The Rockets have Adrian Griffin, Eric Piatkowski, Mobley, Jim Jackson, Bostjan Nachbar and Scott Padgett. Do you think they have too many swingmen? I personally think so and would like to see either Adrian Griffin or Padgett go for a backup 4 or 5.
I agree that they have alot, but most of those guys can't contribute strongly for long periods of time, Mobley and Jackson the obvious exceptions. Once Piatkowski gets back into top shape, he too will be able to play 30+ minutes. But Griffin, Padgett and Nachbar are all guys who will play solid for maybe 10 minutes and then should be rotated out. For the time being they're all needed. After Nachbar developes, he could be valuable for the team. But he may be more valuable as trade bait, and might be one of the first to go. Van Gundy's gotta like Griffin, an avid defender, and won't mind bringing a proven marksman like Piatkowski off the bench. Padgett may be a throw in in any trade the Rockets make. I think you're right though, if any of those guys get traded, it'll be to bolster the frontline.
At the moment there really isn't any teams that would trade a quality big man for one of our wing players. Sure they would trade one for maybe Jackson, Piatkowski or Mobley however I consider those three locks for staying in Houston at the moment. The moral of the story is we have far too many wing players and not enough PT to give all of them some decent playing time. Mobley is getting around 39.4 minutes a game, Jackson 35.2 , Piatkowski 19.4, Nachbar 12.7 and Padgett 9.8. Once Adrian Griffin gets back, playing time will be even harder to break up and it looks like the people who will get "screwed" with Griffin's comeback will be Padgett and Nachbar. Piatkowski is valuable to this team because of his shot and Griffin is a defensive specialist who will be used a lot considering Van Gundy is a defensive minded coach and very high on him. This leaves Nachbar and Padgett as players who will not get quality PT in Houston. I agree with starman on Nachbar, I think he will be used as trade pait down the line possibly in a multiplayer deal with Padgett to land a legitimate back-up center.
Maybe the Rockets will look to deal Padgett and maybe Nachbar for Jerome James as the backup center. However, I would have doubts about the deal because of James's salary.
The Rockets only real trade option from that pool of guys is Nachbar. He's not quite ready for major minutes, but looks like he'll develop into a starter within the next 2-3 seasons. If Houston's GM, I might consider moving a package of Mobley and Nachbar to get a rebounding PF. Taylor is the worst rebounding big man I've seen in a long time. Kurt Thomas would be an ideal solution. He would bring the Rockets some inside toughness, thus allowing Cato to return to a back-up center role. He's also a native Texan who would no-doubt love to return to the state. If a third team could get involved, that deal would be great for Houston.
That would be a good deal no doubt. I've always thought that Kurt Thomas would be great playing alongside Yao. And like you said, for a guy who played at Texas Christian, coming home would be great. The only catch for the Rockets is losing Mobley. If they get a decent tradeoff like Thomas it isn't so bad, but they still need a force at the 2 spot. Even if they move Jackson over, they still need that fifth starter, and I think Van Gundy would rather use Griffin and Piatkowski as reserves. Perhaps a free agent signing would work, but if they can get a guy like Shandon Anderson, who started in Houston for several years and knows the guys and the system, the deal would be ever so sweet.
Good point, hadn't thought about Anderson. He did enjoy his two most productive seasons while with the Rockets.
An Anderson and Thomas for Mobley and Nachbar trade would be good news for the Rockets. This would represent an reunion for Anderson and Thomas with JVG.
Yeah, I hadn't thought of the Van Gundy aspect. They know his style, and as valued veterans they would be great for developing the young cats on the team.
We all know that Nachbar isn't ready to be a starter in the league right now. However in a few years he will have developed into a good NBA Starter. I think we should do this: Trade Maurice Taylor and Cuttino Mobley to NY in exchange for Kurt Thomas(and a filler). Now this leaves us with no starting SG at the moment. Piatkowski and Griffin would be better served as coming off the bench. Now what we do is add a free agent like Mark Jackson to our team. He is a veteran PG, who still has a few years left in him. We could then move Francis to the two-guard slot which is a more natural position for him. Then in a few years Jackson will be done. At that time Nachbar hopefully would be ready to be a starter. I know I havent spent time looking into the salaries but what do you think of this possibility?
Taylor still makes some big money, as far as I know. I don't know if the Knicks would want to take on another big money big man. They would probably rather have Nachbar, actually they would probably insist upon him. If not Jackson for the point, what about Tim Hardaway? Another Texas reunion - UTEP's favorite son.
If Francis moves to SG, we would be very undersized in the backcourt. If Kurt Thomas were to come to Houston, we might be forced to give up Jim Jackson or Nachbar as the Knicks will probably be very high on them. If Mobley leaves and Mark Jackson comes in, the opponent will focus more on Yao and Thomas with the loss of an 3-point threat. Francis is also having a bad year shooting-wise.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting franchise3:</div><div class="quote_post">If Francis moves to SG, we would be very undersized in the backcourt. If Kurt Thomas were to come to Houston, we might be forced to give up Jim Jackson or Nachbar as the Knicks will probably be very high on them. If Mobley leaves and Mark Jackson comes in, the opponent will focus more on Yao and Thomas with the loss of an 3-point threat. Francis is also having a bad year shooting-wise.</div> Actually we wouldn't be that much more undersized right now then we already are. Mark Jackson is 6-3, 195, Cuttino Mobley is 6-4 215, and Steve Francis is 6-3, 200 Basically all we would be losing is 20 pounds total. Jackson would be our smallest players however there are not that many "big" point guards. The only real concern is at SG, if there was a big one who wanted to post down however having Yao Ming behind Steve is a real comforting feeling for me. Well with Thomas that now gives the defense two people to worry about on offense down low, not just Yao. Right now they are focusing all their energy on Yao, so I dont see how they can focus any more. I mean every time he gets the ball in the post, he is getting double teamed. We also have Piatkowski coming off the bench and he can drain the 3. I wouldn't be too worried if we lost Mobley. Thomas makes the defense respect all 5 players on the court while currently they only have to respect 4, Cato being the odd-man out.
Mobley is a replacable commodity. With Piatkowski and Jackson both able to play at shooting guard, (Jackson could still split time at SF as well) the Rockets wouldn't suffer too greatly by losing a guard and gaining an all-star calibar forward. They're already tough enough up front to give the Lakers problems, Thomas would make them that much deeper. Tim Hardaway or Mark Jackson, could be brought in to replace Mobley's guard spot if needed. Houston might just be one player away from becoming the best team in Texas.
Mobley, Jackson and Piatkowski are the only ones I see deserving of major minutes. Each brings a needed commodity: Mobley breaks down defenses and is one of the best individual defenders; Jackson is the defensive specialist who is also a reliable 3-pt gunner; Piatkowski is a 3-pt specialist who is instant offense. While Griffin is a defensive specialist, his injuries raise doubt in terms of his durability. Nachbar is expendable, and Padgett is a PF who can score and rebound well.
