2004 Houston Rockets Press Conference

[78#]

In attendance:

GM - 78
Head Coach - Hersey Hawkins
Center - Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Power Forward - Chris Webber
Wing - Shandon Anderson
Guard -Jason Kidd

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78:
Thank you for coming here today. Last season we ended a six year playoff drought going 46-36 and finishing 6th in the Western Conference. Despite our loss in the 1st round to the Clippers, we felt last season was a bit of a breakthrough with having a winning record and making the playoffs.

This season, we are expecting much more with the additions we have made. We first acquired Jason Kidd and Austin Croshere in a trade with the Lakers for Antonio Daniels and a future 1st. Before we get into the trade, I would like to thank Antonio Daniels for his performance last season. His addition was the biggest reason for ending our playoff drought. We also want to thank David Robinson for his contributions the last two seasons. He was a true professional and provided us with strong production. We will miss him, but he has a place in this organization whenever he wants.

Back to the trade, we really expect Jason to help complete our team with his play-making, scoring, rebounding, and defense. He's been on of the best players in PBSL history winning 2 championships with the Lakers, 2 Playoff MVPs including just last season, numerous All-Star appearances and First Team All-Defenses. We're really hoping he can help take our franchise to the next step.

Next, we used all of our available cap room to sign Shandon Anderson to a 3 year contract. He's coming off a very fine season with the Heat and expect him to be the wing scorer and wing defender we've been lacking since Hersey Hawkins in the mid 90s. His presence will make it very hard to just focus on Jason and our starting frontcourt. We were "very fortunate" that Shandon signed with us before our cap space was used up.

Which takes us to our last big move where we used our Bird Rights to re-sign Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a max 5-year deal. Big Z has been one of the best centers in the league since we acquired him a few years ago and finished 2nd team All-NBA last season. He's been a four-time All-Star since we acquired him and has been a true face of the franchise.

Next we have Coach Hawkins who will go over the rotation for the start of the season.

Hersey Hawkins::
Thanks for having me here. Anyway, I feel very fortunate coaching the team we have where we have very talented and very experienced players who know what to do on the floor without much direction. My job is to make sure I put them in the best position to succeed and let them do what they do best which is produce and win. Our starting lineup is pretty straightforward so I'll get started.

1) Big Z will be our starting center. No brainer. All-Star and top tier center. Arguably our best player last season. We expect more of the same.

2) Chris Webber will be our starting power forward. He can still do it all with his inside scoring, outside shooting, passing, rebounding, and post defense. We expect him to come back strong this season.

3) Shandon Anderson will be our starting small forward. He gives us a wing scorer who can create his own shot and take pressure off of our big men and compliment Jason in the backcourt. He will get minutes at shooting guard as well when we bring Croshere off the bench.

4) Tyrone Nesby is back and will be our starting shooting guard this season. He's a solid player who comes to work with a hard hat and does everything fairly well. Plus he brings good team chemistry after being here all of last season.

5) Obviously Jason Kidd will handle the point guard duties. We know what to expect from him. He brings another excellent passer next to CWebb and we expect him to lead our team in assists this season where last season CWebb was our top assist guy.

Next we go to the bench where we have only 3 guys right now in the consistent rotation. Things can change during the season, but for now here we go.

1) We're gonna go with John Wallace as our backup center. He doesn't have the usual size for a center, but he's strong, can jump well, as does alot of things well as an inside player. We expect quality minutes from him.

2) Austin Croshere will be the backup power forward and small forward. He gives us perimeter shooting, rebound, good defense, and toughness.

3) Randy Livingston will be the primary backup at point guard and will get minutes at shooting guard as well. He was a surprise contributor last season with his ball-handling and perimeter defense. We expect more of the same with him.

I'm gonna give it back to 78 now.

78:
Now we're gonna have the players say a few words before we begin with questions. Starting with Jason.

Jason Kidd:
Thanks for having me here. Really excited to join these guys after winning a championship just last season. I had a great five years in LA with three Finals appearance and two championships, but now trying to bring more success to this city and organization. It helps to have two of the premier bigmen in the league with Big Z and CWebb as well as an exciting wing performer in Shandon. We think we can do alot of great things with this team and I think we will.

Shandon Anderson:
Very excited to be here. Not everyday you get to start with three future Hall of Famers which should open up things for me on the offensive end of the floor while staying aggressive defensively. I know the team needed me to sign quickly so they gave me a strong offer which I couldn't refuse especially being able to join CWebb and Jason. It just happened I signed before Big Z and once I did, the team had the opportunity to bring back Big Z.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas:
I'm sure there are some who are surprised I re-signed this time around, but times have changed. I've had a great four and a half years here. The team, city, and fans have been great, and the organization has continued to improve. First CWebb came and then last season we brought in Antonio who helped us get into the playoffs and now we have Jason and Shandon. Really excited for myself as well as our fans who have seen the team go through some tough times before last season. I know we can all compliment each other and can't wait for the season to start.

Chris Webber:
Well, I wasn't gonna go anywhere in free agency (laughter), but I'm glad the team didn't trade me either (more laughter). Just seeing Jason and Shandon come and Big Z return has really changed expectations for the better. Having Jason on the floor will make all of us better on both ends of the floor. I just hope I can do my fair share of the load to keep up with everyone else. Having a guy like Big Z next to you makes it easier to sleep at night. He's definitely been a true rock on and off the court. Having Shandon gives us that wing score we've been lacking and really opens up our offense.

Before we start questions, we have a demonstration to show regarding our team

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We can begin with questions now.

[Xist2Inspire]

Random Reporter: Is it "Championship or Bust" in Houston for the time being? How long are you planning to fight with the tax?

[78#]

Random Reporter: Is it "Championship or Bust" in Houston for the time being? How long are you planning to fight with the tax?

78:
We just wanted to improve from last season. Obviously the goal is try to go as far as possible, but the moves we made were done because we felt that was in the organization's best interest. I don't think starting over so quickly was an option and staying stagnant wasn't feasible either. We were fortunate to be in the position we were to build this team.

As far as the tax goes, we don't have a state income tax in Texas so we'll be fine.

BTW, I hope you got to see our demonstration before you placed your question.

[JNR]

GWR: Jason, this question is for you. You were pretty much 1 and 1a with Kevin Garnett in LA. In Houston, Big Z and Webber are 1 and 1a. Do you think this puts extra pressure on you to change your role, or relieve pressure that you have such potent offensive weapons?

[78#]

GWR: Jason, this question is for you. You were pretty much 1 and 1a with Kevin Garnett in LA. In Houston, Big Z and Webber are 1 and 1a. Do you think this puts extra pressure on you to change your role, or relieve pressure that you have such potent offensive weapons?

Chris Webber:
I'll speak for Jason. He's a 1 whereever he plays (laughter). I'll be the 1c or whatever it takes (more laughter).

Jason Kidd:
(Laughing). I'll say this, at my "old" age I could use all the help I can get. I'll be number four behind these three guys. My job is to get these guys points and I'll make sure its get done whether I score or not.

[Conroy]

Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, how concerned with your depth are you? You're starters are extremely talented, if one of them goes down with an injury it appears the dropoff would be significant.

[78#]

Sports Guy Bill Simmons here, how concerned with your depth are you? You're starters are extremely talented, if one of them goes down with an injury it appears the dropoff would be significant.

Obviously losing one of our key guys would hurt though we have solid backups. We also expect our big guns to take up the slack in case one person gets hurt.


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