Just an idea. I think the only glaring thing missing from the team for 2006/2007 is someone that will get a "mean" rebound, throw an elbow, etc. You guys may think I'm crazy, but I think Shawn Kemp would be a good fit on the team. Even though he was recently arrested for mar1juana use and he has battled weight problems recently, rumor has it that he is down to about 254 pounds. He is definitely an upgrade from what we have on the roster currently, & it wouldn't cost the Rox much to get him. He would even be able to give you around 10-12 points a night consistently.
Thank you for your insightful and well thouht out post. I'd like to be the first person to say...... In before the lock!!
Yes, I agree. We need to PF who will not only grab Kaman's beanbag, but also make him pregnant. CHAMPIONS 2006-2007
Kemp was horrible during his last 3 seasons in the league, which were years ago from today. So no, he probably wouldn't be better than Juwan/Battier/Hayes.
Yeah, but those were on horrible teams with no defined role. He also weighed around 275-280 pounds if not more during those years. None of those guys (Juwan/Battier/Hayes) has a mean streak. We've seen Kemp's firsthand with all of the wars that we had with Seattle. I just don't see anyone else that's available at PF, & rebounding is not our team's strength.
Kemp a "thug." I'm not even sure I know what you mean by "thug." Is that a categorization of his play or off court whatever. Dawkins was a thug. We could even say Moses was a thug the way he muscled his was to rebounds to tip them of the backboard to reposition and grab them again...like saying to himself...these Rockets can't entry to me, I'll entry to myself by passing to myself off the backboard.. But, Kemp. Kemp was different. Kemp was awesome. The only reason Kemp wasn't considered the best big man in the league in his prime was because of Hakeem. I mean....Amare aspires to be as good as Kemp, imo.
I was thinking thr same thing, from what I could see he did not look that far out of shape. Being him in on a non-guaranteed contract for a closer look. He could be the mean to our team!!!!!
Yes. man, I read the title and thought he was talking about historical comparisons to what we need. on second read,,,,I'm embarrassed to find he actually is talking about signing Kemp.
Why not Aaron Williams? I read that the clippers are close to signing him to a two year deal worth $3.5 million. I think he'd be a better fit next to Yao than Juwan, and he could back Yao up as well.
yes, how about that guy we trade from NYN I think his name is Bak.... If you want ths job done, we can give him a bottle of something before into the court. He will definitly through elbow and maybe .....
In this regard, Danny Fortson would be a better fit, IMO. Seattle would probably be looking to move him, and if he can come in and keep his mouth shut, he fits the role of "Thug Forward" nicely. Fortson is rugged and mean, and can play the 5 for short stretches also. He has no jump shot however, so he would probably not pair well with Yao. But for 20 min a game off the bench, he could come in and grab some boards and throw some 'bows with the best of 'em.
I'm glad someone else see the Amare/Kemp similarities. It sometimes feel like I mention the two in the same sentence and people just kind of turn off for a second like I didn't say anything at all....actually, most of you do that to me regardless of the subject. Guess I'm not provocative enough....
look at his join date. only posters that signed up during the latest free reg period are "rookies". before the free reg period, new members were called "junior members" until they reach the amount of posts required to become a full "member".("senior member" would be the next plateau after that) contributing to the tipjar (highly recommended, do you realize how much it costs for this site to stay operational?) would cause you to be a "contributing member" once you make it thru the probation period you are in now. ontopic: Kemp is done man...you guys b**** about old players? Kemp and Deke are both almost AARP members. just not that great of an idea.
The Blazers were a 50-win team, and the Magic were a game over 0.500. They weren't horrible. I can't say I remember his role on those teams, but it's silly to blame the team when, Kemp was not just bad, but HORRIBLE. He was also several years younger, and not as out of practice (like being completely out of the league for 3 years like he is now). Kemp is not the player he once was. Furthermore, "mean streak" doesn't matter, your performance matters. Statistically Battier and Hayes are good players, while Juwan sucks but not as much as Kemp did in his most recent NBA season. It's not a weakness either. The Rockets' rebounding% is 50.4%, which means it slightly outrebounds its opponents. This % is good for 13th in the league. I also expect the team's rebounding % to be better this year. This sorted list shows that Wesley was one of the absolute worst rebounders in the league, even for a guard (174 out of 181 qualifying players). He's essentially being replaced in the starting lineup by Battier, who's a LOT better. Hayes, who is a terrific rebounder, will be getting more minutes. Yao also showed tremendous improvement in rebounding (among many other things) in the second half of the season, and hopefully that will carry over to all of next season as well.
