Is this Battier's last season here?

pr0wler · Post #1 » by **pr0wler** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 7:55 pm

Shane Battier is an expiring contract and at the age of 32, this could be his last year with the Rockets. Sure, he's a solid defender and good shot blocker but I'm finding it hard to justify him getting starters minutes. He's a great locker room guy, good coach on the court type player...but offensively he is almost a 0 out there. From a SF you need that outside shooting ability. Other than the occasional corner 3, he just doesn't have it.

The problem is I'm not sure who takes his place. I really like Budinger as a 20 MPG guy off the bench but he is probably never going to be a quality starter in this league. His defense is questionable so he needs to be on the court when the opposing SF is a bench player, or when their wings aren't offensive juggernauts.

This brings the issue of why is Shane getting so many minutes? Yea he's very nice to have against strong, athletic SF's like LeBron, Carmelo and the like but against a lot of other guys I don't see the point. He provides almost nothing on the offensive end and if the opposing SF isn't gonna score much anyway then why not get someone out there who can at least put the ball in the hoop? Budinger can put up 15 PPG easy if given starters minutes and it's not like if he's facing someone like Trevor Ariza he's going to get burned all that much. We can even shift Kevin Martin (don't laugh) to the SF spot every now and then leaving Courtney Lee as the SG and Lowry/Brooks as the PG. We don't have a bonafide starting SF on this time, but we should at least try to maximize the assets we have right now to fill in that position as best as possible. Unfortunately, we're not doing a good job of that right now IMO.

bubba · Post #2 » by **bubba** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:02 pm

i could see him signing a 1 or 2 yr deal tops. maybe even an asst coach if this is his last season.

MaxRider · Post #3 » by **MaxRider** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:02 pm

i love to see Battier retired as a Rocket
but ... i also like him to win a ring too
i don't mind he go to other team to win and come back and sign last year with Rockets and retired

Aaron Brooks · Post #4 » by **Aaron Brooks** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:11 pm

I'd welcome him back for the right price, but some team will overpay him based on reputation

Bringing Hayes back should be a priority though

x- · Post #5 » by x- » Thu Jan 13, 2011 9:52 pm

I think re-signing both Battier and Hayes is pretty high on Morey's priority list, but ultimately he'll let the market decide what to do with which player.

I hope they both get re-signed, though Hayes is probably the one guy you cannot replace, whereas losing Battier would hurt, but replacing him woudn't be as hard.

Guy986 · Post #6 » by **Guy986** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:39 pm

Honestly i dont see Battier returning next season.

Chuck Wagon will be back though.

Mostly because the Chuck is going to be cheap. Battier is going to be highly coveted by contenders.

Kal El · Post #7 » by **Kal El** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 6:55 am

its hard to tell battier's market value... im sure morey would love to have him back but he's not (i hope he's not) going to overpay him. My preference is Nicholas Batum replacing him as our staring forward.

inquisitive · Post #8 » by **inquisitive** » Sat Jan 15, 2011 5:19 pm

Unless there is a remarkable improvement with the Rockets, i don't see him returning. He is at a point where he wants a ring, so i could see him going to real contender right now. He might be traded by the deadline and depending on who he goes to, a buyout might be a possibility where he signs with a contender this year.

I see Chuck Hayes in high demand and possibly getting offers that the Rockets might not be able or willing to match. His low post defense is probably one of the best in the NBA.

tha_rock220 · Post #9 » by **tha_rock220** » Sat Jan 15, 2011 11:07 pm

Say what you will, but he still plays great defense. He shut down Allen and Pierce in Boston. The problem arises when Adelman switches Kevin Martin onto an elite scorer who proceeds to get hot then expects Battier to cool him off.

He's still a guy who can hold Kevin Durant to a bad shooting night.

old rem · Post #10 » by **old rem** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:33 am

Guy986 wrote:Honestly i dont see Battier returning next season.

Chuck Wagon will be back though.

Mostly because the Chuck is going to be cheap. Battier is going to be highly coveted by contenders.

Battier will be pretty cheap. At 32 he's lost a step. He can hold a SF to 15....but meanwhile,he just scores 6 pt so, that's not so good. At age 33,34,35, it won't get better. He's a 10-15 min guy next year,and that ain't big $.

Guy986 · Post #11 » by **Guy986** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:48 am

old rem wrote:
Guy986 wrote:Honestly i dont see Battier returning next season.

Chuck Wagon will be back though.

Mostly because the Chuck is going to be cheap. Battier is going to be highly coveted by contenders.
Battier will be pretty cheap. At 32 he's lost a step. He can hold a SF to 15....but meanwhile,he just scores 6 pt so, that's not so good. At age 33,34,35, it won't get better. He's a 10-15 min guy next year,and that ain't big $.

Old Rem's world: Where PPG and a good performance against Dwight Howard means everything.

Battier will get MLE money from a contender. Thats big money for a 32 year old specialist.

LarsV8 · Post #12 » by **LarsV8** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 5:38 am

I cant really see him not coming back.

old rem wrote:[Battier will be pretty cheap. At 32 he's lost a step. He can hold a SF to 15....but meanwhile,he just scores 6 pt so, that's not so good. At age 33,34,35, it won't get better. He's a 10-15 min guy next year,and that ain't big $.

Clueless