On Landry

2010 January 9

tags: landry

by rahat huq

Writing in Hardwood Paroxysm, Matt Moore:

I always try and see into the future, as we all do, but through the lens of how different things looked five years ago from where we are now. Seeing Wade tear it up his rookie year, we still didn’t know he’d become this. So we wonder where these guys we now see as “great” but not superstars will end up. Not everyone winds up in the top five players of their generation,but that doesn’t mean they weren’t terrific in their time. Perhaps no team embodied that more than the Rockets, who had one all-timer and then a bunch of guys who you wouldn’t call awesome, but you definitely didn’t want to meet on the floor for 48 minutes.

You don’t want to run into Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry for 48 minutes.

It’s always interesting to get an outside perspective because our own can often be clouded by subjective emotion. These past few weeks, with this most unanticipated of transformations taking place before our eyes, I too have begun to wonder what will come of Carl Landry. Will this be remembered as the moment when the unlikeliest of stars was born or will it fizzle as the product of an eager opportunism?

Easy

I think Landry's development has great implications on the Bosh trade. If we suspect that Landry could become something special, why would we want to blow up our good core to get Bosh?

Or do we want to play Bosh at the 5? Doesn't seem likely in light of the management's apparent commitment to Yao.
rahat_huq

Good question, but consider - if Landry's "upside" is essentially "Bosh", and Bosh is younger, is that bird in the hand not worth the difference in the trade? Glad I don't have to make these decisions.
Easy

Bosh and Landry are only 6 months apart. So they are essentially the same age. True, Bosh is proven, while Landry is still a potential. (I wish we could watch Landry one more season before the trade presented itself.)

But there are a few points where Landry has an edge.
1. Attitude. Bosh's intensity and toughness have been questioned at times. Nobody ever accuse Landry of those things.
2. While Bosh is taller, Landry is stronger.
3. Landry's next contract will be much cheaper than Bosh's.
4. Probably the most important factor: we don't have to give up any assets to have Landry.
rahat_huq

just now gave my thoughts on bosh in the latest post
nobodyisbetterthanjordan

no core players will leave.
Nobody on 1st or 2nd string. period.
The bench as a whole, particularly with Landry has been Houston's biggest asset..
Only McGrady, a 3rd stringer, and a draft pick..
With all that said, I have to say that I really hope Ariza improves his game sometime between now and next year's pre-season. If he doesn't step it up, his name will dropped into future trade talks with the same level of ease we now do with McGrady.