All the complaining I've been doing, it's time I offered some alternative solutions, or somewhat. First off, I draft Rudy Gay and keep him!!. Why? because he could be the future of this franchise one day, and sooner if Tmac's back doesn't hold up. Face it, as terrific as Mcgrady can be, Gay would be a nice building block. If that wasn't enuff for you guys, I'd made the trade for Battier but got another young player in return (and Memphis has it's choice of them). But I'd kept Swift if they didn't throw in another young leaper. I know it may sound a little "after the fact" but all the money we spent picking up CBA players could've been spent on quality difference makers. Chuck Hayes was the first player we signed, we could've atleast waited until the offseason was near end so we could see how much $$$ is needed. Reggie Evans, Bonzi, Gooden are all F/A we couldve snathed up if we didn't move so fast. What would be some of the moves you would've made a little differently................
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post">All the complaining I've been doing, it's time I offered some alternative solutions, or somewhat. First off, I draft Rudy Gay and keep him!!. Why? because he could be the future of this franchise one day, and sooner if Tmac's back doesn't hold up. Face it, as terrific as Mcgrady can be, Gay would be a nice building block. If that wasn't enuff for you guys, I'd made the trade for Battier but got another young player in return (and Memphis has it's choice of them). But I'd kept Swift if they didn't throw in another young leaper. I know it may sound a little "after the fact" but all the money we spent picking up CBA players could've been spent on quality difference makers. Chuck Hayes was the first player we signed, we could've atleast waited until the offseason was near end so we could see how much $$$ is needed. Reggie Evans, Bonzi, Gooden are all F/A we couldve snathed up if we didn't move so fast. What would be some of the moves you would've made a little differently................</div> Yea drafting Rudy gay would be good, but would he give us the immediate help we need right now? And didn't Tmac say that his back is feeling good in a long time? Ok say if we draft rudy gay, he will likely give us help in 3-4 years. We need help now, not in 3 to 4 years. Actually, I love the deal now. Battier is a proven winner who does all the dirty work. Battier is the type of the guy who will give us the immediate help we need, right now. Getting rid of Swift and his contract was good for Rockets because he hurted us at PF. He has no type of IQ, and didnt give us much help. Also, Chuck Hayes is a great player. Picking him up was a good choice. Even though we could've saved up the money, and gotten someone like Wells, we couldnt do that at that point because we couldn't wait. Rockets were sucking real bad. As you can see in the other thread, Rockets, Heat, and Nuggets are trying to get Bonzi. Even though Rockets dont have enough money, they might be able to get Wells. Say if we get Wells. Think of this lineup: 1-Alston/Sura 2-Mcgrady 3-Wells 4- Battier 5-Yao Just say if we somehow get Wells. Rockets would be killer
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post">All the complaining I've been doing, it's time I offered some alternative solutions, or somewhat. First off, I draft Rudy Gay and keep him!!. Why? because he could be the future of this franchise one day, and sooner if Tmac's back doesn't hold up. Face it, as terrific as Mcgrady can be, Gay would be a nice building block. If that wasn't enuff for you guys, I'd made the trade for Battier but got another young player in return (and Memphis has it's choice of them). But I'd kept Swift if they didn't throw in another young leaper. I know it may sound a little "after the fact" but all the money we spent picking up CBA players could've been spent on quality difference makers. Chuck Hayes was the first player we signed, we could've atleast waited until the offseason was near end so we could see how much $$$ is needed. Reggie Evans, Bonzi, Gooden are all F/A we couldve snathed up if we didn't move so fast. What would be some of the moves you would've made a little differently................</div> I can't say. Hmm, draft night I was very upset and would have taken back this trade in a heartbeat. Now I am not as sure. I guess I think we still made a mistake. However, a lot of teams did pass up on Gay. All I know is this has been the longest offseason ever. I like the athleticism this line up brings to the table. Yao Swift T-Mac (point-forward) Gay Head/Rafer
I think the Rockets did a solid job of improving over the offseason by acquiring Shane Battier. Now they are pretty much very strong at 3 positions (Tmac, Battier, Yao). Next season maybe they will address the PF or PG situation.
First, I would have kept our draft pick. Gay or not, a #8 pick is worth way much more than only Battier. I can't believe that the Rockets could not have gotten a better deal. Battier is good, but way overated. He is not a proven winner. The Memphis Grizzlies have been swept out of the playoffs the last three years. Yes, Battier's intangibles and defense helped the Grizzlies win exactly zero playoff games. His presence also did not help the USA team win gold this summer either. I don't see how proven of a winner he is. His defense is also not going to be enough to contain the better players in the league. I mentioned this in the other Battier thread, that Nowitski averaged about 30 ppg in their playoff series. Battier will not be able to guard Nowitski, Kobe, Lebron, or any of the other superstar scorers in the league. I believe that we lost more in Gay and Stro than what we gained in Battier. Gay and Stro could have easily put up the numbers that Battier brings. Gay would be a project, but not as much of a project as most people are thinking. I believe he could easily put up 10 ppg this season. Remember, he has had two years of college at UCONN, he is not coming out of high school. I think the Rockets problem this summer was having too narrow a focus on the players they wanted, and not really having a solid plan B. In the draft, they had a list of players they wanted, and when they were all gone at #8, I believe the Rockets panicked and took the Battier deal, which I think was very one-sided. In free agency, the Rockets again put too much of their attention on one player, Mike James. When he went to the T-Wolves, the Rockets turned to their backup plan, which was to sign the incredible Casey Jacobson and Kelenna Azubuike. The two biggest acquisitions, V-Span and JL3, were not exactly hard siginings to get. V-Span could only sign with the Rockets, and JL3 had a connection to the Rockets. The Rockets are not very good at attracting free agents, which I believe was damaged by how they treated last offseason's siginings. They traded Derek Anderson mid-season and they traded Stro back to the team he was trying to escape from. I don't think many free agents think very highly of Rockets management. I was impressed with only one of the Rockets acquisitions this summer, and that was the Kirk Snyder trade. They got him for basically nothing so they won't lose anything if he doesn't pan out.
I get some of your points but still think the Battier thing will work out better than people realize. And please, who the F does Dirk and Kobe not light up on a nightly basis. I'm sure R.Gay will come right in and shut them down. I'll jump off Toyota Center if that happens regularly. For the last time Side Show was not an asset. He was a cancer that Houston was smart to cut off. Please nobody say how he could have contributed after all the oppurtunities he had only to get beat out by an old guy and another on ten day contracts. No dribble, no inside moves, no rebounds, no hustle, no heart, no IQ. Thats the guy you would want back. Maybe the long time since you seen him play gives you a misconception of his game or wasted potential. It comes down to R.Gay and Shane. Which one will be the bigger asset as the team pushes late in the season for a playoff run. I just cannot give R.Gay that edge as a rookie. I think anybody that does is doing so out of spite. Rookie wall, rookie calls, nervousness. That will be the difference I think late in the season. Rockets did DA a favor. I know if he ever came back to Houston he will be thanking people while his RING blinds them. There was no big reason to trade him. Miami presented the oppurtunity for him to play and the Rockets did him that favor. I doubt he hates the Rockets. Plus wasn't it that trade that gave the exception that got Snyder. Its a money thing. Rockets have a couple max deals and tight pockets to want to do more.
