http://www.panews.com/articles/2004/03/05/sports/news01.txt Interesting article, confirming what we all realized: the Rockets have no true point guard and executing even the simplest of plays has become a major chore...not a promising sign for a team with hopes of being in the upper echelon of the Western Conference...
We might not have a valid point guard, but we do have a couple of clutch shooters, but you're right, we do need someone who knows when to pass to these players. Someone like Mark Jackson, but Jackson is over his prime and it's an unknown each night how much he'll contribute.
I believe Nick Van Exel is a free agent this summer. While he tends shoot a low percentage, he knows how to keep the ball under control. For his career, he has a 3.2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He could be a solid addition for the team. While Francis has really struggled this year, I think if we stick with him he'll have a much better year next year. It's a big change going from Rudy T to Jeff. I think for next year we should trade Mobley for a solid 2/3 swingman (it would be awesome if we could somehow acquire Ron Artest, but Mobley wouldn't be enough), move Francis to shooting guard, and start Van Exel at point.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post"> While Francis has really struggled this year, I think if we stick with him he'll have a much better year next year. It's a big change going from Rudy T to Jeff. I think for next year we should trade Mobley for a solid 2/3 swingman (it would be awesome if we could somehow acquire Ron Artest, but Mobley wouldn't be enough), move Francis to shooting guard, and start Van Exel at point.</div> This is an excellent proposal for our team. Artest would not be attainable, but a solid swingman would shore up our bench and be our future at small forward once Jim Jackson retires. Van Exel would be demanding a lot of money, and that is the only bad part about him coming to us. Still, if he'd come, it'd be a great addition to our team. The only question is who could we get for Mobley. I think that we can get some quality defenders for Mobley, and the most probable would be have Mobley go to San Antonio for Hedo Turkoglu and a first round pick, or to LA in a sign and trade for Quentin Richardson.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">This is an excellent proposal for our team. Artest would not be attainable, but a solid swingman would shore up our bench and be our future at small forward once Jim Jackson retires. Van Exel would be demanding a lot of money, and that is the only bad part about him coming to us. Still, if he'd come, it'd be a great addition to our team. The only question is who could we get for Mobley. I think that we can get some quality defenders for Mobley, and the most probable would be have Mobley go to San Antonio for Hedo Turkoglu and a first round pick, or to LA in a sign and trade for Quentin Richardson.</div> I believe Nick has a home in Houston (or near here), and he has said he'd like to play for a Texas team. Additionally, he's good friends with Steve. I think it would be a perfect match, and as the Rockets have a positive future I think we could get Nick for a decent price. I agree that acquiring Artest is a long shot; I just wanted to throw that out there. You mention a trade for Turkoglu. I'm not sure how good a defender he is, and he's too big to play the 2-guard. But what about trading Mobley for Bruce Bowen and a draft pick? Bowen's a great defender and a veteran (which I think we need more of). I think he'd fit in nicely.
Speaking of youth, I'd prefer to trade the 28-year old Mobley for someone approximately the same age or younger. I believe Bowen is 32 or 33. That won't make us younger. Bowen is good but not in my opinion the same calibur as Mobley.
