# [Chron] Rockets look to overhaul roster during offseason



## kisstherim (Jul 15, 2004)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3809089.html



> Van Gundy has offered a checklist of needs: three point guards, more depth and balanced scoring, and a power forward with shooting range. Dawson, the general manager, said Thursday he agreed with Van Gundy's assessment of the Rockets when healthy and with the wish list.


A worthwhile article


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## jworth (Feb 17, 2006)

It's good to see that the Rockets are looking to improve this offseason. I think it's obvious that even without injuries this team of Rockets won't be contending for anything other than a possible second round appearance. 

Here are some of the free agents that were mentioned in the article as possibilities for Houston this offseason:



> They must decide whether to use their entire mid-level exception on one player or to split it. The top free agents would seem to be priced beyond the mid-level exception, expected to start at about $5.5 million in the first season, though they could hope that *Bonzi Wells * might take what would be a sizable pay cut to accept a mid-level exception. Wells, most recently with Sacramento, could be an ideal fit for the Rockets.
> 
> There are other players who could fill needs and who likely would consider mid-level exception offers or a portion of the exception. They include guards *Fred Jones, Speedy Claxton, Ronald Murray, Devean George, Bobby Jackson and Jiri Welsch* and forwards *James Jones, Jermaine Jones, John Salmons and Qyntel Woods*.


I'm guessing we'll need to move some of our current players out of Houston, and I look forward to that happening.


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

kisstherim said:


> and a power forward with shooting range.


That phrase right there is scary... PLEASE let them keep Chuck... maybe we can all go help him work on his shot in the off season.


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## CrackerJack (Jul 2, 2005)

i like the idea of signing speedy claxton or james jones with our MLE or even qyntel woods

excellent how JVG says "There's going to be changes" the future could be very bright


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## Dream Hakeem (Apr 20, 2006)

Thats good


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

i can't wait to see what happens!!


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## Gotham2krazy (Nov 22, 2005)

This is good news, but as for signing shooting guards, I don't like the idea of John Salmons, he's not the greatest SG. But if we can get Speedy Claxton, then that'd be good. As for the PF, Chuck has to work hard this offseason on his shot, he still has a chance to stay if he learns to shoot midranges instead of just points off the buckets.


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

Gotham2krazy said:


> This is good news, but as for signing shooting guards, I don't like the idea of John Salmons, he's not the greatest SG. But if we can get Speedy Claxton, then that'd be good. As for the PF, Chuck has to work hard this offseason on his shot, he still has a chance to stay* if he learns to shoot midranges instead of just points off the buckets*.


Yep.


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## debarge (Nov 13, 2005)

jworth said:


> It's good to see that the Rockets are looking to improve this offseason. I think it's obvious that even without injuries this team of Rockets won't be contending for anything other than a possible second round appearance.
> 
> Here are some of the free agents that were mentioned in the article as possibilities for Houston this offseason:
> 
> ...


Why in the hell would Bonzi Wells wanna come here for less money, to go to a bad team? Other than Devean George and Q Woods, none of those guys will help abit. There's just different journeymen than we already have? Jiri Welsch? John Salmons? Jermaine Jones, yeah they're really gonna push us into the stratosphere guys... :krazy: 
You need a shooter, get Q Richardson or Brent Barry? You need a PF w/ range, look at Noicioni, Josh McRoberts, Vladimir Radmonivich, why do we need 3 pg's Jeff? In case all of them break their legs???
I'm sorry, this worries me, he still is thinking of scrubs? NO MORE SCRUBS! :curse: Get some real b-ballers in here w/ several "not one" skill. Don't just go for 'a rebounder' 'a defender' 'a shooter', NEWSFLASH LES/JEFF there are NBA players w/ more than one skill? in one body? at one time? Not named Mcgrady or Yao? I know that concept is amazing Gumby, but try to control your enthusiam...
The only forward I would take w/ such a good pk is Josh McRoberts, good athelete/good program/upside and can help immediately.
12mil to the Stro-Ho's  that's a lot of money for two dudes who don't rebound or block shots? :biggrin: Or shoot 3's for that matter. McRoberts can lace threes and dunk, sounds good to me.
2 spot? I think that's the biggest most glaring defiency at the start of the year (3 point guards, NO MORE MIDGETS, OR SLOW WHITE GUYS WHO TURN THE BALL OVER IN THE BACKCOURT) :biggrin: Tracy needs help out there, should we trade our 8pk for a babyBULL? Duhon/Gordon/Deng, then they get 2 lst rd pks in the top 10? Just a thought...
Man when you watch the Spurs, you really see the differences btn us and them? Great drafting every year, solid acquistions in FA, super-star core of Three not Two (Duncan/Ginobli/Parker) and of course BigPoppa coaching. :biggrin: Very different from us....
Bottom line none of those dudes mentioned in the article for FA is really any significant step in the right direction. Maybe Dawson/Morey have better ideas. Les's contribution was the infamous lower-bowls wh/ nobody sits in, Jeff loves Bowen and Sura, nuff said. I'll put my faith in CD in this scenario.
Almost all of us were fooled and bamboolzed by Stromile.... 

p.s. for Chuck Hayes -- get your butt in the gym w/ John Lucas this summer and at the Vonde Rec ctr. Luther stay here this summer and work on your mid-range jumper/under pick/roll you will be off the chain then! :clap: He really improved his driving ability thanks to Yao's picks.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

I wonder if the Clippers would be willing to trade Mobley. Probably not since he has been playing such good defense along with a balanced offensive game. He would be an ideal fit at the 2 guard for the Rockets, as he can shoot treys, slash to the basket and play shutdown defense at crucial times. Bonzi is much more effective playing the 3, and McGrady is going to play the 3 for the rest of his career. We either need a very good shooter or defender at the 2 spot, and none of the guys Feigen talks about really do the job. It still pisses me off we threw away our LLE on Derek Anderson last year, while Greg Buckner signed with Denver for the same price.

It would be nice, however, to have a guy like James Jones or Jumaine Jones coming off the bench... stretching the floor and playing a Padgett like role. Those guys won't get any big offers this offseason.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

debarge said:


> I'm sorry, this worries me, he still is thinking of scrubs? NO MORE SCRUBS! :curse: Get some real b-ballers in here w/ several "not one" skill. *Don't just go for 'a rebounder' 'a defender' 'a shooter'*, NEWSFLASH LES/JEFF there are NBA players w/ more than one skill? in one body? at one time? Not named Mcgrady or Yao? I know that concept is amazing Gumby, but try to control your enthusiam...


True, but those players cost money. Lamar Odom gets paid $10 million a year to be versatile, although he isn't great at any one thing. And with all the tweeners in our backcourt (Head, Sura, Wesley (if he comes back)), we really don't have an identity. Our backcourt can't penetrate, can't shoot, can't create their own shot or play defense on a consistent basis. Specialists make it easier to build around 1 or 2 star players. Take the late 90's Lakers, for example. Derek Fisher and Rick Fox were the shooters. Devean George was the offensive rebounder. Robert Horry was the utility guy. Outside of Kobe and Shaq everyone on that team could shoot, but they didn't do much else. When you bring in specialists they deliver on a consistent basis and aren't phased by 1 or 2 bad nights.


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## CrackerJack (Jul 2, 2005)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> I wonder if the Clippers would be willing to trade Mobley. Probably not since he has been playing such good defense along with a balanced offensive game. He would be an ideal fit at the 2 guard for the Rockets, as he can shoot treys, slash to the basket and play shutdown defense at crucial times. Bonzi is much more effective playing the 3, and McGrady is going to play the 3 for the rest of his career. We either need a very good shooter or defender at the 2 spot, and none of the guys Feigen talks about really do the job. It still pisses me off we threw away our LLE on Derek Anderson last year, while Greg Buckner signed with Denver for the same price.
> 
> It would be nice, however, to have a guy like James Jones or Jumaine Jones coming off the bench... stretching the floor and playing a Padgett like role. Those guys won't get any big offers this offseason.


plus the fans love him, as does yao


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## TracywtFacy (Mar 29, 2005)

well next season will be better than this year no matter what happens... although whenever teams go through 'rebuilding' it takes the right moves and a few years to go far or even just make the playoffs... hopefully we will make the right moves, not like this year


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## Demiloy (Nov 4, 2005)

HayesFan said:


> That phrase right there is scary... PLEASE let them keep Chuck... maybe we can all go help him work on his shot in the off season.


 This is something I've always wondered, HayesFan. What would you do if Chuck got traded or signed with another team?


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## CrackerJack (Jul 2, 2005)

Demiloy said:


> This is something I've always wondered, HayesFan. What would you do if Chuck got traded or signed with another team?


we'd be seeing him on another teams board showing his love


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## Demiloy (Nov 4, 2005)

CrackerJack said:


> we'd be seeing him on another teams board showing his love


 Her, not him.


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## HayesFan (Feb 16, 2006)

Demiloy said:


> This is something I've always wondered, HayesFan. What would you do if Chuck got traded or signed with another team?



I'll probably still be around here.. because I have quickly become a Yao fan. The guy works hard.. and if you can't tell I like hard workers :biggrin: But if Chuck does end up somewhere else... yes I will be posting on their boards more often!


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

Theres a small market for shooting gaurds in the lottery and a bigger demand for power forwards so what we need to do is either trade or sign an excellent shooter and draft a beast of a PF... because we will most likely not have that high of a draft pick, I'd go for Cedric Simmons http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22347 hes a got a 7 ' 4" wingspan, hes a dominate blocker and is good at putting back missed shots which is what we need because some games we can go completley cold and will need someone to put the ball back.


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## jworth (Feb 17, 2006)

I've heard some good things about Simmons. He's a long athletic big man who struggled to fit into NC State's Euro-style offense, but had he been with a lot of other colleges his numbers would have been better and his stock would be a little higher. I've only seen him play a couple times, though, so I don't know how raw his offense is or how hard he really works.

I've thought about drafting a PF as well. Obviously we desperately need a SG but we are also desperate for a PF. Juwon and Stro will never be the guys we need by Yao in the post, and Chuck is too short to be the only PF on the team. If we can draft a good, young PF, then the combo of that player and Chuck could be dangerous and what we need in the paint. 

The thing to me is that I'd rather Houston pick a PF who can produce and get the job done than draft a SG who is halfway decent at best.


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

I've never actually seen him play but I like his scouting report. His stats say he is 2 for 2 from the three point line, does anybody know if they were lucky shots or does he actually have the ability to shoot 3s?


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## TracywtFacy (Mar 29, 2005)

I'll probly get flamed for this but I don't mind JHo at all, and seems to be a good fit for Houston... he can hit the defensive glass, plays D and O within the system and seems to have a good bball IQ, hustles, and best of all is his pretty consistent jumper 10-15 ft out from the basket in any spot on the court - when TMac or Yao are in, he's always wide open for that shot, and although the mechanics look ugly it's quite effective, he's a good 3rd scoring option... I don't know many PF's with a consistent J from that range... He's got a few post moves as well... and dare I say, I still think if Stro works hard in the offseason he can become a better player, I still like him for his athleticism... 

I say we improve our guard situation first and foremost (but keep Rafer, he can get Yao the ball)...


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

TracywtFacy said:


> I'll probly get flamed for this but I don't mind JHo at all...


Yeah, Howard probably is a bit underrated. He can create his own shot in the post, but there just isn't scope for that with Yao there. The one way he does succeed with Yao is through his mid-range jumper, which is money (in the bank of a middle-of-the-road third-world nation, admittedly). But it would be so much better if he could clean up well. You know, what we were hoping Swift would do -- grab offensive rebounds, get open for easy dunks... Otis Thorpe-type stuff.

And his interior defense is paper mache, and he can't rebound or box out to help teammates.

I like his fire, though. We noticed it right at the beginning of the season, but he later admitted it himself that his attitude had changed since the heart problem. We need a better power forward, but we need a shooting guard more urgently. With T-Mac and Yao there, you can never declare "This team will never win a title as long as X is in the starting lineup."

(Unless that X is Ryan Bowen...)


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## CrackerJack (Jul 2, 2005)

i agree Howard picked up the scoring load when yao and t-mac were out, although we didnt win we managed to post a score and sometimes even be competitive


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> I wonder if the Clippers would be willing to trade Mobley. Probably not since he has been playing such good defense along with a balanced offensive game. He would be an ideal fit at the 2 guard for the Rockets, as he can shoot treys, slash to the basket and play shutdown defense at crucial times. Bonzi is much more effective playing the 3, and McGrady is going to play the 3 for the rest of his career. We either need a very good shooter or defender at the 2 spot, and none of the guys Feigen talks about really do the job. It still pisses me off we threw away our LLE on Derek Anderson last year, while Greg Buckner signed with Denver for the same price.
> 
> It would be nice, however, to have a guy like James Jones or Jumaine Jones coming off the bench... stretching the floor and playing a Padgett like role. Those guys won't get any big offers this offseason.


I would much prefer JJ over JJ (James Jones over Jumaine), but I would think Jumaine would be cheaper to get. 

Will be interesting to see who the Rockets will put their efforts in going after.

As for trades, any way we can get Andres Nocioni over here?? He would be absolutely perfect for our team....


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

> *The Rockets could step back in their history to pursue Sam Cassell* or recent history by trying to bring back James.


I wouldnt mind this one bit


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

> *The Rockets could step back in their history to pursue Sam Cassell*


didnt Sam say he would like to finish his career in Houston??


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## chn353 (Mar 12, 2006)

if so that would be a bonus for rockets but rockets got no1 to trade for cassell unless u want to get rid of rafer or head. i think we should keep rafer n head as they're still young esp head... you know potential... sam on the other hand is ageing


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## jworth (Feb 17, 2006)

Maybe we could trade Rafer and Stro to the Clips for Sam and the 34th and 52nd overall picks. If all of our draft picks came through, this would be a dream situation:

PG-Sam Cassell/Daniel Gibson (34th pick)
SG-Brandon Roy (1st round pick)/Luther Head/Allan Ray (39th pick)
SF-Tracy McGrady/Keith Bogans/
PF-Juwon Howard/Chuck Hayes/Kevin Pittsnogle (32nd pick)
C-Yao Ming/Ryan Hollins (52nd pick)

A few spots are left and could be filled by FAs. This lineup shows a lot of youth, and I don't think that's a bad thing. We'd still need something more at PF but I think this would still be a much better team.


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)

i cant see Sam coming over next year though..i was thinkin' that he might come back when he's about to retire...i dont know.


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## jworth (Feb 17, 2006)

CbobbyB said:


> i cant see Sam coming over next year though..i was thinkin' that he might come back when he's about to retire...i dont know.


He's in a pretty good situation right now so there's really no sense in him leaving the Clips at this point.


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## bronx43 (Dec 9, 2005)

I heard Sam wants to resign with the Clips. He's an aging guard who probably isn't too good of a long term investment for us. I looked at Ronnie Brewer and his combination of skills and talents intrigues me. Although his outside shot is ugly (yet not deplorable), he can do many things well. He's 6,7, athletic, and has above average basketball IQ. He basically played as a point-forward in college. I also agree with JVG wanting a better starting PG. After my initial high hopes for Rafer, I can't see him as any more than a solid backup point. In a perfect world, we would sign Kirk Hinrich and have Rafer come off the bench. 
Starting 5:
Kirk
Ronnie Brewer
Tmac
Stro/JHoward
Yao


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