More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

about 1 month ago: Houston Rockets' Chuck Hayes (44) and San Antonio Spurs' Ian Mahinmi compete for a rebound during the first quarter of a preseason NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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It's been quite a whirlwind for Chuck Hayes, regardless of whether or not anyone has noticed.

This summer, I got the chance to interview Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.  Among other things, he had this to say about our probable roster:

Well, either they're going to make the roster, or not at all.  Once you cut a guy, you lose your rights to him.  It's possible that Chuck Hayes is one of those guys to cut and then bring back.

Still think the ole Chuckwagon is cuttable?  It would be Morey's last hurrah.

Now, coming off of a 14/14 game against Andrew Bynum and the Los Angeles Lakers, Hayes is starting to create quite a buzz from the league and from the media.  Earlier today, TrueHoop's Henry Abbott posted an article written by Rockets.com's Jason Friedman:

Jason Friedman of Rockets.com is kicking off a campaign to get Chuck Hayes on the NBA's All-Defense team. I'll second that.  Friedman writes:  "I may not be top in the league in blocks but if I'm guarding, say, LaMarcus Aldridge and I make him shoot a bad percentage, then I hope they pay attention to that," says Hayes. "I just wish there was a stat for keeping your man to the lowest field goal percentage."

Not only did Abbott and Friedman have praise for Hayes, but others across the 'Net did as well.

Kelly Dwyer of BDL:

Chuck Hayes is a 6-6 Kevin Garnett. His footwork belongs on Mt. Rushmore. His hands belong in the Smithsonian. He had two steals tonight, and caused as many jump balls. He's a center that's in the top five in steals, per game, in barely half a game. His defense is unbelievable. And now (7-9 shooting, no hesitation around the hoop) you have to pay attention to him when someone drives and dishes.

John Hollinger of ESPN.com:

Hayes has been one of the keys to Houston's surprising start with his ability to defend bigger players at the center position. He's listed at 6-6 and even that estimate seems optimistic, but he's so good at getting leverage and pushing opposing big men away from the rim that he's a very effective interior defender regardless. And unlike most bigs who defend the post, he also can step out to the 3-point line and pick up smaller players.

We knew this already about Hayes, but what's made him a viable performer this season is that he's become more willing to shoot and finish around the basket. Last season he seemed terrified to shoot at times and finished the year averaging a meager 4.2 points per 40 minutes, along with the worst true shooting percentage in basketball at a horrifying 37.5.

He'll never be George Gervin, but this year he's accepted all the layups that have come his way, and those have been frequent given how often opponents gamble off him to double other Houston players. Hayes scored 14 points last night and is averaging 8.8 on the season; he's done it efficiently, shooting 64.7 percent from the floor.

Tom Lorenzo of FanHouse (yes, Chuck is getting fantasy basketball attention):

Chuck Hayes is eligible all over the place -- small forward, power forward, and center. That's a good thing. That means you can move him around as needed. Right now Hayes is averaging 2.4 steals per game and is one of just two center-eligible players averaging more than 1.6 steals per game -- Anderson Varejao being the other at 1.8 per. In his last two Hayes is averaging 13 points, 11.5 rebounds and shooting above 75-percent from the field -- against the Jazz and the Lakers. His defense has never been in question, so add him as a filler in the middle and you'll benefit nicely from his active hands.

Those of us who consider ourselves to be Rockets fans have been quite aware of Hayes' defensive ability ever since he joined the squad.  Chuck's problems had always resonated on the offensive end, where he was nothing more than dead air last season.  However, the Rockets are quickly noticing his ability to run a successful pick and roll and finish in the lane.  You'll see few "big" men out there with footwork as good as Chuck's.  And perhaps Luis Scola taught him a thing or two about how to finish a layup automatically.

The Chuckwagon's offensive renaissance has prompted those who weren't initially looking to finally turn their heads.  He doesn't necessarily need added motivation, but an increased respect from the public can't do much but raise his spirits.  He deserves every last bit of it.

Oh, and it would be nice if Chuck could keep this up without getting fouled.  He's only taken one free throw this season (which he missed, of course), and if he keeps converting in the paint, "hack-a-Chuck" could suddenly make an appearance.  Please, dear referees, hold your whistles.

I know, I know... it's really dangerous to open up an actual debate on the hypothetical scenarios of Tracy McGrady.  I mean, what if he really does return to the Rockets' roster this year and is actually allowed to participate in team activities?  What if... what if... what if...?  (I think someone once had some good advice for me on asking about things like this):

Nonetheless, with the regular season starting next week, I will brave the inevitable minefield and pose the question:  What can we reallyexpect from Tracy McGrady this year?

My take?  Tracy McGrady is on the downside of his career.  This is not in dispute.  He is also coming back from a (supposedly "minor") microfracture surgery on his knee.  The list of players who have successfully recovered from any microfracture procedure is small.  And even those players' "success" is debatable since none ever returned to their previous level of athletic ability.

As for McGrady, we can't ignore the previous season when he attempted to return from shoulder surgery and a "minor" (at the time) arthroscopic knee surgery.  The results?  Quite simply the most unproductive year since his rookie year - and since he only sat on the bench back in 1997, the 2008/09 season was certainly his most detrimental to his fellow teammates.  Let's do the numbers:

38% FG shooting
37% 3-pt shooting
(note:  nearly 1 in 4 of his FG attempts was from beyond the arc)
15.6 ppg
4.4 rebounds
5.0 assists
80% FT

... only his assist and FT marks were above his career averages.

The most damning stat of all?  The Rockets escaped the first round of the playoffs.  Without him.

So, it's safe to say you will never see this again:

But what about the 2009/10 season?  It's all that matters right now and living in the past doesn't do any good (especially for our protagonist here). 

Will McGrady average 20+ points a game?  (No.)
Will McGrady stop shooting unnecessary 3-pointers?  (No.)
Will McGrady participate on a team that makes it to round 2?  (Ummm, maybe.  I hope so this year.)

But what do you think?

update!  Thank you to TrueHoop for the Monday afternoon link.  Though I never once said in this post that Tracy McGrady would never be an all-star again.  I don't think he will, but that is not the point of the article.  I'm more concerned with how he fits into the current Rockets rotation (if he indeed does return).

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Sam Alipour of ESPN.com is quickly becoming a Dream Shake regular, as he has yet again written something on the Houston Rockets.  Small forward Trevor Ariza is is the subject of Alipour's latest piece, and while the majority of the Insider only article follows Ariza on his search for a Houston home, it was nice to see this paragraph on why the former Laker chose to sign with the Rockets:

He does say his decision to sign with the Rockets was partly hoops based. "This was the best opportunity to show my abilities and expand my game." In the end, though, the main reason Ariza is spending an August weekend house hunting in Texas can be explained by a simple human need. "My whole career, all I've wanted is to feel wanted, and I have that now," he says. "It sounds crazy, but the Rockets swept me off my feet. I'm telling you, I've never felt so comfortable in my life.

It remains to be seen how smoothly Ariza will adjust to the Rockets on the court.  As for off the court, it looks like he is off to a good start.

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Let's get back to this big guy

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From the chronicle:

After several weeks spent considering his options, Yao chose a surgery that will include a bone graft and a realignment of the bones in his left foot to alleviate some of the stress in that area that could have led to the hairline fractures in the tarsal navicular bone the past two seasons.

Full story here

So, we knew this was coming, but it's no fun to actually see it in print.  Yao will be out for the entire year and I would even venture to guess, for safeties sake, some of the next.  Personally I'd like to see them just yank those bones out and put in some titanium or something equally or more awesome.  Make him like the terminator.  Who knows, maybe that is the plan and we won't know because they don't want the league to know.  Plus, you wouldn't want the machines to get the message just yet.

So, DreamShakers, are you happy with the choice made?  Did you want them to use the more expiremental surgery, or does this make sense to you?

More photos » by Michael Sohn - AP

3 months ago: In this Oct. 10, 2006, photo, Moscow's David Andersen, from Australia, plays the ball during a NBA Live Tour basketball match between CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv in Cologne, Germany. The Atlanta Hawks traded the rights to Andersen to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, for an undisclosed second-round draft choice, cash and future considerations. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

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Instant David Andersen analysis from Gersson Rosas, who talked to Adam Wexler of Sports Radio 610:

"Longtime target....one of most accomplished Aussies...impressive background...won championships in Spain and Italy...wins everywhere...special talent...skilled 7 footer, can shoot, moves well, good face up game, good fit for Adelman's offense...could have been a good compliment to Yao, but now can feature him...offenisvely, no question it will be a strong translation...defensively: size, which helps, and can play in our scheme...hasn't been involved in the NBA for a long time because he was well-paid in Europe and really had no reason to leave...leaving money on the table to play in the NBA...time was right for him contractually and career-wise...mirrors Pau Gasol's versatily on the high post, in terms of shooting and dribbling...skilled passer on the high post...can play pick-and-pop and space the floor as a 7 footer...a little bit like Bargnani, but not quite as athletic...similar in the type of game and style...not great defensively, but Chuck's presence will help that...smart player...good team defender...physicality is an issue...studied him for past 3-4 years...big credit to Les Alexander for providing resources for the upcoming season..."

Obviously, it seems like the Rockets have been high on Andersen for some time now.  Daryl Morey and Rick Adelman have wanted to acquire an athletic big man to pair with Yao - now they have an athletic big man to pair with Chuck Hayes, which isn't too shabby of a combination either.  Andersen's presence on offense will work nicley with Hayes' on defense.

Morey was recently on one of the Summer League broadcasts, and he talked about finding "the right players" for Coach Adelman's system.  Not the best players, but the right players (sounds like Herb Brooks and the 1980 US Hockey team).  Though we've criticized Adelman in the past, there's no question that he is an offensive genius, and that Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming weren't exactly the best fits for his scheme.  Though it's obvious that the Rockets would love to feature a healthy McGrady and a healthy Yao, Adelman should be much more comfortable with the player-types that will be starting this season, as Andersen is expected to start at center.

So far, it sounds like another great move from Morey.  You're not going to find skilled big men like Andersen with second round picks, thus allowing us to make the switch.  The best part about all of this is that we probably won't be paying him much at all.  A typical cost-efficient move from the Rockets.

Video highlights and extended scouting reports on David Andersen after the jump.

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More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

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I have a full analysis of what I want the Rockets to do on deck for early next week (hopefully Monday).  However, I want a little help.  Dave from Blazer's Edge and I have been tossing around an idea.  What would you want from the Trail Blazers for Shane Battier.  Now, believe me this is all a hypothetical, but, what if the Rockets were going into rebuilding mode?  You have to sell high on Battier, right?  And he fits into Portland epically well.

Here's my opening salvo:

 Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw for Shane Battier.

Let me get this out of the way.  I know 95% of you would never "want to trade" Battier.  I'm in that boat too.  That said, I know that, so let's try and be productive.  If you had to, what would you accept?  And let's keep it within reason, Brandon Roy nor LaMarcus Aldridge is coming over. 

Blazer's Edge is running a similiar question

More photos » by Jesse D. Garrabrant - NBAE/Getty Images

6 months ago: PHILADELPHIA - APRIL 30: Marcin Gortat #13 of the Orlando Magic shows emotion during game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs on April 30, 2009 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

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I'm writing this in a hurried fashion before I run off to an important dinner, but I think it will suffice. 

Of all the free agent centers out there, Marcin Gortat makes the most sense for Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets.  It looks like Morey sees it that way as well.  According to Chris Duncan of Yahoo! Sports, our GM has been recruiting with quite the personal touch:

"...Morey made the hard pitch, showing up at Gortat’s home in Orlando just after midnight at virtually the exact minute teams were officially allowed to begin negotiating with free agents.

Morey announced the meeting on his Facebook page and urged fans to leave notes for Gortat at an e-mail address—rocketsfanslovegortat@gmail.com. Morey said that within 10 minutes of his face-to-face meeting with Gortat, more than 100 e-mails had already arrived and the number climbed above 2,000 by noon Wednesday.

"He was reading them with some intensity," Morey said. "He was impressed by the number of messages and how much the fans seem to care about their team. I knew Rockets fans would come through."

Gortat’s agent, Guy Zucker, said Morey even showed up in Orlando with a Rockets jersey with Gortat’s name on it. He also said his client was interested in the Rockets.

"We had planned to meet teams later on in the process," Zucker said. "So this was a big surprise. The jersey with his name on it really caught him off-guard."

Morey said the Rockets made Gortat an offer, but would not divulge details."

So far, so good.  We all know how classy our Boy Genius is.  The only question is: What is it about Gortat that makes Morey so interested?

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More photos » by Chris Pizzello - AP

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Last week (or has it been longer?) I mentioned 5 off season items that the Rockets need to address.  Number 1 was Ron Artest/Von Wafer, and that will likely take the entire summer (possibly shorter in Wafer's case).  Number 2 was back up center, and since I have not had the time to really research the Rockets draft pick buying options yet (I have done the free agent/trade ones) we're going to skip to number 3 today.  I'll put my thoughts up here, but I really want to hear from you on how you think it should/will go down:

3.  Address the Tracy McGrady situation, specifically making sure Tracy is doing every single thing in his power to be ready and at 100% as soon as he can.  Now, does that mean I want McGrady back?  I'm honestly not sure.  McGrady is a good guy; he's not the evil that a lot of us (maybe even me) have depicted him as.  No, he's not a hard worker, but maybe that can change with him seeing his teammates do something he never has.  Sometimes it takes an event like this to get a guy like him going.  If he doesn't, he's the most trade-able guy in the NBA with a huge contract that comes off in time for Lebron-a-palooza

That's what I wrote before and I still feel the same way.  Tracy McGrady is a good guy and despite not always knowing how to show he cares, by all accounts, at the very least, does care.  With freakish athletic ability the league has rarely seen, the guy has never had to work out hard in his life until the last 2 years and honestly, I'm not sure he knows how.  I liken it to me in high school, I made As and brought a book home exactly once the entire time and graduated in 3 years.  I arrived at The University of Texas a cocky 17 year old jackass.  I promptly realized I didn't know anything about anything and what was worse; I had no idea how to fix it.  It took almost failing out of school to realize I needed help and to find out how to obtain it.  I took a study class and then actually attended class (a novel concept I know) and finished with a 3.7 GPA in my major, not too shabby for a guy that had to beg to stay for the fun.  So, in that rambling answer I swear I have a point Billy Madison principal:  Tracy McGrady likely doesn't know how to do what he needs to do and also doesn't know how to ask for it. 

While his knee surgery came at an inopportune time and the announcement at even a worse time, I don't doubt that the surgery was necessary.  As Daryl Morey has said, on more than one occasion, you don't have micro-fracture surgery (and a doctor doesn't perform it) if you don't absolutely need it.  I for one am going to give McGrady a break on this.  The guy saw a problem, he knew his knee wasn't healthy and went around until a doctor finally realized what he was talking about.  Lots of jokes were tossed around here and other places about doctor shopping.  And I'm sorry but, as much as we joked, no doctor would prescribe the most invasive knee surgery possible without it being the only option.  And what's even worse is his shoulder wasn't completely fine either.  On Friday he informed fans through his blog that he had more shoulder surgery. 

In that same blog post, McGrady spoke of his plan to be ready by training camp.  Training camp will start around the beginning of October and while that is a very fast time frame to recover from such a serious surgery, it was done on a much smaller skill than what Kidd/Stodemire/Hill had done.  This means that October could be enough time for cartilage to grow back and for McGrady to have workout time to regain strength.  The real question is:  Will Tracy McGrady finally dedicate himself to weight lifting?  By all accounts, and I mean all of them, he’s the last guy to arrive and the first guy to leave.  There is no argument to this; every media member that has ever talked about it has stated the same.  I have no reason to not believe their accounts or that it came from first hand knowledge or out of the mouths of McGrady’s teammates.  That said, a healthy Tracy McGrady can do exactly that and it was always a joke around the locker room so no harm was done.  Maybe he left so he could get some sleep, I don’t know what the reason was, and I really don’t care.  The important thing is that this precedent is no longer his modus operandi and that McGrady can become one with the free weights, and from the lack of lift he had, maybe toss some Yoga in too. 

That gets us to the question we have at hand.  Let’s pretend for a moment that McGrady is ready to go by Rockets training camp.  Let’s pretend that he can pass a physical.  What are the other possible variables?  The Rockets could buy their way into the draft.  Previously we’ve mostly thought of this as a move to get a back up center.   What if it is, as Tom predicted, to get a guy like Sam Young?  And what if the Rockets have already resigned Von Wafer who, because of his little tantrum, had no other solid offers and they got him cheaply?  The Rockets would then have 2 shooting guards and 2 small forwards.    I for one would then look to trade McGrady for a starting center that wouldn’t have their feelings hurt if they were a backup and some draft picks (yes it’s ill informed, but Chris Kaman comes to mind).  What would you do?

Let’s try another scenario:  McGrady is ready.  The Rockets lost out to a high bidder for Wafer and bought into the draft for a backup center.  This addresses every problem but the SG area.  So what would you do?  Do you keep McGrady?  Still package him for another SG or two?  Maybe some SF help, maybe some draft picks?

Dream Shakers, what say you?

As an aside, either this week (hopefully) or next I will begin a series with other blogs around the blogosphere about some possible trades that could help the Rockets.  I want some serious ideas on what to ask for.  The first will be with Blazers Edge who are trying something similiar with Blog a Bull with a favorite of ours in Kirk Hinrich.  So, specifically what do you want ,and what would you give to get it, from the Blazers.  And for the future, what about other teams?