Posts from the Rockets Category at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Houston, by virtue of running up a 22-game win streak last year but still finishing up without a playoff series victory, will be an odd duck to sort as 2008-09 prognostications come around. Yao Ming projects to be more tired than usual after a busy summer of rehab, smiles and international basketball, and Tracy McGrady remains precisely the sort of lightning rod that can be called a killer of other teams or his own.

Interesting is it, then, that Houston general manager Daryl Morey is talking about adding a third 'star' to the mix in a column by the Houston Chronicle's Steve Campbell.

[...] Morey and [coach Rick] Adelman are fully aware the Rockets as constructed are a nice team that doesn't have the chops to be a champion. [...] "That's our main focus: Get one more significant player on the roster somehow," Morey said. "That's the goal. That's my job, so hopefully we will get it done."

Who is the right piece, though? A point guard more potent than Rafer Alston could be a target, but point guards are scarce and Alston, while doing his job well enough, remains borderline untradeable. Luis Scola is a dream at the power forward spot, especially with solid defenders Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes able to pitch in. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more underrated defender than Shane Battier, and defense made Houston good last season.

If you trade for someone like Ron Artest, where's the upgrade? He's a comparable defender to Battier, and has more offensive weapons. But you'd assume Sacramento wouldn't take Battier back (long salary, plush position), so what do you do with him? Start a small lineup with Scola on the bench? Bring Artest in as a Manuish sixth man? (That'll go over well.)

The best bet might be replacing Alston with an offensive-minded point, and letting Rafer sub in as defense is warranted. Mo Williams, anyone?

As Situation Maggette remains unresolved, lesser wing free agents seem to be biding their time before the first domino falls. In one case -- James Posey -- a player are just now finding out they are considered lesser wing free agents than Corey Maggette, and that really sort of makes him upset. From the Boston Herald:

Free agent James Posey, via agent Mark Bartelstein, continued to talk to other NBA suitors in the wake of what he considers an unacceptable offer from his former team - one that falls short of the $5.8 million mid-level exception as well as his desire for a 4- to 5-year deal.

Boston has reportedly made that contract available to Maggette, which might contribute to Posey's air of insult. But is anyone willing to offer Posey -- a great defender, but a 31-year-old with limited offensive skills -- more than $25 million for four years of work? Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld reports Houston might throw that cash at Posey, to which I say ...

... what?! Posey is a poor man's Shane Battier. And the Rockets -- specifically general manager Daryl Morey -- love Shane Battier. They traded Rudy Gay for him. And Battier makes only $20 million over the next three years, is two years younger, and shoots substantially better from three on his career. Why on Earth would Houston bring in Posey when they have Battier, and why on Earth would Houston replace Battier with Posey? Makes no sense.

Towards the end of an athlete's career, there's always a number of questions about whether it's noble that he or she continues to compete, or regrettable that they continue to cling to the remnants of their fading skills.

Such is the case with one Robert Horry, AKA, "Big Shot Bob." AKA "Cheap Shot Bob." AKA "Wily Pants McGee." Okay, I made the last one up.

Horry said in an interview yesterday that he plans to return to the NBA next season for his 17th season. He said that he would prefer to play for either the Spurs, whom he won championships with, or the Rockets ... whom he won championships with. So essentially there are two takes to have on this.

Take 1: "How noble, to play at his age (he turns 38 in August). To compete at this level at his age is truly heroic. And with his tenacious defense and clutch shooting, you can be sure that any team that picks him up will gain a major assett."

Take 2: "Now this is just sad. The guy can't rn with any of the elite athletes, he suffers in transition, his shooting is down, some blogs call him "the corpse of Robert Horry." And the only way he's able to stay relevant is by distributing cheap shots at his opponents."

Pick a side, and let's crank up Season 17!

Earlier, the Spurs reportedly sent an email blast to the other 29 other teams in the league offering up the #26 pick. Houston has just selected Spurs favorite Nicolas Batum with the #25 pick, and guys like Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Douglas-Roberts all remain on the board.

Anyone else think the offers are getting a lot better all of a sudden?

Arthur's presence in the "green room" is practically tragic. It's becoming clear his workout process was flubbed in some way; rumors of injuries kept him for working out everywhere, but apparently those injury rumors were overblown. If Arthur really skipped teams he didn't want to get draft by, it's going to be a loooong night of introspection.

We'll update this with whatever we hear about the Spurs' pick.

UPDATE: The Spurs take a point guard, George Hill of IUPUI, which would be a completely anonymous school were it not for the rampant popularity of NCAA brackets. No word on whether this pick was made for the Spurs or not. San Antonio could in fact use another point. Whoever wanted Hill liked him more than Chalmers, apparently.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

The Rockets had a nice 22-game win streak to hang their hats on in 2008, but that was about it. The injury to Yao really wrecked the team's chances of advancing deep into the playoffs (or even past the first round). If the team can add some athleticism and boost their bench a bit, they could be contenders in 2009.

Picks: #25, #54.

Needs: Not to have the Chinese government force their All-Star center to shut it down mid-season to make sure he's ready for the Olympics. That, and some size to back up said center when he does play. I know it seems like Dikembe Mutombo might just play forever. But I promise you, Rockets fans: he won't.

Best case scenario: Chris Douglas-Roberts would be a nice player to get here, but if the fans were drafting, I don't think he'd be available.

Bullets Forever has a great little look at a type of player they dub "Senor Propolo" -- second-round productive low-post players. This has been a pet cause of mine since last summer, when I spent half my free time building support for the Paul Millsap Doctrine, which argued that per-minute production in the NBA was a good indicator of talent level.

BF's championing of Senor Propolo takes a slightly different tact, looking specifically at short but strong college post players who end up producing just fine thankyouverymuch at the pro level. There have been big successes in each of the past three drafts, including Leon Powe, Ronny Turiaf, Brandon Bass and Millsap (yeah!). Carl Landry's the one who sticks out to me -- in Houston's run of almost two dozen straight W's, Landry sat right up there with McGrady and Scola in terms of importance. It's easy for us to ignore the garbage-can production of the Landry sort, but when offered consistently (that's the key), it's extremely valuable.

So who are the Propolos this year? BF argues for Richard Hendrix of Alabama and D.J. White of Indiana. Joey Dorsey misses the cut because his lack of offense, but in my view, even if he lacks a key Propolo attribute, he'd be a good pick in the second round based on his defense and rebounding.

As the legend of Big Shot Bob dissipates -- Robert Horry might retire this summer, and likely wouldn't be back in a Spurs jersey regardless -- another grows in its place. These days, it's possibly soon-to-be two-time champion James Posey who gets noticed as the defensive ace/heady, roughhouse leader/three-ball specialist who just plain wins.

Marc J. Spears of the Boston Globe got an anonymous exec type to discuss Posey's impending worth and the connection.

Posey will be an unrestricted free agent and the most Boston can offer is a mid-level exception deal, which would be expected to start at about $5.8 million. If the Celtics offer him the full mid-level exception or something close to it over four years, they should have a strong shot at re-signing him. But they shouldn't be surprised if several teams go after him hard, too.

"Everyone in the league will go after him," an NBA executive said. "The Lakers probably will. But it will probably be the same money. He can pick and choose. He's like Robert Horry now. A team close to winning will sign him.

As solid as Posey has been, it is shocking to me that he'll get the full mid-level. Horry's last contract paid him $10 million over three years, roughly the same per-year as Posey's current deal. Bruce Bowen's per-year salary is similar.

Perhaps a big contract for Posey will serve as reparations for the years of financial bias against elite defenders. Shane Battier, one of the best swing defenders in the world, makes less than $6 million. (And if anyone's asking me, he's the real next Big Shot Bob.) These players deserve this money, but almost never get it. I mean, it's taken Posey two titles in three years as the best swing defender to get looked at for the frickin' midlevel, which guys like Mikki Moore and Jarvis Hayes Jared Jeffries have claimed. (Whoops, fixed.)

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. TrueHoop: David Stern says McHale would have been suspended for the Rambis clothesline if it happened today.

2. Detroit Bad Boys: Coming around on the Michael Curry hire.

3. The Association: Secret photo of Lakers practicing to defend Paul Pierce.

4. The Sporting Blog: "Yao Ming is tall like rocket ready for take off."

5. D.C. Sports Bog: Caron Butler showing off some dance moves.

6. TMZ: Former Bull Jason Caffey has lots of kids, but not lots of money.

The NBA's decision to start fining floppers next season set the basketball world a'twitter, with plenty of jokes (see above) at the expense of Manu Ginobili and Anderson Varejao. But let's get a touch serious here (just a touch): what's the real impact of the rule? Which teams benefit? Which will be punished?

It's hard to tell, actually. As you see above, the league's best floppers don't only leave their sneakers on faux-charges -- you can flop anywhere on the court. (Even on a screen!) However, considering offense sells tickets and the NBA has proven in recent years to be all about fortifying offensive basketball (see: hand-check rules), let's assume the number of offensive fouls decreases and thus, the number of charges drawn decreases (which assumes the value of $5,000 or whatever is higher than what basically equates to a steal, which is questionable). Who's at risk?

Yao Ming decided to end his season with the Houston Rockets a bit early, in order to make sure he would be fully ready for the Olympics. It appears he's in full promotional mode for the event, as he headed to North Carolina over the weekend to hock Coca-Cola via a NASCAR event. Yao was obviously excited to be there:

The Coca-Cola 600 is my first NASCAR race and it's been awesome to meet the drivers, change a few tires and feel the passion of the fans," said Yao. "It was also great to share the new Coca-Cola Olympic cans with NASCAR fans and drivers. By bringing together NASCAR and the Olympics I know we've definitely 'Connected with the World Over a Coke' today."

Only three product mentions, Yao? The marketing folks must be slipping. Anyway, Yao has to be the tallest pit crew member in history, right? And I love this photo where he doesn't seem to have any idea where to start with those tires. A few more photos of Yao at the speedway, after the jump.

[via TrueHoop]