ranking us as only 14th best. Of course he doesn't mention resigning C-Bill and AJ but as all Pistons fans know this guy has hated the Pistons for a very long time.

He did however have something interesting to say about Hot Rod.

However it was a back handed compliment saying that Pistons fans would like Hot Rod, implying that the rest of the league wouldn't think too much of him and stating the Pistons second unit would now have a guard "who can actually score once in a while".

Full quote

For some reason, beyond my ability to comprehend, he thinks Houston made the best moves this summer. After reading what he wrote about Houston I am not even going to try and understand his logic.

ESPN - Hollinger: Who's improved for 2007-08? - NBA

Houston did have a great offseason. They get Scola, Butler, and Mike James for pretty much nothing. James was bad last year, but he was very good before that and he's already played in Houston so they know what he will bring. Scola is a quality starting PF on a team that didn't have one. Butler has potential and is a good gamble at backup C. They needed a coaching change too.

Not sure about their draft, but they've made some very nice moves otherwise.

James is the best of a 3 bums.

James has been retreaded so many times they can't find the original

The other guys are worthless.

Comment about Wells was stupid. Wells has always been a head case and always will.

Houston's off season moves were zero.

James had one career year two years ago.

I think how Houston's offseason shakes out will depend upon how NBA-ready Scola is. If he comes here and is outworked, outsized and out-quicked then it will be a problem.

J. Howard gone 10 PPG and 6 RPG
M. James in (8th team in 7 years) 10 PPG and 4 APG

That is a wash at best.

The other adds are meaningless.

Is he better than AJ?

Scola is about the same size as AJ. Scola is listed at 6'9" and 230lbs. So AJ is probably taller by and 1 - 2 inches and maybe 10bls lighter at the most.

Would any Pistons fan on this forum trade AJ for Scola?

Roscoe:

Scola is 27 and will be 28 next spring.

Do you know of any European players that have come to the NBA at that age or older and had a major impact?

There must be a few. I can't recall any right now.

Can you?

Thanks

What about Sabonis? He was in his 30's when he came to the NBA.

He did not have a significant impact. He was hurt most of the time. He only had one year that he played over 1,800 minutes or scored over 15 PPG or had over 10RPG. That was his third year when he averaged career bests of 16 points and 10 boards. None of his other years came close to those numbers which weren't even that great.

He was a great Russian player who came to the NBA and become a mediocre run of the mill big man.

Arvydas Sabonis Statistics - Basketball-Reference.com