Rick Adelman: "We're without our two best"

[Clutch]

(STUPID) Media Question: "Coach, do you think that not only blew an opportunity but you know, they're without their best player -- is that kind of frustrating that you couldn't get a win?"

Adelman: "We're without our two best, so .... I don't feel sorry for them." (walks off) "They're a good team."

<HR>

TWO best? Did it seem strange to you that Adelman would say the Rockets are missing their "two best" players when they're public about trading T-Mac and have admitted he's nowhere near the player he once was? Was he talking about Aaron Brooks being in foul trouble?

[lost_elephant]

Thats pretty bizarre...maybe with our recent skid...he's starting to miss McGrady. Bleh.

[Tfj4]

He was talking about Brian Cook and Jermaine Taylor....

[leebigez]

I caught that too

[napalm_black]

I'll be glad to see McGrady go, but I do miss him. Am I crazy?

[LardLad]

Who was the idiot who asked this incredibly stupid question? Adelman should have:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b2nPPGRg0c8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b2nPPGRg0c8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[anchel]

http://www.creepygif.com/images/full/509.gif

[11Rox4Life3]

that's funny.

[saleem]

Tracy is no where near to what he once was,but I think Adelman was referring to Yao and him,at their best.

[amaru]

Despite all of his issues, there is no disputing that McGrady was the 2nd most talented player on this roster in the past 3-4 years.

[sephiroth.hk]

(STUPID) Media Question: "Coach, do you think that not only blew an opportunity but you know, they're without their best player -- is that kind of frustrating that you couldn't get a win?"

Adelman: "We're without our two best, so .... I don't feel sorry for them." (walks off) "They're a good team."

<HR>

Funny.. Adelman...... Sure that you dont feel sorry.

[Hball]

Thats pretty bizarre...maybe with our recent skid...he's starting to miss McGrady. Bleh.
No way he has Ariza and his Princeton offense, why would he miss the ball-stopping mcgrady :cool:

[TracyMacAddidas]

Umm ok so now McGrady's "our best"? He's on the bench and HE CAN PLAY RICK. Trade him or play him because we need to do something, this team is crumbling.

[J.R.]

You're without one because YOU wanted him gone and said you couldn't find minutes for him. Keep plugging and chugging along Rick.

[RocketMania1991]

Rockets truly screwed themselves over by mishandling the Mcgrady situation.

Nobody even cares about Mcgrady performance it's soley about the contract. Had he come back onto the court and been able to average say 20PPG at a nice percentage his value would of sky rocketed for contenders.

Nice one Les/Morey.

[rocketsmetalspd]

I was elated with the win in SA and now it all has been a nightmare. I am hoping for a better turn of events with the next 3 home games. Need to take all three of them.

[J.Will.Xu]

I'll be glad to see McGrady go, but I do miss him. Am I crazy?
I'm in the same position where you at. Miss him when watching our recent performance down the stretch, weak finish to the end of the game.

[TracyMacAddidas]

Rockets truly screwed themselves over by mishandling the Mcgrady situation.

Nobody even cares about Mcgrady performance it's soley about the contract. Had he come back onto the court and been able to average say 20PPG at a nice percentage his value would of sky rocketed for contenders.

Nice one Les/Morey.

It's not entirely all Les or Morey, Rick's the one who doesn't want to play McGrady.

[RocketMania1991]

It's not entirely all Les or Morey, Rick's the one who doesn't want to play McGrady.

Oops forgot to include his name in there. After all he is the head coach.

Thanks !

[Hball]

Rockets truly screwed themselves over by mishandling the Mcgrady situation.

Nobody even cares about Mcgrady performance it's soley about the contract. Had he come back onto the court and been able to average say 20PPG at a nice percentage his value would of sky rocketed for contenders.

Nice one Les/Morey.
No way Morey's a genius :cool:

[Shaud]

Well pretty obvious he is referring to the two highest paid players on the team who is not playing for this team. Even if McGrady isn't the same player he is getting paid like he is which hurt the team since he's not playing.

[Scarface281]

Les/Adelman/Morey have royally messed up with the McGrady situation. I was always against them not giving him more minutes. McGrady should have been a little more patient, but I'm willing to bet that he's laughing his ass off right now in his Chicago condo.

[acsorelle4]

(STUPID)TWO best? Did it seem strange to you that Adelman would say the Rockets are missing their "two best" players when they're public about trading T-Mac and have admitted he's nowhere near the player he once was? Was he talking about Aaron Brooks being in foul trouble?

Brian Cook's hip flexor isn't messed up again is it?

[clos4life]

Rockets truly screwed themselves over by mishandling the Mcgrady situation.

Nobody even cares about Mcgrady performance it's soley about the contract. Had he come back onto the court and been able to average say 20PPG at a nice percentage his value would of sky rocketed for contenders.

Nice one Les/Morey.

I would blame this on Rick. Morey/Les were letting Rick handle the situation. Rick completely bungled it, Morey/Les just supported his coach.

That being said, I've been saying since they banned him from being around the team that it was a stupid choice. T-Mac even on one leg could still have helped this team. To be honest, this is the first major mistake Rick has made as a coach for this team.

I feel sorry for us as fans and the other team players but I don't feel sorry for the organization. I put the blame squarely on them.

[istream]

To reinforce the irony, it was Adelman who decided not to play Tmac after his rehab from surgery thinking he was not up to par to the players on the roster. Now today, maybe without thinking straight after a disappointing loss, states clearly that Tmac was a top two player on the team. Hmm, Adelman you are getting old and have never been able to win an NBA Finals. I think this helps explains why because you didnt even know that one of your 'two best' was ready to give it his all this season in order to get a new contract. I guess Adelman deserves that contract expiration after all? Fire him please

[potato head]

really, it's okay that we don't have mcgrady.

[Air Langhi]

Despite all of his issues, there is no disputing that McGrady was the 2nd most talented player on this roster in the past 3-4 years.

Tmac was always the most talented.

[sephiroth.hk]

You're without one because YOU wanted him gone and said you couldn't find minutes for him. Keep plugging and chugging along Rick.

It is very funny.
He forgot that he said that someone will break his team's chemistry. :grin:

[v3.0]

Adelman should have just said "C'mon man, give them some ****ing credit, for real..."

Adelman was perturbed because while it was a stupid captain obvious question, it cuts to the heart of the matter that we can't beat a team without their best player. Adelman knows this and just pulled out the 2 best players comment to deflect the crux of the question. And that is "are we really good enough of a team as is?"

[J.R.]

I would blame this on Rick. Morey/Les were letting Rick handle the situation. Rick completely bungled it, Morey/Les just supported his coach.

That being said, I've been saying since they banned him from being around the team that it was a stupid choice. T-Mac even on one leg could still have helped this team. To be honest, this is the first major mistake Rick has made as a coach for this team.

I feel sorry for us as fans and the other team players but I don't feel sorry for the organization. I put the blame squarely on them.

Maybe 2nd. 1st could be keeping Ariza out there for 39 minutes a night letting him take any shot he wants when he wants or maybe promising him a "featured role" or prominent role.

[Craftx5]

(STUPID) Media Question: "Coach, do you think that not only blew an opportunity but you know, they're without their best player -- is that kind of frustrating that you couldn't get a win?"

Adelman: "We're without our two best, so .... I don't feel sorry for them." (walks off) "They're a good team."

<HR>

TWO best? Did it seem strange to you that Adelman would say the Rockets are missing their "two best" players when they're public about trading T-Mac and have admitted he's nowhere near the player he once was? Was he talking about Aaron Brooks being in foul trouble?


You know I really love that Adelman said that. I feel like people this season have truly forgotten about Yao. McGrady, I guess you could possibly say he was talking about him. But it could have been Brooks as well due to not getting too much playing time tonight.

[TracyMacAddidas]

Personally I think this situation was mishandled horribly. Not only do we need scroing (which McGrady could still provide) but now we can't even show him off for the deadline because it's already too late. Everyone's like "Morey do this trade! Why hasn't he pulled the trigger!? Iggy! Bosh! Somebody!". We CANNOT trade McGrady if he has had little to NO minutes this season, no matter how attractive his expiring contract is.

They screwed up. Royally.

I think DoD has a siggy where it says something about Artest being a Trojan horse or something like that, have you ever thought Ariza might be the Trojan horse?

[Tfor3]

Tracy is no where near to what he once was,but I think Adelman was referring to Yao and him,at their best.

He's referring to their 2 best players via contract dollars that have NOT played at all this season--Yao and mac. It's not referring to AB's lmtd play due to foul trouble.

[pdewalt]

It's not entirely all Les or Morey, Rick's the one who doesn't want to play McGrady.

Isn't it funny how the elephant is back in the room? This is the bed that they, the team, chose to make and they deserve it. If Morey makes something out of T-Mac's contract I will be totally surprised now. I give you-know-who credit for not commenting to the press yet. I think people didn't give him enough credit but hey we have a tough, scrappy, chemistry filled team! :rolleyes:

[Scottay]

I would blame this on Rick. Morey/Les were letting Rick handle the situation. Rick completely bungled it, Morey/Les just supported his coach.

That being said, I've been saying since they banned him from being around the team that it was a stupid choice. T-Mac even on one leg could still have helped this team. To be honest, this is the first major mistake Rick has made as a coach for this team.

I feel sorry for us as fans and the other team players but I don't feel sorry for the organization. I put the blame squarely on them.

Did you even watch last season? He played on one leg and got schooled nightly. We could have used him last year during a title run, but where was he? Ah yes, getting surgery that took multiple doc's to finally get clearance for. DO NOT NEED this season (or any, for that matter) as a borderline playoff team.

[JeopardE]

He's referring to their 2 best players via contract dollars.

New York called to say hi.

(they might also be interested in a trade)

[Ziggy]

It just sounded better. How is this to make our slumping defense look better... "we lost 2 former defensive players of the year (Artest and Mutombo) and one of the most underrated defensive forces in Yao Ming, of course our defense has taken a hit". That's right, 2 former DPOYs are GONE! We lost 2!

[J.R.]

Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, Rick lookin' like a fool with his pants on the ground.

[TracyMacAddidas]

Did you even watch last season? He played on one leg and got schooled nightly. We could have used him last year during a title run, but where was he? Ah yes, getting surgery that took multiple doc's to finally get clearance for. DO NOT NEED this season (or any, for that matter) as a borderline playoff team.

T-Mac on one leg was better than Ariza on offense. Not even close. Last year we had Artard and Battier (who had more action last season despite not starting) which would balance our defensive woes with McGrady in the game.

[LifeisButaDream]

:mad: AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT SEES WHATS REALLY GOING ON.WE DON'T WHAT TO WIN THIS YEAR.DM AND RA ARE NOT THIS RETARDED.THINK PEOPLE :mad:

[brian_chapman]

No way Morey's a genius :cool:
about your sig, I cant figure out why Morey would want Tmac to prove the Rockes wrong. If Tmac proves Morey wrong,then Morey made mistake,is it just lip service? What of gm trades a player,then hopes that player plays great to prove him wrong in trading him?

[PeterKingX]

Personally I think this situation was mishandled horribly. Not only do we need scroing (which McGrady could still provide) but now we can't even show him off for the deadline because it's already too late. Everyone's like "Morey do this trade! Why hasn't he pulled the trigger!? Iggy! Bosh! Somebody!". We CANNOT trade McGrady if he has had little to NO minutes this season, no matter how attractive his expiring contract is.

They screwed up. Royally.

I think DoD has a siggy where it says something about Artest being a Trojan horse or something like that, have you ever thought Ariza might be the Trojan horse?

This is the best comment I have ever seen...

[engr_alex]

I would blame this on Rick. Morey/Les were letting Rick handle the situation. Rick completely bungled it, Morey/Les just supported his coach.

That being said, I've been saying since they banned him from being around the team that it was a stupid choice. T-Mac even on one leg could still have helped this team. To be honest, this is the first major mistake Rick has made as a coach for this team.

I feel sorry for us as fans and the other team players but I don't feel sorry for the organization. I put the blame squarely on them.

i would blame it on rick and morey.

morey wanted tmac gone since last year hence the trade for vince carter. and rick wouldnt want to play tmac this season because everything was great at the start of the season and he was coaching for an extension.

les just let things happen. he had trust in morey and in rick. they were the ones making the decisions.

that's why we see morey getting pissed all of the time because things arent turning out the way he expects things to be: ariza isnt what they thought he'd be, dorsey still sucks, chase is stuck in a rut, AB still cant run a team, and he cant get a buyer for tmac.

and just like every tmac hater here says all the time, "they made their bed. they should go lie in it".

[knote32]

Les/Adelman/Morey have royally messed up with the McGrady situation. I was always against them not giving him more minutes. McGrady should have been a little more patient, but I'm willing to bet that he's laughing his ass off right now in his Chicago condo.
You know what, that is exactly what I see Stacy doing...


Good Riddance...

[brian_chapman]

:mad: AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT SEES WHATS REALLY GOING ON.WE DON'T WHAT TO WIN THIS YEAR.DM AND RA ARE NOT THIS RETARDED.THINK PEOPLE :mad:
hummm,conspiracy theory: tmac was doing good in practice,Les or Morey wants a lotto pick,they limit Tmac to 7 minutes so he doesnt help win games,then trade him but now RA is saying we are missing two players? Sounds like Rick wanted Tmac but was forced to play him 7 minutes by higher ups.

Why 7 minutes you ask? To prevent injury so he can be traded,playing 33mpg would likely end in injury before deadline. Tmac balked at 7 so he is kicked off team.

[ryano2009]

Tracy is no where near to what he once was,but I think Adelman was referring to Yao and him,at their best.


ha ??? :confused: :confused:

[larsv8]

I don't particularily like McGrady, but only a fool would suggest this squad is better without him. (yes even the current version)

This just further suggests that management wanted him gone due to pride and Adelman was just "playing nice w/ management" when he suggested McGrady wasnt the player he once was.

[paulnhbtx]

We have 26 million sitting at home..

T-mac could be playing contributing to the team.

The Rockets would rather have him sit and not let any teams see him play...

I don't understand....

We don't play him cause we are going to to trade him yet he is not playing...

How are we going to entice anyone?

We really need change or we will not make the playoffs.....

[Blurr#7]

We have 26 million sitting at home..

T-mac could be playing contributing to the team.

The Rockets would rather have him sit and not let any teams see him play...

I don't understand....

We don't play him cause we are going to to trade him yet he is not playing...

How are we going to entice anyone?

We really need change or we will not make the playoffs.....

Stop watching and crawl back in your hole. While you're at it stop posting here.

[albendei]

Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, Rick lookin' like a fool with his pants on the ground.

lol at the american idol reference! Anyone else got this? lolol!

[Madeinchin4]

We have 26 million sitting at home..

T-mac could be playing contributing to the team.

The Rockets would rather have him sit and not let any teams see him play...

I don't understand....

We don't play him cause we are going to to trade him yet he is not playing...

How are we going to entice anyone?

We really need change or we will not make the playoffs.....


i think we get 80% of his per/game salary each game he sits out.

[Madeinchin4]

from insurance

[J.R.]

Lock/merge this ish. There were already some knee-jerk threads out there. Surprised you didn't see them. Also, follow Blurr's advice.

[TheRealist137]

Rockets mishandled the McGrady situation no doubt about it, although McGrady at the same time could have been more patient. Either way, the Rockets could have used McGrady these past few weeks.

[Randy_Franklin]

We have 26 million sitting at home..

T-mac could be playing contributing to the team.

The Rockets would rather have him sit and not let any teams see him play...

I don't understand....

We don't play him cause we are going to to trade him yet he is not playing...

How are we going to entice anyone?

We really need change or we will not make the playoffs.....


http://blog.internetnews.com/apatrizio/orly_owl.jpg

[paulnhbtx]

you all have your opinions, I have mine....

bottom line is we continue to lose games....

[Rehabstudios]

Even if TMac is still one of the top two players on this team but not willing to play within the confines of the offense, then he needed to go. So RA is not wrong and didn't make a bad choice if thats the case.

I tell all my employees I dont care if you are the best at your position and sell more than everyone combined, if you aren't a good employee also(works well with others, follows instructions, dependable, 100% effort) then they can go. If you have every managed people you should understand.

[JeopardE]

I don't particularily like McGrady, but only a fool would suggest this squad is better without him. (yes even the current version)
.

Really? But everybody and their mother from Connecticut to ClutchFans.NET was repeating this very mantra nonstop all season long ... until they slowly began to realize what a giant bag of suck Trevor Ariza is, of course.

[Omer]

i think we get 80% of his per/game salary each game he sits out.

Why would we still be getting 80% of his salary when he is healthy and is not playing only because coach doesn't want to play him?

I don't think insurance would pay for that.

[J.R.]

Pretty sure insurance isn't paying. He is healthy enough to be playing.

[PeppermintCandy]

Well, since Ariza played a decent game tonight, I guess there's got to be something else to complain about.

[Rehabstudios]

TMac is a cancer even if he has game left, he doesn't need to be anywhere around our team. He doesn't care about winning games right now either he just wants to pad stats for a new contract next year.

[PeterKingX]

What's the target about rockets this season?
Playoffs or developing players potential?
I don't know.
if we are playing for playoffs, please put TMac on the court...
Tmac offensively won't be any worse than Ariza out there.
developing young players potential is another story...
just prepare for the John Wall....

[larsv8]

Really? But everybody and their mother from Connecticut to ClutchFans.NET was repeating this very mantra nonstop all season long ... until they slowly began to realize what a giant bag of suck Trevor Ariza is, of course.

Guess they should of listened to me, Tmac_1, Leeb, and all the other people who actually looked at the situation objectively instead falling in line behind the torch bearers. :rolleyes:

[B-Bob]

you all have your opinions, I have mine....

yeah, and when we have opinions so overwhelmingly unoriginal, we post them in an existing thread. I wish zero star ratings were possible.

You should get negative rep for each of the existing threads this simple post of yours could have appeared in. That's about 107 existing threads.

[napalm_black]

Really? But everybody and their mother from Connecticut to ClutchFans.NET was repeating this very mantra nonstop all season long ... until they slowly began to realize what a giant bag of suck Trevor Ariza is, of course.
You mean repeating something thousands of times doesn't make it more correct?

[rocketsregle]

Guess they should of listened to me, Tmac_1, Leeb, and all the other people who actually looked at the situation objectively instead falling in line behind the torch bearers. :rolleyes:

I rather listen to Clutch and all the insiders myself.

[v3.0]

yeah, and when we have opinions so overwhelmingly unoriginal, we post them in an existing thread. I wish zero star ratings were possible.

You should get negative rep for each of the existing threads this simple post of yours could have appeared in. That's about 107 existing threads.
This.

word of advice for members, just because you have ability to make threads doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea to start one just to vent thoughts that many other members have done in existing threads

[pumbum]

We have 26 million sitting at home..

T-mac could be playing contributing to the team.

The Rockets would rather have him sit and not let any teams see him play...

I don't understand....

We don't play him cause we are going to to trade him yet he is not playing...

How are we going to entice anyone?

We really need change or we will not make the playoffs.....

i agree.

thats the queue for morey worshipers to defend how tmac is being handled.

this just in morey nation - the rockets aren't any good. ariza is NOT tmac, budinger is average, aaron brooks and carl landry are not superstars, the battier for gay trade was dumb from day 1, and tmac isnt playing because he "doesnt fit". yao will not fit this system either. this style is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. RA is NOT coach of the year - a smart coach would incorporate or at the very least ATTEMPT to incorporate a Tracy McGrady.

[RocketMania1991]

Even if TMac is still one of the top two players on this team but not willing to play within the confines of the offense, then he needed to go. So RA is not wrong and didn't make a bad choice if thats the case.

I tell all my employees I dont care if you are the best at your position and sell more than everyone combined, if you aren't a good employee also(works well with others, follows instructions, dependable, 100% effort) then they can go. If you have every managed people you should understand.

"Play within the confines of the offense"

If Ariza can somehow cut it in Ricks offense Mcgrady will look like Superman.

[cuddie]

A few months ago: NO HE'LL RUIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP SQUAD WE HAVE ASSEMBLED

Today: HE IS ONE OF THE TWO BEST PLAYERS ON THIS TEAM

[Ramathorn006]

We have 26 million sitting at home..

T-mac could be playing contributing to the team.

The Rockets would rather have him sit and not let any teams see him play...

I don't understand....

We don't play him cause we are going to to trade him yet he is not playing...

How are we going to entice anyone?

We really need change or we will not make the playoffs.....

Wow? Did you know Shaq is on the Cavs now as well?

Oh and the Magic traded for Vince Carter.

Dude, tell us something we dont already know lol.

[alethios]

IIRC, the Rockets were rolling pretty good during the stint Tmac played, so the prevailing feeling was that we didn't need him. It's just bad timing that right after he got kicked to the curb that the Rox started tanking.

This is a leader-less team right now and the identity is getting lost.

[Rocket River]

Even If TMAC was on the team . .he is NOT TMAC of Old
so
he would STILL be missing his TWO BEST Players
[not to mention AB in foul trouble]

Rocket River

[sephiroth.hk]

TMac is a cancer even if he has game left, he doesn't need to be anywhere around our team. He doesn't care about winning games right now either he just wants to pad stats for a new contract next year.

The result told us that When Tmac sit on the bench or play 7 minates,
the guys play more hard and better. :grin:

[apollo33]

i honestly wanna see tmac on the court again..

am i the only one thats sick of watching our messy offence

[RV6]

he's right!!! Let's throw tmac out there so he can break his leg, that'll have every single team calling us!!

C'mon now...if you KNOW you're trading a player the last thing you need or want is for him to get injured. Some teams may not want him necessarily for his play, but it doesnt look good to trade for an injured guy to sit him the rest of the season. Plus they can use that as leverage since he won't be able to contribute at all...

[ROXTXIA]

The Rockets ARE without their two best players. Okay, so Tmac wasn't going to be part of the equation this year. How SHOULD Rick and Morey have handled it? Tmac screwed over the team and in any case has no future with the team. What should they have done, let Tmac come back and get hurt again and have absolutely no trade value whatsoever? Hurt himself again?

There was no way for all this to go down smooth and easy.

When Morey said No one is untouchable, he was stating the obvious, but the team has seemed to deflate since then. But how do you hold back the tide with a broom?

Can't wait for the trade deadline to pass, but by then, the playoffs might be a dream.

[thewaterox]

I don't particularily like McGrady, but only a fool would suggest this squad is better without him. (yes even the current version)

This just further suggests that management wanted him gone due to pride and Adelman was just "playing nice w/ management" when he suggested McGrady wasnt the player he once was.


When the team was winning Rick didn't want to disturb the chemistry. Well now the chem lab is on fire and we can't sniff a win even at home. If T-mac was avail to play he'd be playing no doubt.

Team and T-mac really blew it and now both the org and T-mac are out in the cold. If no trade happens soon at least we could get a decent pick in the lottery.

[rocketblaze]

I think Adelman was just talking out of frustration, no need to make a big deal about it... :cool:

--RB

[cheke64]

this team is really really good but we just have a dumbass and clueless coach.A couple of the starters should come off the bench. What does it take for him change it?

My suggestion:
Lowry
Bud
Ariza
Scola
Hayes

[RV6]

i dont get the question...i thought it was obvious tmac and yao are suppose to be our two best? Tmac may not be that guy anymore, but in theory, that's his role/place on the team. Is he suppose to ignore the 20 something mill tmac takes up and pretend it doesnt exist until he's traded?

[B-Bob]

this team is really really good but we just have a dumbass and clueless coach.

Riiiiiight. Candidate for coach of the year, as per 10 days ago. Let's compare his NBA resume to yours.

Wait, why am I posting in GARM? Oh, to give this thread 1 star again!

[Yetti]

Stop watching and crawl back in your hole. While you're at it stop posting here.
How rude of you to speak to your Clutch Fans brother this way !
Standards Please!
Every member has the right to post their opinion, including you!
By the way he was making a very valid point in his posting! :p

[MacYao223]

I'm sorry but Adelman sounded like an absolute fool saying something like this. Tmac is home only because you refused to play him. Don't give us that excuse now.

[Ramathorn006]

he's right!!! Let's throw tmac out there so he can break his leg, that'll have every single team calling us!!

C'mon now...if you KNOW you're trading a player the last thing you need or want is for him to get injured. Some teams may not want him necessarily for his play, but it doesnt look good to trade for an injured guy to sit him the rest of the season. Plus they can use that as leverage since he won't be able to contribute at all...

I disagree. He is coming off of an injury, you throw him out there to showcase his skills, does he still got it or not. To see how determined Tracy was i think would have upped his trade value instead of giving him freakin 7 minutes a game for 5 games lol.

[God's Son]

ironic because this idiot of a coach should have thought of it before he BENCHED AND REFUSED TO PLAY his best talented player out there who was CLEARLY healthy and able to play

rick the slick is trying to protect his behind with the excuse making that is all. watch things sour and him bringing out the we are without our two best players excuse when the questions get tough

mcgrady was YOUR choice rick and no one elses! even morey assumed you would play mcgrady more min but YOU and only YOU made his min a problem for the team and orgnization

[larsv8]

When the team was winning Rick didn't want to disturb the chemistry.

I'd really like to believe that, I really would. I just can't help but notice at the time, we couldn't give McGrady more minutes because JT/Budinger/Ariza/Battier were all in the rotation. BUT, as soon as McGrady was out of the picture, suddenly JT didnt need playing time anymore. Seemed like an excuse and I think the whole situation is costing the team right now.

[pdewalt]

i would blame it on rick and morey.

morey wanted tmac gone since last year hence the trade for vince carter. and rick wouldnt want to play tmac this season because everything was great at the start of the season and he was coaching for an extension.

les just let things happen. he had trust in morey and in rick. they were the ones making the decisions.

that's why we see morey getting pissed all of the time because things arent turning out the way he expects things to be: ariza isnt what they thought he'd be, dorsey still sucks, chase is stuck in a rut, AB still cant run a team, and he cant get a buyer for tmac.

and just like every tmac hater here says all the time, "they made their bed. they should go lie in it".

I say that too and I'm not a T-Mac hater. :grin:

[LCII]

guys guys guys...

he's obvious referring to Rafer Alston and Yao Ming.

[Pocket Rockets]

It was a stupid question.

It was obviously a robotic answer.

I wouldn't read too much into it. For those that are hot and cold on rick and morey, just remember the big picture. There's no reason to change our opinions on tracy after each loss. Streaks are a part of the season and our expectations shouldn't change on this year.

We shouldn't get too high after wins and too low after losses.

[EbolaScola]

Do I smell a Freudian slip?

[pdewalt]

It was a stupid question.

It was obviously a robotic answer.

I wouldn't read too much into it. For those that are hot and cold on rick and morey, just remember the big picture. There's no reason to change our opinions on tracy after each loss. Streaks are a part of the season and our expectations shouldn't change on this year.

We shouldn't get too high after wins and too low after losses.

The problem for me is they're paying millions to him to do what exactly? Any other business that would pay such a large % of their budget for inaction would be taken to task. Why isn't it the case with the Rockets? Should have played him or traded him by now. On top of that you bet on unproven commodities that appear to have peaked and now are receding.

[bbjai]

To be honest, I see no reason to play him even if we don't trade him. We would just be tanking it no?

[the_hustler]

he's right!!! Let's throw tmac out there so he can break his leg, that'll have every single team calling us!!

C'mon now...if you KNOW you're trading a player the last thing you need or want is for him to get injured. Some teams may not want him necessarily for his play, but it doesnt look good to trade for an injured guy to sit him the rest of the season. Plus they can use that as leverage since he won't be able to contribute at all...

its about the contract you know.

[RV6]

I disagree. He is coming off of an injury, you throw him out there to showcase his skills, does he still got it or not. To see how determined Tracy was i think would have upped his trade value instead of giving him freakin 7 minutes a game for 5 games lol.

sorry but that makes no sense.. he's not a foreigner or a rookie. Teams know more or less what his skills and strengths are. They also know there's almost no chance of him returning to 100%. They also know he is a FA this summer. that means a young team won't want him for anything but his contract., but would be more willing to give up talent. No reason to showcase him then as it adds almost nothing. And an older team, a contender, may want him for his contract AND to help this year, but they're less likely to give up talent unless A) you give talent back or B) tmac is close to 100% Morey doesnt want to give up more talent and tmac isn't getting back to 100%. So the best move is to not let the team know exactly where tmac is at AND at the same time it keeps him from getting injured. A failed showcase and/or injury to tmac kills any deal with a veteran team.

morey's making the right move, let's just wait and see what happens..

[JMAD21]

this team is really really good but we just have a dumbass and clueless coach.A couple of the starters should come off the bench. What does it take for him change it?

My suggestion:
Lowry
Bud
Ariza
Scola
Hayes

Why would u wanna bench Brooks? Just Curious??? :confused:

[Rehabstudios]

Some of you had to go to Clydes school of commenting the way you all are posting.

He also takes Bill's jokes literally.

BW: Clyde, can we get a discount off of that #22 jersey? haha

Drexler: We actually do get a discount. 10% with our Rocket employee discount.

[tinywang]

He's referring to Yao Ming and Brian Cook.

[lmaballa]

Some of you had to go to Clydes school of commenting the way you all are posting.


Clyde is a lame

[sbyang]

He's talking about the guy that makes 23 million and the other guy that makes 17 million....

[worzel gummidge]

Rockets truly screwed themselves over by mishandling the Mcgrady situation.
That's your fantasy.

Brent Barry gave up info on the matter... McGrady wasn't able to pass procedural tests that was set upon him.

[adammendoza4]

I like rick,he's a good coach but uhhhh
1.yao had surgery
And
2.the team kicked tracy off the team
So why whine about it now if they didn't even want him 2 play
NO GOOD EXCUSE FOR THAT ONE RICK!!!

[Rehabstudios]

Some of you had to go to Clydes school of commenting the way you all are posting.


Clyde is a lame

Exactly my point.

[sammy]

Now I don't feel bad for thinking that we did mishandle the situation.

It was all fine and dandy then so we thought we could get by until the trade deadline.

I was all for moving Mcgrady, but we could have at least gotten some production out of a max contract.

[bbjai]

That's your fantasy.

Brent Barry gave up info on the matter... McGrady wasn't able to pass procedural tests that was set upon him.


T-mac's an idiot, surely he would have made most of those tests and goals by now

[LifeisButaDream]

this team is really really good but we just have a dumbass and clueless coach.A couple of the starters should come off the bench. What does it take for him change it?

My suggestion:
Lowry
Bud
Ariza
Scola
Hayes
AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT SEES WHATS REALLY GOING ON.WE DON'T WHAT TO WIN THIS YEAR.DM AND RA ARE NOT THIS RETARDED.THINK PEOPLE.THIS DAFT IS DEEP WITH BIGS

[dachuda86]

(STUPID) Media Question: "Coach, do you think that not only blew an opportunity but you know, they're without their best player -- is that kind of frustrating that you couldn't get a win?"

Adelman: "We're without our two best, so .... I don't feel sorry for them." (walks off) "They're a good team."

<HR>

TWO best? Did it seem strange to you that Adelman would say the Rockets are missing their "two best" players when they're public about trading T-Mac and have admitted he's nowhere near the player he once was? Was he talking about Aaron Brooks being in foul trouble?

man oh man... that's rough...

Paging Dr. McGrady. Are you in shape and willing to bury your ego? No? Well, nm...

[Jeff Who]

That's at leat idiotic. They refused to use T-Mac. Period. So you are without your one best player. PERIOD!

[TheFreak]

I'm sorry but Adelman sounded like an absolute fool saying something like this. Tmac is home only because you refused to play him. Don't give us that excuse now.

He did not refuse to play him. McGrady refused to accept the minutes he was being given and asked to be traded. Quit making things up.

[Yodels]

McGrady is only 30. He has game left. Barkley always said he lost his game in his 30s, but I thought he was a better player. A human pogo stick does not a basketball player make.

I also think he's cabable of playing good defense, not every play because he's not wired that way, but good enough..

[t_mac1]

it's sports and even coaches' moods change like the weather.

when we played well when tmac was still on the team, rick felt he didn't need tmac.

now we're struggling, he misses him.

nothing surprising.

i'm sure him watching trevor ariza every game has to make him pull his eyes out.

[apollo33]

He did not refuse to play him. McGrady refused to accept the minutes he was being given and asked to be traded. Quit making things up.

they were giving their "best" player like 8 minutes a game, and does not even attempt to ease him more minutes despite the struggles of ariza.. id be pissed off too if i were tmac

[t_mac1]

He did not refuse to play him. McGrady refused to accept the minutes he was being given and asked to be traded. Quit making things up.

if you're mcgrady, and you request for an "increase" in minutes (he never said he wanted 20 or 30), and the coach said he had no plans, i think as a player, you know what is going on.

tmac just wanted to things to speed up the divorce process.

b/c SERIOUSLY, you can't ease a guy to like 8 minutes the next game, then 9, then 10, then 11?

[Hball]

Adelman new while the team was overachieving he'd get all the praise for it so he can get his contract extension.

[FR0497]

if you're mcgrady, and you request for an "increase" in minutes (he never said he wanted 20 or 30), and the coach said he had no plans, i think as a player, you know what is going on.

tmac just wanted to things to speed up the divorce process.

b/c SERIOUSLY, you can't ease a guy to like 8 minutes the next game, then 9, then 10, then 11?

Exactly. Even coaches around the league didn't understand what the Rockets were trying to accomplish playing him 7 min a game. Too small of a sample size.

[LosPollosHermanos]

clutch, tmac and Yao ARE not our 2 best. He was just saying that as an excuse b.c the loss was saline.

Coach let one slip because usually were always the ones undermanned and now that they didn't have melo he had to pull that card.

That being said, I dont understand how mcgready could be any worse than ariza. It is sad watching this team's chemistry just disappear.

[tinman]

I don't understand alot of newbs here.

Clutch is just posting the news, this is not an opinion.

A knew jerk reaction to news?

When the Rockets lose, it doesn't mean that the thread sucks.

Thanks for the interesting quote Clutch... None of these fools care about the details as you do.

99ers rule

[LosPollosHermanos]

i am a huge proponent of adelman but i can't defend the reason he lets ariza chuck 20+ shots a game.

Sorry but thats not rockets basketball, even though trevor doesn't anymore he refused to take any minutes away from him at first and now this?

[LosPollosHermanos]

why the hell is this a 2 star thread lol?

This is an article or factual info.

Its not some opinion you can rate..

[BMoney]

The recent struggles just underscores the importance of superstars. Everybody loves the mythical "Hoosiers" who play the game "the right way," but you have to have talent to win in the NBA over the long haul. It's not just the numbers that a McGrady, or a Yao put up, it's having a player capable of putting a team on his back when everybody else is struggling. People forget how often McGrady did that for the Rockets over the years. The grind of an 82 game season has already caught up with the Rockets. In the big picture, Adelman was probably right to cut ties with McGrady, but even on one leg he would still be one of the two best players on the team.

[Rockets Jones]

That quote is saying a lot. Not only does he still consider Tracy a part of the team, he is making excuses and saying the team is not doing well enough thus no blame on the coach. It's time to blame RA too !! The last 2 years I've not been totally happy with the man but he got the job done and at the end of the year had respect for him and applauded him for doing a great job.

However, it really seems, also by watching older games, that the guy should not get as much credit as I figured. The guy is not a coach, more like a guide, an assistant coach if you will, the nutjob next to JVG-look-a-like in the Movie 6th man. He's very stubborn and I'm starting to think T-mac WAS ready but he didn't want to mess up with something that worked, up until that point.

Adelman doesn't like change and it has rubbed off on the team, just look at the article about being anxious about a possible trade in the making. It is time (2007 motto would've applied this season) for CHANGE !! We have the anti-offense starting lineup of the decade. We can't have these kind of games from Battier and Ariza game in, game out. Hayes is doing all he can, but needs to get back where he was in college offensively.

Since RA is not willing to change, it's time for Morey and the organisation to do it for him. In retrospect Tracy is the one who started it and is to blame for blocking a potential trade and such but it's the Rockets who are STUPID enough for not to play him and showcase him. I feel bad about RA extension right now, maybe we need a guy like Avery Johnson after all. A guy who doesn't hold punches, tells them what to do instead of sitting there clueless game after game.

Also with regards to T-mac blocking a trade, the guy was injured so how would you feel if you were playing through injuries like his and heard you were going to be traded ? I don't know how injured he was but you're not going to tell me he was right especially after he blew that dunk @ Milwaukee. I'm also wondering how much ground it holds, because who in his right mind would've traded for last year's Tracy ?

I'm starting to doubt RA as a coach, with the recent article of Tim Hardaway's situation. I think RA just got comfortable with Tim out of the lineup that he just didn't want to mess up the rotation and lineup at the time. Chemistry wise it's BS because in both situations the guys had been with the team for a while.

Too bad Rick, but you cannot rule and I'm sorry you got an extension which I doubt you deserve. Bring in a real coach please and if we do not trade Tracy, at least let him play.

[Shroopy2]

He's talking about the guy that makes 23 million and the other guy that makes 17 million....
Thats how I took the statement as meaning.

[baller4life315]

Too bad Rick, but you cannot rule and I'm sorry you got an extension which I doubt you deserve. Bring in a real coach please and if we do not trade Tracy, at least let him play.

You might need one of these:

http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008/12/flame_suit.jpg

[Rockets Jones]

You might need one of these:

http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008/12/flame_suit.jpg

You might need a reality check

[baller4life315]

You might need a reality check

Humor me. Please provide for me a list of who exactly you consider "real coaches" among those that are available.

This should be fun.

[roslolian]

Humor me. Please provide for me a list of who exactly you consider "real coaches" among those that are available.

This should be fun.

JVG/thread

[baller4life315]

JVG/thread

Don't give the rookies any ideas. Let them dig their own holes. :p

[RoxBeliever]

What kind of reply is that? He sent home one of those guys, so he cannot make his absence an excuse

[faraza84]

not gonna lie but the rockets mishandled this tmac thing and it looks bad for incoming free agents to think that you could be the rockets everything to nothing. but wow adleman just wow

[worzel gummidge]

What kind of reply is that? He sent home one of those guys, so he cannot make his absence an excuse
Brokeback is a $23 million dollar handicap.

[xiki]

I'll be glad to see McGrady go, but I do miss him. Am I crazy?

I don't know if you're crazy, (what is crazy, after all?) but I do clearly understand your McG statement.

[Rocket River]

This thread is funny

The reporter was dogging the Rockets
oooooooo you lost to an undermanned Nugget team . .. ooooo
R.A. responded by saying. . WHAT??? WE'RE NOT UNDERMANNED??? DO WE NOT HAVE NEAR 40 MILLION ON THE SHELF??

Rockets play hard and not looking for KUDOs for playing hard
by that same token
They not going to give up UBER credit for another team playing heard without their best player

He said. . basic . . .GIVE THEM SOME CREDIT . .THEY ARE A GOOD TEAM

Rocket River

[realmustang]

Did you even watch last season? He played on one leg and got schooled nightly. We could have used him last year during a title run, but where was he? Ah yes, getting surgery that took multiple doc's to finally get clearance for. DO NOT NEED this season (or any, for that matter) as a borderline playoff team.


Will you stop with the "multiple doc's to finally get clearance" crap. Did you not watch the video where Keith Jones and the team doctor admit that T-Mac needed micro-fracture surgery before the season even started but they chose to go with minor surgery instead to see if that would work first. :mad:

[realmustang]

he's right!!! Let's throw tmac out there so he can break his leg, that'll have every single team calling us!!

C'mon now...if you KNOW you're trading a player the last thing you need or want is for him to get injured. Some teams may not want him necessarily for his play, but it doesnt look good to trade for an injured guy to sit him the rest of the season. Plus they can use that as leverage since he won't be able to contribute at all...


If he breaks his leg even more teams will want him because the insurance will kick in again and pay his contract until the break heals.

[realmustang]

Even if TMac is still one of the top two players on this team but not willing to play within the confines of the offense, then he needed to go. So RA is not wrong and didn't make a bad choice if thats the case.

I tell all my employees I dont care if you are the best at your position and sell more than everyone combined, if you aren't a good employee also(works well with others, follows instructions, dependable, 100% effort) then they can go. If you have every managed people you should understand.

The confines of what offense?

[htown1984]

Coach wishes Trevor Ariza was the one getting traded not Mcgrady.

Looks like Rick Aldeman is regreting no playing TMAC. Especially if
you still call him one of your best players. He knows that even a 80% Mcgrady
is a better player then anyone on the rockets right now.

Just bring TMAC back and let his contract ecpire, you dont have anything to loose.

[MrAwe]

He's talking about Yao's right hand and left hand.

[htown1984]

Trevor Ariza needs to be benched, this is the time to do it. The guy
needs to be benched and maybe he works on his shot more.

[sephiroth.hk]

He's talking about Steve Francis And Cat Mobley. :grin:

[DcProWLer277]

Maybe he meant Artest?

[htown1984]

Maybe he meant Artest?


Or Maybe Hakeem and Clyde

[sephiroth.hk]

Trevor Ariza needs to be benched, this is the time to do it. The guy
needs to be benched and maybe he works on his shot more.

Trevor Ariza needs to be traded, this is the time to do it. :grin:
Just send him with Tmac as a gift for some 2nd round pick. :mad:

[htown1984]

Trevor Ariza needs to be traded, this is the time to do it. :grin:
Just send him with Tmac as a gift for some 2nd round pick. :mad:


or forget the second round pick, just give him away :grin:

[blactrs2]

Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, Rick lookin' like a fool with his pants on the ground.


LMAO!!! great comment...truly made me LOL

[Pizza_Da_Hut]

Brooks and Landry. That's what he meant. He was taking a shot at the officials, had to be.

[brian_chapman]

he was referring to tmac and yao. obviously the offense runs alot better with lowry than brooks. landry scola is a wash. he was referring to allstar,game changers, yao and tmac. HE KNOWS what morey just said on 610 ,tmac is a great player, but tmac is a ballstopper and the other hard working players said they didnt want him on the team anymore.

what im afraid of is that the rockets miss the playoffs,and tmac goes to knicks and advances to 2nd round. we would have egg on our face.

[HAKEEM4EVER]

I'm a lil surprised he said that. Mac could be playing if Adelman wanted him to.

[Aloe]

Despite all of his issues, there is no disputing that McGrady was the 2nd most talented player on this roster in the past 3-4 years.
The most talented.

[J-Wood]

Thats really not a factual statement and I think thats the issue with most people that are bitter/sweet about the T-Mac situation..

Everyone keeps saying that he is no where near what he once was and teh fact of teh matter is, nobody knows that to be a fact. The last season he played, yes he was no where near who he once was, however, the man was hurt and needed to have surgery. So hints the reason as to why he wasnt the "Tracy" that we all know.

Well now that he has recovered from surgery, nobody has yet to see him play one full game, better yet not even a half a game. So I really dont think its fair for anyone to say that we know for a fact that he cant perform to the level that he did previously because the truth is, we simply dont know what he can do since his surgery/recovery...And I think thats what's frustrating to most fans is that he was never given a chance to show whether or not he could come back and help this team...

Had he came back and played some full games or at least 15 to 20 minutes and we saw for a fact that he just didnt have it left in him, I think a lot more fans would have accepted him leaving a lot easier becasue you cant argue with factual reality. But the reality is that we are only assuming and we dont know for a fact until we see him play some decent minutes with another team...Tracy is no where near to what he once was,but I think Adelman was referring to Yao and him,at their best.

[Evil Empire]

Adelman is a smart coach. McGrady is a smart basketball player. They could have made it work IF they gave it more of a chance to work (8 min. a game 1st half is not giving it a chance)

Sorry Rick, you can't make an excuse of not having one of your two best players when he was ready and willing to try.

[J-Wood]

Totally agree!!!Adelman is a smart coach. McGrady is a smart basketball player. They could have made it work IF they gave it more of a chance to work (8 min. a game 1st half is not giving it a chance)

Sorry Rick, you can't make an excuse of not having one of your two best players when he was ready and willing to try.

[Russjr2]

he was referring to tmac and yao. obviously the offense runs alot better with lowry than brooks. landry scola is a wash. he was referring to allstar,game changers, yao and tmac. HE KNOWS what morey just said on 610 ,tmac is a great player, but tmac is a ballstopper and the other hard working players said they didnt want him on the team anymore.

what im afraid of is that the rockets miss the playoffs,and tmac goes to knicks and advances to 2nd round. we would have egg on our face.

And why would we have egg on our face? Do you really believe T-Mac, in his current physical condition, could carry this team past the first round? Us probably being a 7 or 8 seed? So what if he goes to the knicks and they get to the 2nd round (which i highly doubt). It wont be becasue of him averaging near all-star numbers?

We will see who has egg on their faces next year, and the year after that, and after that , and after that, and after that, and after that when we trade him for quality pieces that fit this team.

People keep thinking for some reason that we were supposed to be contenders this year with no Yao. Why all the complaining and whinning about us losing some games and not being in the play-off chase right now? This team was put together to be 'competive' and that they are. They play hard every night. That is all you can ask for. We knew coming in that we did not have any all-star players, we were undersized, and had some guys playing outside of their comfort zones to see that they could do. That is not a top 8 team in the west on paper. So stop whining that we probably wont make the playoffs... We already KNEW that in Sep. Making the playoffs with this team (as is) would be a huge bonus and surprise.

[Yetti]

It's not entirely all Les or Morey, Rick's the one who doesn't want to play McGrady.

Quite the reverse!! My Chinese sources say that it was not Adelman but the Management & Ownership who wanted revenge on McGrady! :p

[Sweet Lou 4 2]

Fact is it was so bizarre the way the whole T-mac thing was handled. Just bizarre.

It's not even this year that bothered me about it - it's next year.

[shawn786]

I think Rick was referring to the $40+ million that isn't being used on any 2 superstar/max players but rather being wasted away this season.

[DreamWeaver]

Quite the reverse!! My Chinese sources say that it was not Adelman but the Management & Ownership who wanted revenge on McGrady! :p

I love this conspiracy theory rumor. Links? :p

[melvimbe]

Yao and the player we will hopeful soon get from tmac's salary.


And I love how we will automatically play better with tmac? How in the world can anyone know that? The decision was made. Deal with it. There's is a chance in the world he'll ever wear a Rockets uni again.

And as said by many, tmac's ability to play has no value. There is no contending team that would be able to part with $20 mil for a rental. If a team actually is interested in his playing potential, why wouldn't you wait till he's a free agent? No, the trades are based on contract. Even if you are interested in player and contract, it's the contract that drives it. No guarantee you can resign in the summer.

[BONIERO1576]

he was referring to tmac and yao. obviously the offense runs alot better with lowry than brooks. landry scola is a wash. he was referring to allstar,game changers, yao and tmac. HE KNOWS what morey just said on 610 ,tmac is a great player, but tmac is a ballstopper and the other hard working players said they didnt want him on the team anymore.

what im afraid of is that the rockets miss the playoffs,and tmac goes to knicks and advances to 2nd round. we would have egg on our face.

The Knicks making the second round, that's hilarious!

[Mr. Clutch]

Are you guys absolutely 100% sure he wasn't referring to Von Wafer?

[GRENDEL]

Are you guys absolutely 100% sure he wasn't referring to Von Wafer?
The quotes from RA not Dada...

[Boxer]

Quite the reverse!! My Chinese sources say that it was not Adelman but the Management & Ownership who wanted revenge on McGrady! :p


That is some news to be breaking. If that is the case - that "Mgt and Ownership" are behind the McGrady FUBAR then the hope that this management team can steer a course to allow the Rockets to move in the direction of fielding a competitive team is all but gone.

Except for those afflicted with MDS the spectacle of playing any player 6 games at 7 minutes per is so passingly strange that any free agent would not want to come any where near this leper colony of managment.

[LifeisButaDream]

That quote is saying a lot. Not only does he still consider Tracy a part of the team, he is making excuses and saying the team is not doing well enough thus no blame on the coach. It's time to blame RA too !! The last 2 years I've not been totally happy with the man but he got the job done and at the end of the year had respect for him and applauded him for doing a great job.

However, it really seems, also by watching older games, that the guy should not get as much credit as I figured. The guy is not a coach, more like a guide, an assistant coach if you will, the nutjob next to JVG-look-a-like in the Movie 6th man. He's very stubborn and I'm starting to think T-mac WAS ready but he didn't want to mess up with something that worked, up until that point.

Adelman doesn't like change and it has rubbed off on the team, just look at the article about being anxious about a possible trade in the making. It is time (2007 motto would've applied this season) for CHANGE !! We have the anti-offense starting lineup of the decade. We can't have these kind of games from Battier and Ariza game in, game out. Hayes is doing all he can, but needs to get back where he was in college offensively.

Since RA is not willing to change, it's time for Morey and the organisation to do it for him. In retrospect Tracy is the one who started it and is to blame for blocking a potential trade and such but it's the Rockets who are STUPID enough for not to play him and showcase him. I feel bad about RA extension right now, maybe we need a guy like Avery Johnson after all. A guy who doesn't hold punches, tells them what to do instead of sitting there clueless game after game.

Also with regards to T-mac blocking a trade, the guy was injured so how would you feel if you were playing through injuries like his and heard you were going to be traded ? I don't know how injured he was but you're not going to tell me he was right especially after he blew that dunk @ Milwaukee. I'm also wondering how much ground it holds, because who in his right mind would've traded for last year's Tracy ?

I'm starting to doubt RA as a coach, with the recent article of Tim Hardaway's situation. I think RA just got comfortable with Tim out of the lineup that he just didn't want to mess up the rotation and lineup at the time. Chemistry wise it's BS because in both situations the guys had been with the team for a while.

Too bad Rick, but you cannot rule and I'm sorry you got an extension which I doubt you deserve. Bring in a real coach please and if we do not trade Tracy, at least let him play.
DM RA>CD JVG

[Artesticles]

How would JVG have handled this situation? More professionally, that's for sure. He understood T-Mac's true value way more than Adelman did.

[TheGreat]

This is part of the plan. They are going to trade McGrady for Iggy, and then sign him 2010. Lineup next year:
PG Brooks
SG McGrady
SF Iggy
PF Scola
C Yao

Bench:
Landry
Ariza
Lowry
Budinger
Dalembert

[Hball]

This is part of the plan. They are going to trade McGrady for Iggy, and then sign him 2010. Lineup next year:
PG Brooks
SG McGrady
SF Iggy
PF Scola
C Yao

Bench:
Landry
Ariza
Lowry
Budinger
Dalembert
Then it would all make sense :cool:

[morpheus133]

I think he was talking about a completely healthy and happy TMac, which is what was expected when Tracy was signed, but not what we currently have available despite what Tmac fans would like to believe. The healthy perrenial all star version of Tmac is missing from the team, and no doubt would be one of our two best players. The Rockets obviously believe the current recovering from major surgery Tmac is not that player at this point.

[JLOBABYDADDY]

TMac is a cancer even if he has game left, he doesn't need to be anywhere around our team. He doesn't care about winning games right now either he just wants to pad stats for a new contract next year.
I'm sure like most of us, GM's and coaches would actually watch the game and see how he works within the confines of the games versus picking up the news paper and judging him based on the box score. I think him stat padding would actually hurt his value like Iverson.

[nolimitnp]

I think we're reading too much into it.

[Omer]

Adelman regretting not playing McGrady.

His pride got in the way and clouded his judgement.

[sephiroth.hk]

Adelman regretting not playing McGrady.

His pride got in the way and clouded his judgement.

Adelman regretting not ask deke to rejoin ue this season and not resign artest at summer. :grin:

[mjhaver5]

Rockets truly screwed themselves over by mishandling the Mcgrady situation.

Nobody even cares about Mcgrady performance it's soley about the contract. Had he come back onto the court and been able to average say 20PPG at a nice percentage his value would of sky rocketed for contenders.

Nice one Les/Morey.


agreed, its amazing how people can forget how good and amazing mcgrady was. He lead us to 22...he played amazing (monumental) playoff series against both Utah and Mavericks. People just don't understand how big of a mistake MOREY, LES, and Rick made. If McGrady came back to form we could've even kept him for cheap. Nobody gave him time to come back.

Its gonna take Mcgrady playing for another team at the same level, and then each and every person on this site and in houston will miss him.

[tinman]

he's talking about Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley

[Precision340]

You're without one because YOU wanted him gone and said you couldn't find minutes for him. Keep plugging and chugging along Rick.
exactly.. silly comment for him to be making IMO

[Rocket River]

Adelman regretting not playing McGrady.

His pride got in the way and clouded his judgement.

even if he does. . . . I don't

Rocket River

[Hayden_SFC]

Best Player-Yao....missed.
2nd best player???-I still think Mac is better than anyone on this team right now, but it seems very unlikely he would be referring to Tracy given his obvious disliking for the man.

[davidxhz]

Exactly, Basketball is fundamentally a sport, which requires those players to be athletes first. When it came to Bball, Height, Speed, Strength are the most important factors, which people deem as talent..and which we lack.......

there is a stupid poll comparing Yao and Chuch on Defense, If you compare them in one game, they might be the same, but in a 82-game season, players got worn out a lot, so Yao and Chuck is not even close, not comparable. that's why the team right now are struggling, lots of players just have to play so hard to overcome the lack of talent that they do not have enough energy left now....

The other day I heard Phil talking about Ron guarding Lebron instead of Kobe, He specifically said:" Lebron is good at wear guys out, Ron can help a lot......" That is talking about a game! Not to mention 82 games.

[JujuxG]

I think we're reading too much into it.
Agree, people are thinking too much into it.

[Rockets111]

I'm curious as to why the question was "stupid".

The guy asked if the Rockets felt they missed out on a possible win with the Nugs missing their best player, which is true. Also, the Rockets held quite a large lead as well, yet let that fall to waste with the Nugs without Carmelo.

You can't compare the Rockets missing Yao to the Nugs missing 'Melo. Yao's been out this whole year and won't return, so these Rox are who they are. 'Melo will eventually come back, yet the Rockets got them at a time when he was sidelined.

It was very much a winnable game, whereas with 'Melo, it would have been doubtful. Yet the Rockets blew their chance, in spite of getting far out ahead early.

The Rockets blew the game, plain and simple. Anyone could see that; it was a game they should have won. The reporter was just looking for Rick to confirm it.

[apollo33]

This is part of the plan. They are going to trade McGrady for Iggy, and then sign him 2010. Lineup next year:
PG Brooks
SG McGrady
SF Iggy
PF Scola
C Yao

Bench:
Landry
Ariza
Lowry
Budinger
Dalembert

yup yup all part of the plan

[NotInMyHouse]

Adelman regretting not ask deke to rejoin ue this season and not resign artest at summer. :grin:

You are flat out delusional. Deke?!?

[Surfguy]

Hey, now that we're not winning....we should give Tmac more minutes. ;)

Adelman had no problem parting ways with Tmac back when we were winning. Well, now we are not winning and teams have us figured out...and Rick doesn't look so good now. Had he slowly but surely increased Tmac's minutes...we might be in better position right now. Now, the playoffs look unlikely.

Yea...things are not so great in Rocketland. Even with Yao back next season, this team is still missing pieces. Seriously, is anyone really looking ahead thinking we have a championship team in the works in the next few seasons? We are not even close.

[durvasa]

I'm curious as to why the question was "stupid".

The guy asked if the Rockets felt they missed out on a possible win with the Nugs missing their best player, which is true. Also, the Rockets held quite a large lead as well, yet let that fall to waste with the Nugs without Carmelo.

You can't compare the Rockets missing Yao to the Nugs missing 'Melo. Yao's been out this whole year and won't return, so these Rox are who they are. 'Melo will eventually come back, yet the Rockets got them at a time when he was sidelined.

It was very much a winnable game, whereas with 'Melo, it would have been doubtful. Yet the Rockets blew their chance, in spite of getting far out ahead early.

The Rockets blew the game, plain and simple. Anyone could see that; it was a game they should have won. The reporter was just looking for Rick to confirm it.

I agree with you. And Rick probably does as well. In the moment, frustrated with what's going on, he went defensive and asked that people look at the bigger picture (Nuggets are short-handed this game, but Rockets have been short-handed for about a year).

[morpheus133]

Hey, now that we're not winning....we should give Tmac more minutes. ;)

Adelman had no problem parting ways with Tmac back when we were winning. Well, now we are not winning and teams have us figured out...and Rick doesn't look so good now. Had he slowly but surely increased Tmac's minutes...we might be in better position right now. Now, the playoffs look unlikely.

Yea...things are not so great in Rocketland. Even with Yao back next season, this team is still missing pieces. Seriously, is anyone really looking ahead thinking we have a championship team in the works in the next few seasons? We are not even close.

Some of you just have unrealistic expectations. How many other teams who are missing 2 franchise players would even be above .500? It's taken career years by most of team just to be where they are. The Rockets clearly do not believe Tracy is a capable of playing like a franchise player at this point. Fans want them to "prove it" but Tracy is the one who asked to go home after not getting the minutes he wanted. If he had been willing to be patient perhaps he would have earned the chance to prove it.

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2009/12/what_do_the_roc.html#comments

Do you have any inside information that Tracy is the one who wanted to go home? There seems to be some debate among rockets fans (see clutchfans.net) about whether Tracy is getting unfairly sent home by the team or if Tmac is making playing time demands the Rockets won't give in to, and this blog clearly makes it sound like Tmac made the choice not to go on the 2 game road trip.


Tracy left the team when Adelman refused to commit to playing him the minutes he wanted to play. McGrady was to be in uniform for both games.--Richard Justice

[DaDakota]

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2009/12/what_do_the_roc.html#comments

He has been a quitter his entire career, I am surprised people keep over looking that fact.

Wait, no I'm not, the guy can dunk and make ESPN highlights, which is clearly more important than leading a team to wins.

[/sarcasm]

DD

[Surfguy]

Fine. But, Adelman should just say "we're without our one best" from here on out. Tmac is no longer in the equation. Let's not pretend we are without our two best...and use both of those as an excuse going forward. We are now without only one of our best. Tmac doesn't factor into anything any more...not even the excuses.

[HTown_TMac]

Fine. But, Adelman should just say "we're without our one best" from here on out. Tmac is no longer in the equation. Let's not pretend we are without our two best...and use both of those as an excuse going forward. We are now without only one of our best. Tmac doesn't factor into anything any more...not even the excuses.

Exactly

[Pocket Rockets]

agreed, its amazing how people can forget how good and amazing mcgrady was. He lead us to 22...he played amazing (monumental) playoff series against both Utah and Mavericks. People just don't understand how big of a mistake MOREY, LES, and Rick made. If McGrady came back to form we could've even kept him for cheap. Nobody gave him time to come back.

Its gonna take Mcgrady playing for another team at the same level, and then each and every person on this site and in houston will miss him.

Its amazing how people can forget how he sabotaged the rockets last season and how amazing that was. He played amazing playoff series against both utah and mavs but lost both after leading in the series. People just don't understand how big of a mistake mcgrady made.

[durvasa]

Tracy left the team when Adelman refused to commit to playing him the minutes he wanted to play. McGrady was to be in uniform for both games.--Richard Justice

The way it was reported was:


McGrady said publicly that he believed he needed more minutes and wasn't happy with the current arrangement.
The Rockets management decided that McGrady would not play since he felt it wasn't working out and they agreed.
McGrady asked to go home since he believed he wasn't going to play anyway.

Justice looks to be skipping over the middle part.

[morpheus133]

Fine. But, Adelman should just say "we're without our one best" from here on out. Tmac is no longer in the equation. Let's not pretend we are without our two best...and use both of those as an excuse going forward. We are now without only one of our best. Tmac doesn't factor into anything any more...not even the excuses.

Until Tmac, who is being paid more than anyone in the entire NBA this year, is traded we have his cap space tied up preventing us from using it on another star player, as he is currently in the Rockets opinion not capable of playing at that level. So they are correct to say they are without the former all star level version of TMac who would have easily been one of our best players, and the Rockets have been very consistent in saying the current still recovering from surgery Tmac is not that player. The only confusion is of course that Tmac still believes he is that all star player so many of his fans believe he is.

[Surfguy]

Did Tmac actually come out and demand 40 mpg in those talks? Or, did he just ask for Adelman to slowly starting increasing his minutes because he felt he had more to offer than what he could show in his 6-8 mpg? It doesn't matter now obviously...but there is a big difference. Adelman was basically giving Tmac garbage time early in the game...saying he couldn't play based on what he saw in practice. Yet, Tmac had one game where he was really effective offensively and was showing at least glimpses of potential. Yet, Adelman was saying stuff like Tmac lost his first step drive ability. Yes, his defense wasn't there but he's never been known for his defense.

I just want to be clear...are we saying Tmac wouldn't have been happy with a gradual increase in minutes? To me, this was Adelman setting a strict cap on minutes and not budging for the foreseeable future. And, this is why Tmac asked to be traded and left.

Someone want to clarify?

[morpheus133]

The way it was reported was:


McGrady said publicly that he believed he needed more minutes and wasn't happy with the current arrangement.
The Rockets management decided that McGrady would not play since he felt it wasn't working out and they agreed.
McGrady asked to go home since he believed he wasn't going to play anyway.

Justice looks to be skipping over the middle part.

Not really, in regards specifically to whether Tracy was forced to go home, it was Tracy's decision, which the Rockets agreed to allow. Tracy was not going to get the minutes and role he wanted, but could have earned his play time like any other player tries to earn more playing time.

With Tracy McGrady dissatisfied with his limited playing time, the Rockets came up with a solution he never saw coming.

Instead of increasing his playing time as McGrady had wanted, they chose not to play him at all. (Houston Chronicle)


Mcgrady was sent home he did not leave the team


McGrady chose to leave.

Great piece, as always!

It's written a lot that T-Mac is not the player he used to be. At the same time he himself insists that he has progressed a lot and is much better than what Coach RA thought him of. If he is so confident he can be much better than he is now, why can't T-Mac be patient enough and work his way up, specially in practices to convince Coach RA? Why is he so impatient and seems in rush? I know it's his contract year, but won't it be better to wait a little show his worth comes play off time. Look at the team right now (if we keep this up, playoff is a sure thing). I'm pretty sure he'll get much better offer that way than what he's doing now. It's way too risky for his career. What dya think T-Mac can't wait?

Because he has been T-Mac for so long, he was not willing to go though that process common to more ordinary players. -- Jonathan

[durvasa]

Not really, in regards specifically to whether Tracy was forced to go home, it was Tracy's decision, which the Rockets agreed to allow. Tracy was not going to get the minutes and role he wanted, but could have earned his play time like any other player tries to earn more playing time.

I remember that it was first reported McGrady would not play in the following game because both sides felt it wasn't working out. And then, after that, McGrady asked to go home and the Rockets obliged.

I guess the issue is whether the McGrady decided on his own not to play the following game, or if the Rockets decided it. Justice says the former, while Feigen has said the latter (I believe).

[morpheus133]

I remember that it was first reported McGrady would not play in the following game because both sides felt it wasn't working out. And then, after that, McGrady asked to go home and the Rockets obliged.

I guess the issue is whether the McGrady decided on his own not to play the following game, or if the Rockets decided it. Justice says the former, while Feigen has said the latter (I believe).


The initial Chronicle report made it sound like it might have been the Rocket's decision, but it was not clearly stated as such. Justice confirmed that it was Tracy's decision. While some of his opinions are suspect, I have never found a case where he out right lied about facts.

[Evil Empire]

I just want to be clear...are we saying Tmac wouldn't have been happy with a gradual increase in minutes? To me, this was Adelman setting a strict cap on minutes and not budging for the foreseeable future. And, this is why Tmac asked to be traded and left.

Someone want to clarify?

This is how I saw it too. After so long it's only natural to want to see an increase in minutes, even a small gradual increase

[morpheus133]

This is how I saw it too. After so long it's only natural to want to see an increase in minutes, even a small gradual increase


Every bench player in the NBA wants their minutes increased. I'm sure Brian Cook, Joey Dorsey, Jermaine Taylor and even Chase would like more minutes. They don't expect to earn more minutes by asking for a trade and leave of absence if their desires are not met though. They work harder to try and earn those minutes. Tracy was expecting super star treatment at a time when the Rockets do not think he is currently capable of playing at a superstar level. It's all good and well to want more minutes, but there is a right and wrong way to go about earning them.

[durvasa]

The initial Chronicle report made it sound like it might have been the Rocket's decision, but it was not clearly stated as such. Justice confirmed that it was Tracy's decision. While some of his opinions are suspect, I have never found a case where he out right lied about facts.

Justice didn't outright say that either. It might be what he personally thinks happened, and he's writing it in a way to suggest that's what happened.

[Hball]

Every bench player in the NBA wants their minutes increased. I'm sure Brian Cook, Joey Dorsey, Jermaine Taylor and even Chase would like more minutes. They don't expect to earn more minutes by asking for a trade and leave of absence if their desires are not met though. They work harder to try and earn those minutes. Tracy was expecting super star treatment at a time when the Rockets do not think he is currently capable of playing at a superstar level. It's all good and well to want more minutes, but there is a right and wrong way to go about earning them.
You think they'll make yao earn his minutes?.. regardless it was clear Adelman just didn't want the guy on the team.

[icewill36]

how did tmac not earn more minutes though? he looked fine out there, ariza was stinking it up, AND bud was injured.

[morpheus133]

Justice didn't outright say that either. It might be what he personally thinks happened, and he's writing it in a way to suggest that's what happened.

How is this quote not outright saying it?
Tracy left the team when Adelman refused to commit to playing him the minutes he wanted to play. McGrady was to be in uniform for both games.


You think they'll make yao earn his minutes?.. regardless it was clear Adelman just didn't want the guy on the team.
I suspect Yao will have earned his minutes in practice and workouts. I also suspect Yao will not be naming his own return date in direct conflict with the what the Rockets have publicly announced, or complaining about minutes thru the media, or asking for a leave of abscense and trade if the minutes don't match up to his desires after 8 games.

The Rockets brass had alot more exposure to workouts and practices beyond just the 7-8 minutes in 8 games that we got to see. There was also an interesting report Richard Justice told on 1560 the game earlier this week recounting a trip the Rockets brass made to Chicago to check up on Tmac's recovery this past summer. They got to the training center at 10:30 am and were to meet Tracy at 11:30. Gilbert Arenas was working out and asked what they were doing there. They said we are here to meet with Tracyin an hour. Gilbert replied, "This early? He won't be here." laughing. "He never comes in this early". The Rockets said no, he will be here, he is expecting us. At 12:30 Tracy finally showed up.

[t_mac1]

Every bench player in the NBA wants their minutes increased. I'm sure Brian Cook, Joey Dorsey, Jermaine Taylor and even Chase would like more minutes. They don't expect to earn more minutes by asking for a trade and leave of absence if their desires are not met though. They work harder to try and earn those minutes. Tracy was expecting super star treatment at a time when the Rockets do not think he is currently capable of playing at a superstar level. It's all good and well to want more minutes, but there is a right and wrong way to go about earning them.

tracy has earned his minutes. he's been more than a good and productive player. it's only logical any NBA coach would gradually increase his minutes to see how much better he can progress. same case with any star coming off an injury.

do you think yao will have to earn his minutes?

and tracy never said he wanted "big" minutes. he just wants to increase his minutes. he even said he won't expect to play 30 minutes a game until after a month of playing after the first game v. detroit.

so an increase to 10 or 11 minutes a game too much to ask for an established player like tracy who's coming off an injury and wanting to see how much load he can handle?

adelman didn't think so and he put a CAP on the minutes. if you're a player like tracy, you know what that means: he doesn't want to play me. him staying on the team would only generate more tension so what him and the team did was for the best.

[t_mac1]

The Rockets brass had alot more exposure to workouts and practices beyond just the 7-8 minutes in 8 games that we got to see. There was also an interesting report Richard Justice told on 1560 the game earlier this week recounting a trip the Rockets brass made to Chicago to check up on Tmac's recovery this past summer. They got to the training center at 10:30 am and were to meet Tracy at 11:30. Gilbert Arenas was working out and asked what they were doing there. They said we are here to meet with Tracyin an hour. Gilbert replied, "This early? He won't be here." laughing. "He never comes in this early". The Rockets said no, he will be here, he is expecting us. At 12:30 Tracy finally showed up.

and yet we've seen a VIDEO of him working out at 6AM in the morning with tim grover at the beach in chicago in the summer. and he's 3 months AHEAD of schedule.

hmm... from what justice says, tmac shouldn't have been cleared to play if he was a lazy bum.

[morpheus133]

adelman didn't think so and he put a CAP on the minutes. if you're a player like tracy, you know what that means: he doesn't want to play me.

Obviously they didn't want to play him more or he would have played. The disagreement here is why. Some fans seem to think it was a revenge agenda conspiracy theory to get back at Tracy. It's more reasonable to believe that the Rockets truly did not believe he was capable of playing at the level they wanted him to in the context of the new offense and defense at this time. Maybe eventually he will get back there, but Tracy was not willing to settle for limited minutes in the mean time.

If he really didn't want him to play period, why even give him 7 minutes? 7 minutes isn't showcasing him, playing him more minutes would have done that. The most logical conclusion is the 7 minutes was done for Tracy to give him a chance and see how he responded both physically, but also in his attitude. If he kept his mouth shut and kept playing hard I suspect that eventually he could have earned more minutes. Just not as quickly as he wanted. But he expected the minutes right away and let that be known thru the media.

and yet we've seen a VIDEO of him working out at 6AM in the morning with tim grover at the beach in chicago in the summer. and he's 3 months AHEAD of schedule.

They aren't mutually exclusive. You can both have a good workout at 6 am one day which happens to be videoed and not show up on time to another scheduled workout when your boss is going to be there on another which is not being covered by the media. As for being 3 months ahead of schedule, that is part of the difference in opinion between Tmac thinking he is back to his old all star self and the Rockets not agreeing.

[TXRoxBBall]

I gotta think that his comment is just the excuse he had built in his head all offseason and this was just some type of slip up.