The Roster
Posted: Sat Oct 4, 2008 10:45 pm
There's been a ton of speculation on who the Rockets will waive/trade to make room for Deke. The leading candidates among the fans would be Strawberry,Harris,Head,Hayes and or Francis. But will they?
The GM has repeatedly stated he wants Mutumbo back,yet the team hasn't actually signed him,and at various times has stated they're comfortable w/Scola,Hayes and Dorsey serving as Yao's backups. As has been suggested before,is the team willing to go a couple of months into the season before signing Deke?
Strawberry is the obvious candidate to be unloaded-either by trade or waived. However Battier's slow recovery leaves Artest as the Rockets only reliable wing defender. Until the team is sure Battier is fully back,it makes sense to keep Strawberry as a defensive stopper for when Artest is in foul trouble,resting or hurt. In Summer leagues for Phoenix he was great running fast break,had trouble in 1/2 court sets so he could be paired w/Barry for a running/D second unit. More likely,he's the optimal candidate to send to D-League for experience.
Harris is the dreaded tweener-too small for the 4,not quite agile enough for the 3. He has an easily discarded contract. On other hand Adelman clearly likes his heart and he gives the Rockets some size on the wings w/Battier and Tracy being fairly uncertain. And he does give the team an option at the 4if they decide to move one of the PFs. If Battier has to miss start of season Harris makes alot of sense. He also could go to D-League where he'd be readily available for call-up.
Hayes is seemingly the odd man out at the PF spot,but he is the best defender in the group,serves as an adequate back-up for Yao and plays the most physical of the bunch. Dorsey MAY make him expendable,but not now.
Head would be the most desired by other teams for his modest contract,3pt shooting and ability to play 2 positions. However,Adelman really,really likes Luther. Luther was the only Rocket who would continue to make the cuts Adelman's offense requires and he continues to do so. Adelman will strongly oppose unloading Luther for salary/roster reasons.(Early prediction,Barry and Head will start 2,4Qs as a unit w/Artest,Landry and Dorsey/Hayes/Yao. And we may see a Brooks,Head,Barry,Artest,Dorsey unit get significant minutes later on.)
Francis would be the ideal player to trade to another team w/a Trade Exception. He is the odd man out in the rotation and his game does not seem to fit Adelman's offense. But a team usually has to throw in a First to make a salary dump like this and the Rockets don't have one to spare.
Landry is the suprise option to be traded to make room,but he can't be traded until late Dec and Dorsey would have to show he can provide the energy that Carl does.
Complicating the roster situation is Rockets unease over their back-up PG personnel. Little noticed was the article a few weeks ago in a Spanish paper about talks the Rockets had w/Spanish PG Pablo Prigioni- a friend of Scola's and perhaps the first hint of what the new International Scout can offer. Just something to keep in the back of one's mind.
While the simplest solution is trading away Strawberry for a future Second,the Rockets may opt to do nothing and keep the 15 they have now-until late Dec,early Jan where they will make a flurry of small moves.
First,they wait and see whether Francis can come back,and what he has to offer. If he's still hobbling around in Dec,they buy him out. If he's relatively healthy and is able to play they might just showcase him for a trade to a team that could use a scoring PG off the bench.
If Dorsey shows enough that he makes Landry or Hayes available,either of those players would command interest around the League.
The team is going to be paying Lux Tax,pretty much no matter what,so absorbing Harris or Strawberry's buyout to sign Deke later on is no biggie.(Unless the team collapses,and a fire sale ensues.)
To me,the smart strategy would be keep what's on the team til late Dec,then adjust the roster according to what the season has revealed. I see the team eventually adding a back-up PG and resigning Deke.
The GM has repeatedly stated he wants Mutumbo back,yet the team hasn't actually signed him,and at various times has stated they're comfortable w/Scola,Hayes and Dorsey serving as Yao's backups. As has been suggested before,is the team willing to go a couple of months into the season before signing Deke?
Strawberry is the obvious candidate to be unloaded-either by trade or waived. However Battier's slow recovery leaves Artest as the Rockets only reliable wing defender. Until the team is sure Battier is fully back,it makes sense to keep Strawberry as a defensive stopper for when Artest is in foul trouble,resting or hurt. In Summer leagues for Phoenix he was great running fast break,had trouble in 1/2 court sets so he could be paired w/Barry for a running/D second unit. More likely,he's the optimal candidate to send to D-League for experience.
Harris is the dreaded tweener-too small for the 4,not quite agile enough for the 3. He has an easily discarded contract. On other hand Adelman clearly likes his heart and he gives the Rockets some size on the wings w/Battier and Tracy being fairly uncertain. And he does give the team an option at the 4if they decide to move one of the PFs. If Battier has to miss start of season Harris makes alot of sense. He also could go to D-League where he'd be readily available for call-up.
Hayes is seemingly the odd man out at the PF spot,but he is the best defender in the group,serves as an adequate back-up for Yao and plays the most physical of the bunch. Dorsey MAY make him expendable,but not now.
Head would be the most desired by other teams for his modest contract,3pt shooting and ability to play 2 positions. However,Adelman really,really likes Luther. Luther was the only Rocket who would continue to make the cuts Adelman's offense requires and he continues to do so. Adelman will strongly oppose unloading Luther for salary/roster reasons.(Early prediction,Barry and Head will start 2,4Qs as a unit w/Artest,Landry and Dorsey/Hayes/Yao. And we may see a Brooks,Head,Barry,Artest,Dorsey unit get significant minutes later on.)
Francis would be the ideal player to trade to another team w/a Trade Exception. He is the odd man out in the rotation and his game does not seem to fit Adelman's offense. But a team usually has to throw in a First to make a salary dump like this and the Rockets don't have one to spare.
Landry is the suprise option to be traded to make room,but he can't be traded until late Dec and Dorsey would have to show he can provide the energy that Carl does.
Complicating the roster situation is Rockets unease over their back-up PG personnel. Little noticed was the article a few weeks ago in a Spanish paper about talks the Rockets had w/Spanish PG Pablo Prigioni- a friend of Scola's and perhaps the first hint of what the new International Scout can offer. Just something to keep in the back of one's mind.
While the simplest solution is trading away Strawberry for a future Second,the Rockets may opt to do nothing and keep the 15 they have now-until late Dec,early Jan where they will make a flurry of small moves.
First,they wait and see whether Francis can come back,and what he has to offer. If he's still hobbling around in Dec,they buy him out. If he's relatively healthy and is able to play they might just showcase him for a trade to a team that could use a scoring PG off the bench.
If Dorsey shows enough that he makes Landry or Hayes available,either of those players would command interest around the League.
The team is going to be paying Lux Tax,pretty much no matter what,so absorbing Harris or Strawberry's buyout to sign Deke later on is no biggie.(Unless the team collapses,and a fire sale ensues.)
To me,the smart strategy would be keep what's on the team til late Dec,then adjust the roster according to what the season has revealed. I see the team eventually adding a back-up PG and resigning Deke.
