[DenverPost.com] Rockets interested in Earl Watson

Don't know if it's good or bad that he's had his best three games in a row this year. His trade value is at an all time high right now.

 

I'm not sure if Watson is really the answer at PG. He's a career 32% 3p shooter and 41% from the field. I mean, if we give them Moochie I'm fine with that, but I'm not sure that we can sacrifice Wesley's outside shooting. I know he's struggled some this season, but we HAVE to have players who can hit outside shots...

 

We also HAVE to defend the perimeter and prevent penetration from quicker gaurds. Watson is an outstanding defender. He also spreads the ball around, makes assists, another thing the rockets need.

Right now, watson is off to a great year offensively, and throughout his career, he has been decent. We have a lot of guys who hit the outside shots on this team, its not something we really need to worry about.

 

I would trade Wesley, Swift, and Alston for Watson and Martin!!!!!!!

 

Don't care about having nuf Guards, eh?

 

He might be younger and a bit of a better defender, but I don't seem him as much of an upgrade over Alston when he's healthy.

I say no, unless he comes to this team with the idea in mind of having him be the starting PG, which would put a $5 mil salary guy in Alston on the bench, and Head would get fewer minutes.

I think DW, despite his problems, is a better shooter, and we NEEEEED shooters

 

at this point it doesn't seem worth it to go after another mediocre player. according to his stats, we don't gain a single thing. i think we have all the mediocre guards we can stand.

 

5 years is too long an investment for a mediocre player that has averaged 5.7 points for his career. Especially since we're already stuck paying Howard 4 more years and Alston 5 more years. Waston may be a quality bench guard but this team is already loaded with bench guards. We need a starting caliber guard.

 

The only way we get Watson is by giving them Rafer. No way we can have both of those two, with their contracts, on this team. Obviously the Nuggets don't want Rafer.

We also don't want KMart. Any team nutso enough to take him off the Nuggets hands should fire their GM. In fact, KMart is probably the main reason Kiki won't be back in Denver since he's the biggest mistake Kiki made.

 

Agreed.

Alson's best season (last year):
34.0 minutes, 14.2 points, 6.4 assists, 2.1 turnovers

Watson's best season (last year):
22.6 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.5 assists, 2.1 turnovers

Norris's best season (01-02):
27.4 minutes, 8.1 points, 4.9 assists, 1.9 turnovers

Norris is 32 years old, Watson is 27, and Alston is 30. I'll take Alston as a starter, and Moochie is looking like a decent backup lately.

 

Let's remember that Watson's 22.6 mins are against the second squad, not all the starters.

I'd take Alston also. I think they are only interested in Watson as a back-up, and maybe potential.

 

You guys are forgetting one thing. A lot of the looks he would get here in Houston would be open looks due to the doubling of Tracy and Yao. He has hit 3,4,and 5 three-pt shots in each of his last three games when subbing for an injured Boykins. His ability to dish the ball and get steals is way above average. And he keeps control of his body and the offense more efficiently than Alston. Not to mention, he has never averaged more than 22.6 minutes per game in any of his 5 NBA seasons. So, he's 27 years old and hasn't really played a lot of minutes. I would love this acquisition even if it means jettisoning Wesley (most likely) or Alston (unlikely).

 

They don't want to trade Watson. They want to trade Miller. Miller/Nene is the package. Probable landing - Utah for Boozer.

 

If we are looking for a 3-point shooter, Wesley and Watson are almost identical this year.

Wesley ranks 23rd at 42.3% (30-71)
Watson ranks 24th at 41.9% (18-43)

 

I say no as well. Even if they took Skip in return it wouldn't really solve our problem.

 

This is still ignoring the fact that Watson is a better defender than alston or norris. Still, while I think Watson would be nice, I don't think he would make enough of a difference on this team. The Rockets don't need an overhaul, but they do need something more integral than Watson. He couldn't be that third piece we need.

 

The rockets desperatly need a defender against quicker gaurds. Watson is a very significant upgrade over Alston.

Its our biggest need right now, stopping gaurd penetration.

DW averages like 8 points in 33 minutes. Stop putting all the faith of this season into Bobby Sura coming back 100%..

 

Maybe we were scouting someone on the Nets.

 

Pls do mention it, since there's usually good reasons behind limited minutes.

As I've mentioned before, Wesley's impact is way undervalued by many here. Sure, he was quicker a few years ago, but he is arguably 3rd in importance to this team right now.