? I think it will Yao is going to get a little, very little less than he expects because Deke can still play so you have to use him before the expirey date.</div>
Well, we could always play both of them together to form an even taller version of the Hakeem/Sampson duo. Yao can be the scorer down low when Mutombo's in, and both of them will make it hard for the opponents to penetrate and score. Besides, Yao can't really play many minutes anyways, with his conditioning and all.

 

i dunno if mutumbo could keep up with some of the more athletic PFs in the league (i.e. kevin garnett, lamar odom, dwight howard) but in certain situations it would be great

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting clutchcityrelic:</div><div class="quote_post">i dunno if mutumbo could keep up with some of the more athletic PFs in the league (i.e. kevin garnett, lamar odom, dwight howard) but in certain situations it would be great</div>
Well, if Mutombo and Yao are to be in the game at the same time, it will most likely be a zone defense that we will play. It will basically shut down any hopes of penetration, and as you said, Mutombo is not fast enough to keep up with the faster forwards.

BTW, <font color="red">WELCOME TO JBB!!</font>