Which is more important for us to fill? The Pont Guard? or the SG/SF player. HOLD UP!!! Before you jump up and say Point Guard with no hesitation, think about this for a sec... Although Sura aint the perfect PG for us he is very capable and we can hold our own with him (assuming he stays healthy). Our starting SG as of now is Wesley. Has good as he has been for us, he is undersized, and is better off the bench. Our only backup to T-Mac is Ryan Bowen. Is it just me, or is our SF position the shallowest of all the positions? With or without T-Mac, we need a good player backing him up. We can't tire T-Mac out by playing him 48 mins a game. To flip the script, many would argue that the most important player to a championship team is the Center and the Point Guard. So is that enough reason to make the PG our priority when it comes to signing/trading players?
You made a good point there Dakeem. It would be better if we can add a combo SG/SF which is also tall and quick enough to back-up T-Mac. We know Sura,James and Ward(if he's still useable) can handle the PG duties besides they don't have to commit themselves to it as TMac shares the responsibilities of making plays. Buckner or DerMarr would fit the budget(LLE) although they may want a higher pay. Getting Finley would be out of reach as he would prefer to sign with a stronger team like San Antonio or Miami. With Barry and Mutombo's(he'll sign next week) resigning already a done deal, we had completed our roster of 15 players. That means the Rockets will have to waive someone either thru the amnesty or buyout to add some needed piece to bolster the team.
i been saying all off season, our biggest need is not at the PG position that most people claim, we don't have a true point guard, but we have players that can hold them own and share the minutes, after getting our PF set, we need a SF/SG combo player, we only have t-mac and barry that have the size and skillz to play those positions, and barry's skill is only good enough to come off the bench. but who else is there left that will take the LLE and is a decent player?
Yea a sf?sg would be in our best interest. A good point guard on our team would be someone who can take the call up the court and feed yao or tmac, occasionally he would also have to hit open jumpers and 3's. It is crucial that this pg would also need to play d. With the pg we have now, i see no big issue or liabilities. We cant let tmac play 48 minutes a night and expect him to be productive for a long time. We need a sg or sf that can be a scoring option and play d. it wouldn't hurt to have a pg but i think we need a larger sg that can handle other guards on d.
I believe we need a SG/SF even though the obvious choice to many people would be the PG spot...we have more reliable players and backups at the PG then we do have backups at SG/SF.... PG: Bob Sura, Mike James, Luther Head, Moochie Norris, and Charlie Ward Bob Sura is the only good one there (in my opinion on consistency), Head has gotten great reviews and from what I believe, and overall good PG. Charlie is recovering from injury and isn't horrible for us, and Moochie...well it's Moochie.... SG/SF: Ryan Bowen, David Wesley, Jon Barry We have better players in this category than our unfortunate PG bunch, but all of these players are short for both the SG and SF position with Ryan Bowen as the exception....and we need a SF anyways... I think we need a shooting forward who has the agility to play the SG position just my opinion
um....think about how drunk Pheonix would need to be to make that trade plus factor in the salary and factor in the trade bait....I just dont see it happening, but its nice!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting DynastYWarrioR6:</div><div class="quote_post">um....think about how drunk Pheonix would need to be to make that trade plus factor in the salary and factor in the trade bait....I just dont see it happening, but its nice! </div> If the rockets are willing to spend the way Mavs or the Knicks spend, then this could work, trade 3 first round picks, Spoon, (6+ Mils) Ward (about 2 mil i think) and Bakers (not sure how much he's making) but all three are expiring contracts the suns would like to want, they get 3 first round back instead of the 2 from the Hawk, (although our picks will be lower) but this is will put us way way over the cap, (after signing Yao) but this will put us at the top of the league for the next 5 years. well i guess one can still dream right.
Anybody think that Dion Glover from our summer league team could be a good back up at sf or sg. He is 6'5 and 31yrs old. I hope to see him and lonny baxter get a shot in the preseason to make the team. They put up some good numbers in the summer against mostly younger players. EDIT: Dion Glover is 26 <font color="red">Please use the 'edit' feature in the future. ~Trip</font>
Dion Glover is a pretty nice role player....I remember when he was given mimnutes to play by the Hawks and he performed....not outrageous numbers, but he could shoot the ball when he was open which is something we need from the double teams that will be drawn by Yao and T-Mac
If the rockets can sign a good s/g whom ever that may be I think that would best. Last year wesley was starting at 2 and he did a good job considering he isnt a premiere player. So with all that starting experience and now he would be comin off the bench thats the kind of depth we need to get out of the west.
What about Boris Diaw from the Hawks? He has the defensive intensity that JVG would like. I've mentioned this trade in my Rockets off-season preview article. I don't think the Hawks would bite, but it may be worth giving it a go. Al Harrington, and Boris Diaw for Wesley and James. I know most Rock fans don't like the idea of giving up James, but you have to give to get. The only reason why I see the Hawks being any interested is because of the plethora of sg/sf/pf combo players they have. ie. JOsh Smith and Childress, Marvin Williams, Harrington and Diaw. We could have Harrington at SF and T-Mac at SG, then Diaw backing up Harignton and T-Mac. I guess it's mroe of a pipe dream, but one that still has a chance.
Both Harrington and Diaw would be great in our defensive system, but I can't help but wonder if losing James is worth it. Diaw has played some point guard with the Hawks, but we can't really place him as Sura's backup. Without James, we'd be left with either Head or Norris/Ward behind Sura, which isn't really comforting to say the least. I'd be leaning more towards a deal where we give up a future second round pick or an expiring contract to get Diaw. He is extremely young and talented and could be very good down the road if molded the right way.
Do you think James is really that worth it? Al Harrington is younger and has a better allround game. And then theres Diaw. We get so much youth and defensive minded players for vet's who are also good, but less the JVG type. The way I see it, we can't give nothing for Harington, and Diaw, the trade has to work for both teams. BUT, I understand what you're saying because Sura is always at risk of injury, which would leave a Head/Ward/Norris combo. Head won't be capable to start but Ward might have something left in him I guess. What about Harrington and Diaw for Wesley and Norris? I definitely don't think the Hawks would bite, but theres more expiring contracts for them. Since they're in rebuilding mode (as usual) they might welcome the salary space.
I'm going to take Dakeem's side on this one. Al Harrington is definitely worth trading away James. Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices. By bringing Harrington in, our wingman and shooting guard rotation would basically be set- packing a nice offensive force with McGrady and Harrington. Not to mention who would still have Diaw and Barry backing those two up, meaning McGrady can sit for longer periods. However, I also understand that after the trade, our point guard situation would be in limbo but with Sura, Head, and Ward, I'm pretty sure we can survive. Head pretty much fills in for James role- defense, scoring here and there, and a little bit of passing. I can potential see him and Ward splitting minutes together as backup to create a contrast of rookie and veteran. If Sura goes down, it would be tough, but Ward might be able to handle the job. I'd pull the trigger on James and Wesley for Harrington and Diaw without a doubt. Only problem is, I don't think the two teams are interested.
I don't know. You guys are assuming that Ward and Head might be able to step up to the challenge. Although I'd like to think both are capable players as well, one's an uproven rookie and the other is a 35 year-old who might not get off the injured list again. There is a very big possibility that if Sura goes down, the team will go on losing streaks. Last season, when Sura missed a few games, the team did good with James, but they didn't win many games. I doubt it'd be any better with Head or Ward starting. Without James, we'd also miss that valuable burst of energy off the bench. With him right now, we can get a change of pace when he checks into the game for Sura. If Ward replaces him, we'd get two gears: slow and very slow. Head might be able to replace James but as I said, he's unproven and it's a 50-50 chance he'll succeed. Harrington and Diaw are both very young and good players, but I don't think that we should give up half of our backcourt rotation for two small forwards. Harrington also has troubles not being in the spotlight, which was exactly why he bolted for Atlanta in the first place. That being said, I'd like the deal if maybe Weatherspoon or Baker replaced James.
I doubt Atlanta would give us diaw, he is already in that trade for joe johnson, think yall forgot about that. I would really like harrington though, and they dont really need him. But doubt they want expiring contracts, atleast right now, and we need james too much. We could package someone crappy and give up a first round pick or something, considering they lost one. Maybe weatherspoon is the most logical answer.
