Brent Barry signs with Houston Rockets.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Barry a quiet move that could turn out big for Rockets

July 10, 2008, 11:59PM
COMMENTARY
By RICHARD JUSTICE

THE Rockets see Brent Barry as the first guy off the bench and potentially playing the point at the end of games. In those situations, they could have five scorers on the floor.

They love his passing skills. He has averaged more than five assists three different seasons.

They like the fact he has two championship rings and see him as a calming influence on the floor and off.

They think his personality, his professionalism, will fit nicely in a locker room that's already as solid as any.

They like his versatility. Depending on the matchup, he could get his minutes at small forward, off-guard or the point. He's right for Rick Adelman's system.

Now to the real reason the Rockets pursued Brent Barry twice in four months. These weren't just casual pursuits, either.

General manager Daryl Morey flew to Southern California last week with a full-court sales pitch. There were phone calls from Adelman, Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, etc.

There was even a re-release of the video the Rockets prepared for Barry when he was let go by the Sonics last March. That one had an assortment of local athletes, including Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, urging Barry to join the Rockets.

Barry turned down the Rockets (and Celtics and Suns) to rejoin the Spurs for what he thought would be another title run.

But when the NBA's free-agent marketplace opened last week, Morey was right back at it.

He had interest in others, including Corey Maggette (who went for the bigger money in Golden State), but believed Barry would be a very nice fit.

Hardly a 'wow' move
If you're underwhelmed by the signing of a 36-year-old swingman, that's OK. Championship teams are constructed of a variety of pieces, and not all of them will have a "wow" factor.

Morey understands there's a gamble in signing an older player because it's impossible to know how much he has left in the tank. Yet as he surveyed the landscape, as he weighed what the Rockets had and what they needed, he became more and more sold on Barry.

Morey has earned the right to be given the benefit of the doubt after last summer's trades got the Rockets Luis Scola and Carl Landry.

In the end, this season will again be about McGrady and Yao staying healthy. If they're both playing at a high level in the playoffs, the Rockets have a chance to finally get beyond the opening round.

It would be silly to predict more than that after the flameouts of recent years.

About the safest thing to say is that the Rockets are better with Barry than they are without him.

He's an elite shooter on a team that was 25th in the NBA in 3-point shooting last season.

If he's losing his touch, it didn't show last season when he shot 42.9 percent from 3-point range. That's slightly above his career 41-percent average.

The Rockets shot just 34 percent from beyond the arc last season. Only one player, Steve Novak, shot better than Barry, and he's a defensive liability. He'll probably be traded as Morey trims his roster before the start of training camp.

At the moment, Adelman's eight-man rotation seems likely to have Yao, McGrady, Scola, Shane Battier, and Rafer Alston back in the starting lineup and Barry, Landry and Aaron Brooks as the top contributors off the bench.

Is he Mr. Right?
About the only dramatic change could be if Morey gets an offer for Battier he can't refuse. No other Rocket is close in terms of being coveted by other teams.

It gets interesting after that. Morey has gotten nowhere in negotiating a new deal with Dikembe Mutombo and seems comfortable going without a bona fide backup center.

Adelman was happy with Scola, Landry and Chuck Hayes rotating in the post last season. The Rockets believe rookie Joey Dorsey will contribute in the low post as well.

Those are all nice discussions for another day. If Barry does the things he has done for most of his career, he'll be an important addition.

Morey signed him to a two-year contract, but he's not thinking nearly that far down the road. The window is closing on the Yao-McGrady era.

So far they've failed to deliver on the optimism of that day four years ago when they first stepped on the floor together.

Maybe this is the season they both stay healthy, and maybe this is the season they finally play deep into the playoffs.

Battier turned out to be a more important addition than almost anyone thought. Scola and Landry were pleasant surprises. Maybe Barry will be the right guy at the right time.




Not a bad move.

[Don Jacob]

move is meaningless

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

Good thing Jake isnt a GM. lol. Its not always the blockbuster trades and signings that make teams better lol. Smart GMs know how to buiild with role players around their current stars. Too many big pickups = problems. *see LA Lakers with Kobe, Karl Malone, GP, Shaq.

[Don Jacob]

Good thing Jake isnt a GM. lol. Its not always the blockbuster trades and signings that make teams better lol. Smart GMs know how to buiild with role players around their current stars. Too many big pickups = problems. *see LA Lakers with Kobe, Karl Malone, GP, Shaq.

brent barry will make houston no better than they are already...he's old and is lacking. He's not that big of a deal.

[OG Hack Wilson]

very important move

[GangstaBoogy]

Barry is a great role player to have but I really don't see what he does for the Rockets.

[S P I C E]

move is meaningless

Yeah thankfully you arent a GM, I would hate to be a fan of that team

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

Good thing Jake isnt a GM. lol. Its not always the blockbuster trades and signings that make teams better lol. Smart GMs know how to buiild with role players around their current stars. Too many big pickups = problems. *see LA Lakers with Kobe, Karl Malone, GP, Shaq.

brent barry will make houston no better than they are already...he's old and is lacking. He's not that big of a deal.

have you actually watched him play? LOL. His minutes were completely limited all year due to injury. But he's still a deadly three point shooter, a good passer, has a very high basketball IQ on the floor, and still a decent slasher. I woulda loved to keep him on the Spurs.

[S P I C E]

^^Its Jake man,  he knows his NFL but when it comes to Basketball and Baseball the guy is clueless.

[OG Hack Wilson]

this move puts the Rockets to the top of the Western conference!!!

[Don Jacob]

robert horry is one of the all time greatest cluth players, a crafty defender, and an awesome passer . not to mention he opens up the court..........however his age makes him meaningless now because a half way decent defender can shut that down. with that said....

how old is brent barry 37/38 years old? yes he can shoot the three but he's going to be taking a  backseat to


T-mac
Bobby Jackson
steve francis
Rafer Alston
and probably Shane Battier

that's why i say he's not going to do much for this team......everyone up there is younger  and save for injury i don't really see him making a big splash. They can all pretty much do what brent can do, but better (save francis , but he'll get more touches and time)

in san antonio he was more valuable because he was playing behind Finley and Ginobili.......Finley is old, and you could play brent off of ginobli and use him as a reserve for bowen (due to lack of a 3 on the bench)


Houston however has better options at the 2 and 3. Is brent some kind of "insurance" for the inevitable tracy mcgrady back injury or something?? lol get outta here

Barry outside rang may have been a key asset to another team....but in houston he's just a body on the bench, a practice player for the starters, collecting a paycheck. Houston takes the L to Utah again.

[Citizen-Y]

robert horry is one of the all time greatest cluth players, a crafty defender, and an awesome passer . not to mention he opens up the court..........however his age makes him meaningless now because a half way decent defender can shut that down. with that said....

how old is brent barry 37/38 years old? yes he can shoot the three but he's going to be taking a  backseat to


T-mac
Bobby Jackson
steve francis
Rafer Alston
and probably Shane Battier

that's why i say he's not going to do much for this team......everyone up there is younger  and save for injury i don't really see him making a big splash. They can all pretty much do what brent can do, but better (save francis , but he'll get more touches and time)

in san antonio he was more valuable because he was playing behind Finley and Ginobili.......Finley is old, and you could play brent off of ginobli and use him as a reserve for bowen (due to lack of a 3 on the bench)


Houston however has better options at the 2 and 3. Is brent some kind of "insurance" for the inevitable tracy mcgrady back injury or something?? lol get outta here

Barry outside rang may have been a key asset to another team....but in houston he's just a body on the bench, a practice player for the starters, collecting a paycheck. Houston takes the L to Utah again.

The Rockets 3 point shooting goes from decent to dreadful by the time the playoffs come around.  Barry is a 40% three point shooter and will be a key factor off the bench come playoff time.  Their only other "ace" three point specialists are Luther Head who disappears in the playoffs and Steve Novak who can't see the court since he can't play D.