Gay's Gone, Backe's Back

Let The Debate Begin
*Rudy Gay & Stromile Swift for Shane Battier!!! That was the initial reaction inside Toyota Center among nearly 10,000 Rockets fans.
Gay & Swift for Battier....hmmmmmmmm. That is the sound you hear now, better than 24 hours after the still unconfirmed deal was brokered b/w the Grizzlies and Rockets. Obviously on their respective draft days, the hype based on the potential was feverish for both Swift (in 2000) and Gay this year, far outweighed the buzz for Battier(in 2001). Well now we know 2 things, Swift is not to be counted on and Battier is a player you want on the court when games are won or lost.
Bad signs from Battier include his poor showing in this year's postseason as he was the team's 8th leading scorer despite playing the second most minutes. While he does a lot of the little things right (man defense, drawing charges, low turnovers), does he bring enough offensive aggressiveness?? Took only 20 shots in 4 playoff games and has averaged less than 2 asst/g in his career.
But the good news is he is a strong defender and shot-blocker capable of checking shooting guard and either of the forward spots. The word for Battier is winner, in Memphis there just wasn't enough talent to compete consistently. Here in Houston that can't be an issue. But that remains to be addressed in free agency. And by that I mean sign Mike James.
Now on Gay - I like him a lot as you can see by Wednesday's post I had him as the 4th best talent in the draft. He was good at UConn, but expectations were so high, the perception is he was a failure. That's a bit harsh to lay on one guy, now while he didn't show much if any improvement from his freshman to sophomore season, that doesn't mean his development is over. He has as good a chance as any player in the draft to make an all-star team at least once in his career. Would have liked to keep him here, but understand the move.
Here it is, Rockets did not believe they had time to wait and see on anyone in this draft. That's why they were high on really just 2 players - Roy & Morrison - who they believed were most ready to help now. They never really made a play for Morrison, even though they thought he was ready for the league, they felt his fit here just wasn't as good as Roy. They were not big on Gay, but that is really irrelevant - they really didn't want to have to rely on any rookie (other than Roy) to be a big time contributor immediately. So that's why the deal was made.
*Plenty of unhappy, undrafted NBA hopefuls on Draft night. Here's where a few are headed for summer league play - Brad Buckman,Texas-Dallas, Justin Williams,Wyoming-Sacramento, Marco Killingsworth,Indiana-NY Knicks, Rashad Anderson,UConn-Washington, Kevin Pittsnogle,West Virginia-Miami & Dallas, Eric Williams,Wake Forest-New Jersey, Justin Gray,Wake Forest-Toronto, Gerry McNamara,Syracuse-Orlando, Taj Gray,Oklahoma-Sacramento, Darius Washington,Jr, Memphis-Houston?
'Stros News
*Brandon Backe made his first rehab start for Round Rock (AAA) on Thursday night. Here's how it went. First batter walked on 5 pitches, next batter plunkedon 1-2 count. Next batter, Laynce Nix homered on the very next pitch. He got a double play ball in escape further 1st inning damage, but gave up a bases loaded 2-run single in the second inning, before working a 1-2-3 third.
His line on the night...3IP,5H,5R,2BB,2K. 55 pitches, 28 strikes.
Some good news could be 6 ground ball outs and just one fly out.
*Jason Hirsch(AAA) & Hunter Pence(AA) were selected to play in the Futures Game in Pittsburgh on July 9th.
---- WEX