Morey will want to maximize his value at the trade deadline and at that point he'll decide if he likes his trade options or if he simply wants to let McGrady's contract expire. If this is the case, McGrady will be starting. Mid season you could get McGrady back, maybe even a little earlier. In the second I believe Wafer would be the starter and they'd bring Taylor along with a lot of playing time. In the first case the Rockets are in better shape overall for THIS season. Battier is traded and Rudy FernandezWafer or Taylor is the starter. Battier is the opening day starter and 2. So there are basically 2 scenarios I see here that are likely. No matter what though, Morey will give himself the most flexibility he possibly can while also making the future as positive as he can. If he is traded it will be for a big name or for young players with talent and draft picks. Is McGrady traded? Does he come back and play? I wish I had the answer. I think it's just as simple as a set of circumstances that were poorly approached by him, but that's another post. We've all loved him in our own ways for a long time. He seems like a whipping boy around here this year. The Rockets will ultimately get him at a very cheap salary (I'd say much less than Landry's 3/$9MM).Ĥ. He doesn't bid against himself, and he knows good and well that Wafer likes it in Houston and knows that Houston gave him a chance when no one else would. Agent upset about not getting respect, but the simple fact is that Daryl Morey is a very respectful guy, he's just not stupid. This has all the makings of Landry last year. Von Wafer is going to be a Houston Rocket, I feel very strongly about that. Is he ready to step in day 1? Probably not, but the Rockets have 4 months to make him that player.ģ. His shot isn't falling right now, but his body positioning and offensive talents are evident. Jermaine Taylor looks like a player, especially on the offensive end. Battier himself has said he thinks he's gone and that was never a thought of his before.Ģ. Not openly shopping him mind you, but last year they didn't even listen simply telling teams he was untouchable before they spoke. I do not have a lot of inside sources, but the few I do have say that the Rockets are actually listening to offers for Battier. With Battier that isn't speculation on my part. When does McGrady come back/is he traded?ġ. Can Jermaine Taylor step in this year and contribute at SG right away. Will Shane Battier be traded before the season and 2. Shooting Guard: There are four wild cards here. So ABZ is the answer as the starting 1, and a lot of teams wish that was the case, so I certianly will not (nor want to) complain about it. This year the offense is Brooks, Scola and whatever cuts Ariza makes. Last year I wanted Lowry to start because the offense needed his balance. Both guys could start in the NBA and both guys bring different talents to the floor for a given match-up.
That doesn't mean that if Rubio was offered to me I wouldn't trade just about anything on the team (not Scola) to get him, but overall, I'm happy going into the season with an upper half point guard tandem. Point Guard: I feel like the Rockets are set here. PF: Luis Scola (1 more year), Carl Landry (2 more years), Chuck Hayes (2 more years)Ĭ: Joey Dorsey (3 more years though he's really not a C)f SF: Trevor Ariza (5 more years), James White (2 more years) SG: Shane Battier (2 more years), Brent Barry (1 more year) PG: Aaron Brooks (3 more years), Kyle Lowry (2 more years)
Injured: Yao Ming (entire season), Tracy McGrady (half the season)
To get to my opinion let's look at how the team stands right now: Granted any lottery team would "have a chance" but I suspect that wasn't the point of that comment. I've seen everything from "this team will suprise people in the play-offs" to "This team will have a shot at John Wall". The Rockets, as a upper middle half team historically will take more lumps than those two teams, but that's just life. The Lakers have had plenty of droughts as well. The great Celtics went forever between Larry Bird and a championship. The team, provided there is solid management and coaching will have it's ups and downs, all teams do. This is called being a fan, though you could easily be a pessimist and be just as big of a fan (ask Dave). It's also been proven to be wrong (Utah 2 years ago and Yao's injuries) pretty often as well. In the life of this blog that optimism has been proven to be "correct" if there is a such thing. Mostly because I've always want to believe that this team could do things like the 22 game winning streak, or taking LA to 7 games. I've been called an eternal optimist around here before.