Sep.28 at 12:28 pm

Ron says:
From what I gathered on this deal, it’s basically a one year deal. that means that come the All Star break, if things aren’t working out he will have some trade value. If things go well you keep him and hope for a playoff run. Either way, at 5 mil it’s a bargain.

Sep.28 at 12:46 pm

Chris O'Leary says:
Apparently, Houston didn’t get my email saying that I’d play the season for 100K and that I’d have no problem not touching the rock. Maybe next year.

Sep.28 at 1:05 pm

OKNARB says:
Ummm.. Lang? WTF?… Why do you have this titled the same as the headline on foxsports?
(they’ve had that headline for a few days now)

Sep.28 at 1:09 pm

Cheez says:
“And isn’t point guard a much more pressing concern for the Rockets?” Did someone at SLAM just take a shot at Rafer “World’s Greatest Point Guard (who you never heard of)” Alston? Really, it’s the PF position the Rockets need help with more than anything. Everyone killed Houston last year because of the Mike James/Skip trade but I think you have to throw last season out in regards to the Rockets… Tmac missed a ton of games, Yao missed a good amount, Skip missed some… how many times were all three on the court together? very few. Skip is actually a good fit for them… he can handle the ball and run the offense but he can also knock down the 3-ball when Tmac sets him up or when Yao kicks it back out from the post. The couple times I saw the Rockets with all three of those cats out there, they looked pretty good. Like you say, Bonzi may not be the greatest fit for Houston because he does need the ball BUT I think it’s a great pickup anyway because the Rockets needed another player with talent regardless of how his skill set fits in… and it’s not like Tmac is a selfish player, he’ll distribute the ball if he’s got talent around him but who was he supposed to pass it to before, Ryan Bowen? If I was Van Gundy, I’d go “small” or at least as small as you can go with Yao on the court… I’d go Skip at PG, Bonzi and Tmac playing the wing spots, Mr. Battier at PF and Yao in the middle… Juwan’s a great guy, but his better days are well behind him and Houston doesn’t have another PF who can step into a starter’s role… Chuck Hayes is a nice hustle guy but I’m not convinced he should be playing heavy minutes for a playoff contender.

Sep.28 at 1:09 pm

Boing Dynasty says:
Doing you best Espn rendition?

Sep.28 at 1:51 pm

Lang Whitaker says:
Shows you how much I look at Fox Sports…

Sep.28 at 1:58 pm

noah doucette says:
hey if tmac and yao get injured like last year then bonzi cud get some big time stats. and lets not forget this is tmacs 10th season now and he does get that back spasm thing a whole lot. and Yao is young and relativly healthy but you never kno.

Sep.28 at 2:17 pm

OKNARB says:
riiiiight Lang.. lol..

Sep.28 at 2:56 pm

albie1kenobi says:
at first i think it’s not a good signing, but then again, an asset is always better than nothing. rockets’ bench last year was thinner than nicole richie, so at least they are bringing in some sort of production, especially with Tmac’s wonky back.
and if this experiment fail, they can just use him to get a servicable pf somewhere. a banger who can maybe shoot an open jumper once in a while? wait scratch that. yao can do that already, so all you need is a big who can rebound and defend. a good signing regardless.

Sep.28 at 3:09 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
Right now Bonzi is busy learning how to say “give me the fucking ball right now” in Mandarin.

Sep.28 at 3:11 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
Maybe the hope is, if they look enough like the Rockets jerseys, they can reclaim Tracy McGrady on a technicality of some sort.

Sep.28 at 3:11 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
Great, wrong column. Me = idiot.

Sep.28 at 3:32 pm

Johnny33 says:
I think the Rockets hope is to be able to play T-Mac 35 mins a game.. Have Battier split time between PF and SF, and have Bonzi play 30-35 mins a game at SG, either to rest T-Mac or to play alongside him for 15-20 mins a game. In previous seasons, the Rockets really needed that backcourt scorer when TMac went to the bench. All those spot-up shooters couldn’t create any scoring opportunities.

Sep.28 at 4:56 pm

Dblizzy says:
Russ that comment is even funnier now!!! Anyway, I think it’s a good signing, like cheez said, i think at this stage of the game, getting whatever talent is left is the most important thing. And if they’ve only signed him for one yr, then he can be good trade bait whethers he’s playing well or not. For the Rockets sake, lets hope its the former and not the latter. On an unrelated side note: Does anyone know where I can find a new pair of nike shox stunners? Those are my favorite bball kicks of all time and I blew out a shock in a pick up game last night.

Sep.28 at 5:57 pm

Dmitri says:
Maybe Van Gundy wants to try a little good cop/bad cop with Battier and Wells on the wings a la Houston and Sprewell.

Sep.28 at 7:54 pm

Gord says:
Congratulations Houston, you now have an entire backcourt of headcases…

Sep.29 at 12:09 am

Slim says:
Really Gord, head cases? Thats interesting. I’ll give you Bonzi (and comparitively, he isn’t that bad). But who else? T-Mac? Rafer? Battier? Luther Head? Kirk Synder? Bob Sura? V-Span? I’m not sure who this “entire backcourt of headcases” is, but let me know when they go to the insane assylumn together. Maybe its because I’m a dumb biased Rockets fan, but I like the addition. I like what John33 says about the minutes. Makes sense, and I don’t know why that couldn’t work. I wouldn’t mind a lineup of
C-Yao
PF-Battier
SF-T-Mac
SG-Bonzi
PG-Rafer Maybe JVG has the ball in Bonzi’s hands to create easy shots for T-Mac (who likes to shoot rather than drive now….no one talks about this, but look at his shot chart after a game….WAY to many j’s he is taking, I think he is worried about his back). But, if the ball goes through Yao, Bonzi constantly cuts to the hoop or backs down his defender, and Battier, McGrady and Rafer can shoot j’s. I see nothing wrong with that. That’s sounds like I’m diminishing T-Mac’s role. I’m not saying that. I am saying he is a way better jump shooter than Bonzi, and his game has changed into a jumper/midrange game. So why not let Bonzi attack and give T-Mac a break to take j’s?

Sep.29 at 12:10 am

Boing Dynasty says:
And i dont think Van Gundy can box like Sam Mitchell, hes in trouble.
skip’s jab’s stiff, and its Zab quick.

Sep.29 at 10:27 am

TKJC says:
Yao Mac Bonz Battier Skip to my Lou If this team is healthy and play unselfish, they can do some damage, possibly 2nd round playoff?

Oct.3 at 11:59 am

Swede says:
For Dblizzy….here you can get your favorite shoxs…take care… http://www.pickyourshoes.com/size/nike_shox_basketball.htm

Oct.15 at 6:23 pm

Gord says:
Yeah I just meant Rafer and Bonzi lol…Rafer really did damage to my Raptors locker room