Rockets Match Bobcats For Landry

[Spur-Addict]

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26876211/

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -The Rockets matched the Bobcats' three-year, $9 million offer sheet for restricted free agent Carl Landry on Thursday, keeping the forward in Houston.

The Rockets took less than 24 hours to make the move, leaving Charlotte still searching for frontcourt depth before the start of training camp next week.

"We obviously thought it was a good opportunity to get the guy,'' Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins said. "But it's part of the business.''

The 6-foot-9 Landry had been unable to reach terms with Houston since free agency began this summer. His agent threatened that Landry could sign with an overseas team as the two sides haggled over money.

The Bobcats stepped in with an offer Wednesday. But even with decent depth up front, Houston decided to keep Landry, who can play power forward and center.

Houston acquired the second-round pick in a draft-night trade with Seattle last year. Landry averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 42 games.

"We're really excited to have him back,'' Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "We're going to have a great set of players in for training camp.''

Landry's playing time increased late in his rookie season after Rockets center Yao Ming was lost to injury. He scored 22 points in a game at Indiana and was voted to the all-rookie second team.

Landry missed time late last season because of a bruised right knee, and Morey said the former Purdue star will undergo a physical. Morey said the Rockets are willing to take a chance with Landry's health.

"We've got a good sense of the state of the knee,'' Morey said. "We feel like we're in a season where we've got to take risks and we've got to bring in all the best players possible. We feel like this has a chance to be a special season and we're excited Carl will be a part of it.''

Landry declared himself 100 percent healthy and said he feels better than he was before the injury.

"I would say getting drafted was the best day ever in my life and signing this contract will have to be second,'' Landry told Houston TV station KRIV. "I am happy to be back in Houston.''

Landry's potential intrigued the Bobcats, who are looking to get help for last season's starters at power forward and center, Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed.

"We'll continue to look for ways to improve, that never changes,'' Higgins said.

Some help could come from injury-riddled forward Sean May. Higgins said May should be close to full strength when new coach Larry Brown opens training camp. May missed all of last season after undergoing microfracture knee surgery.

"Sean is working out and is starting to look comfortable out there,'' Higgins said. "He'll be ready to start on Tuesday.''

[GuerillaBlack]

You're late yo.

[Roxsfan]

damned right they did.

[Indazone]

Landry is an emerging force to be reckoned with. I predict he will eventually be a starter in this league. If not the Rockets then somewhere else. Scola will likely leave after this season because the lure of Euro's will be too much for him to resist. Maybe an opportunity for Landry?

Dude needs to get his fouling tendency under control but other than that, according to the table on all rookie power forwards last year, Landry was the best of the lot including Durant.

Meet Carl Landry

February 24th, 2008

At times it appears Kevin Durant’s path to the Rookie of the Year award is as clear as Raul Castro’s ascent to the presidency of Cuba. (http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/02/election_news.php) Despite questions about qualifications, it’s hard seeing much of an opposition campaign building between now and the RoY election.

Currently Durant has a WP48 [Wins Produced per 48 minutes] in the negative range. And this level of productivity has been observed the entire season. (http://dberri.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/should-the-rookie-of-the-year-help-his-team-win-more-games)If he is elected RoY, that can mean that either

a. this is one of the worst rookie classes in the history of the NBA.
b. voters are overly impressed by scoring totals.

Looking over the performance of various rookies, it’s hard to see how (a) could be true. Al Horford and Joakim Noah are just two rookies who have been above average performers this year. (http://dberri.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/the-assistant-coaches-choose-the-best)The Florida graduates, though, are not the only outstanding rookies. Over the past few months another player has managed to eclipse - on a per-minute basis - both Horford and Noah.

Houston Solves a Problem
On January 9th the Houston Rockets had a record of 19-17. For a team some considered a candidate to contend for a title in 2008, the first half of this season was a disappointment.

The next game, though, Carl Landry - who had only played 17 minutes all season - was given 20 minutes of playing time. In this time he grabbed 11 rebounds and hit all seven of his shots. Not surprisingly, the Rockets won. The next two games, though, saw Landry glued to the bench for all but 12 minutes. In each game, Houston lost.

After those two losses, though, Landry became a frequent guest in the Rockets rotation. Counting Sunday’s game, the Rockets have won 16 of their last 17 games. In these games Landry has averaged more than 18 minutes of playing time. And with a WP48 of 0.308 for the season (prior to Sunday’s game), it’s not a surprise that the Rockets are suddenly successful.

Who is Carl Landry?
Landry is a 6ft. 7in. forward from Purdue University. Prior to the draft, ESPN.com ranked Landry as the 63rd best available prospect. (http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/rank?draftyear=2007&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba draft%2fdraft%2ftracker%2frank%3fdraftyear%3d2007) Since the first and second rounds do not have that many slots, Landry was not considered a player who was likely to hear his name called.
Despite this ranking, Landry was selected by the Seattle Supersonics with the first pick of the second round in the 2007 NBA Draft. He was then traded to the Houston Rockets for cash and a future second round pick. Although his height suggests small forward, the Rockets have primarily played him at power forward. And his performance - relative to the other rookie power forwards - suggests the Rockets cash has purchased one of the best buys of the 2007 draft.

The First Round Power Forwards
Table One reports how Landry compares - across a variety of statistics - to the power forwards selected in the first round of the draft.


Table One: The Rookie Power Forwards (http://www.wagesofwins.com/RookiePF22408.html)




Before we get to Landry, let’s start with the power forwards who have disappointed. When we look at the individual statistics we see that Yi Jianlian (the 6th choice), Al Thornton (14th pick), and Jason Smith (the 20th choice) have been not produced much. Yi is only above average with respect to free throw shooting, blocked shots, and assists. Thornton is good at taking shots, but with the exception of free throws, not good at getting shots to go in. He’s also below average with respect to every other aspect of the game. And then there’s Smith, who is below average at everything except blocked shots and personal fouls. Not only are these three players well below average, they also rank in the top four in our sample in minutes per game. In other words, the least productive rookie power forwards are playing the most minutes. And not surprisingly, all three play for losing teams.

Smith’s team - the Philadelphia 76ers - is only losers by a little bit. The team’s efficiency differential - offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency - is -0.4. In other words, this team is quite close to being average. One reason for this is the play of Thaddeus Young, the Sixers other rookie big man. Young is an above average scorer. He’s also good at getting steals. Although he’s slightly below average on the boards, the overall picture is above par.

Young is certainly having a good rookie campaign. But his performance, on a per-minute basis, lags behind Brandan Wright. Wright is above average as a scorer and a rebounder. At least, the early returns suggest this is the case. But when a player has only played 155 minutes, it’s hard to be sure.

Back to Landry
When we look at Win Score per 48 minutes, it appears that Wright and Young are the leading power forwards. But both players fall short of the standard set by Landry. In this sample, Landry is the best at shooting, scoring, and rebounding. Not surprisingly, he also leads in Win Score and WP48. Yes, the first choice in the second round is so far out performing all the players at his position taken in the first round.

And this brings us to the moral of this tale. Over the past few weeks we have seen rebuilding teams trade established players for first round draft choices. But as this story highlights, first round draft choices are not always more productive than the cheaper second round selections. And consequently one has to wonder what the Sonics, Grizzlies, and Nets received for the talent they surrendered. Certainly the very top choices in the first round tend to perform at a high level. But once you move past the first few picks we see a great deal of variation in performance. Young and Wright are currently offering more than Yi. Jared Dudley has outperformed Smith and Thornton. And Landry is giving more than all these players.

Yes, Landry’s performance is a surprise. Certainly his college numbers didn’t suggest he could play this well. But the fact that so many first round draft choices struggle suggests that trading a star for a collection of low first round talent may not be a bright idea. You may be just as well off trading for second round choices. These are certainly cheaper. Of course telling your fans that you traded Pau Gasol for a few second round choices could be a publication relations nightmare. Then again, giving a guaranteed contract to a player who can’t produce isn’t going to win you any elections either. Well, not unless your franchise is in Cuba.

Quote

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has extended an offer sheet to restricted free agent Carl Landry. Per team policy, terms were not disclosed.

In accordance with the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Landry’s current team, the Houston Rockets, will have seven days to decide whether to match the offer.

“Landry is an emerging NBA talent, as evidenced by his play over the final 42 regular-season games and into the Rockets first-round playoff appearance,” Higgins said. “His ability to play both the power forward and center position will complement our post play.” - Higgins of the Charlotte Bobcats