I remember 6'9" Larry Bird saying that if he were two inches shorter, he would not have had much of a remarkable NBA career.
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Yes we do. We traded away the Toronto 1st round pick to the thunder. However this draft isn't looking good.
Correction only if Houston is in lottery will they have a 2013 1st round pick. Atlanta 2013 first round draft pick from Houston Houston's own 2013 1st round pick to Atlanta via Brooklyn (top 14 protected in 2013, top 14 protected in 2014, top 14 protected in 2015 and top 14 protected in the 2016 Draft). If Atlanta via Brooklyn does not receive a 1st round pick from Houston by the 2016 Draft, then Houston will convey their own 2017 2nd round pick and cash to Atlanta via Brooklyn. [Brooklyn- Houston - Los Angeles Lakers, 12/15/2010 and then Atlanta-Brooklyn, 7/11/2012]
its not about anyone can do it while you roll your eyes. Any intelligent gm should do everything necessary to put his team in the right position to win. 2 Things wrong with the Rockets 1)McHale- His rotation and coaching acumen is horrible, get rid of him 2) Another superstar- All most teams have to do is double or triple team Harden and challenge other players to hit their open shots. Sometimes, they make 'em, most times, they miss. Jeremy Lin is not a starting pg, however with another star at the pf position, or sf position (meaning you move parsons to pf), we can accommodate him. No need to waste Harden's development and youth by surrounding him with crap
I don't know about you guys, but getting 14th pick with this young of a roster shows that players made improvement. We're still way ahead of schedule guys. The playoffs would be nice, but how much could you really expect out of the youngest team in the league with a little more than 2 months of developed chemistry between the guys? We found a superstar in James Harden without having to tank. The main goal has been accomplished. Everything else is gravy.
The point is, we're actually exceeding expectations now. We're the youngest team in the league, we have cap space, we have upside. We're not on the same treadmill that we've been on for the last three seasons. There is no need to panic and make hasty moves. We're ahead of schedule but it's still going to take two or three seasons for the rebuild to be complete. A 14th pick (or a 9th seed) with a team led by Scola and Martin has pretty much no upside. A 14th pick (or a 9th seed) with a team led by a young Superstar (and a young core all under 25) with cap manuverability has upside. If we get the 8th seed, even better. We just got a look at the Clippers who have been on this path since they added Griffin. Half of the fan base was, just like you, asking for Del Negro's head after last season. In the next game we're going to get a good look at the Pacers who are also following the same path building around a young solid core.
Being average is not an improvement. Since 1998, we have made the playoffs 7 times, made the second round only once, totally missed the playoffs 8 times. How the hell does missing the playoffs and getting the 14 pick again signify improvement on that record. Its the duty of fans to support their home team, but it is also the duty of team and management to reward the fans for the support by winning (not every year, but at least putting forth effort in good faith). The Rockets have breached that contract year after year after year. If they dont make the playoffs this year, thats another breach that should result in some people losing their jobs
What are the chances that we get a superstar at number 14. Any player we get at #14 will either be stuck on the bench or be shipped to the d-league. That's the Rockets way. The clippers are a joke, even with Griffin, they were still a joke, even with Del Negro, they are still a bigger joke. Chris paul is the glue that holds the team, and not a tight glue at that. We lost to them after having a huge lead because of McHale's rotation. And what exactly has the the clippers ever achieved for them to be a model for other teams to follow
If we do get the #14, I hope we convince Atlanta to take it and extinguish the draft debt. I'd rather get rid of that liability than pick up yet another tweener PF rookie.
Its very hard to be as bad as the other teams unless we take ranking to another level. There is no way we can be worse than quite a few teams in the league cause we have too much young talent on the team.
Do you even know that this team was completely overhauled from last year, and currently has the youngest roster in the entire NBA??? Being the youngest team in the league, and having the best record to not make the playoffs = a bright future. This is assuming the youngest players in the league gets better... which they will get much, much better(most players do not peak in their abilities until they get to their late 20's). Being a team full of 28 to 35 year old role players that is the best team to not make the playoffs means you are stuck being mediocre. Being a team where the average age is something like 23 or 24 means that you will get better in a few years. Yes, the Rockets a team for 2 years post Yao that wasn't ideal for a full blown rebuild. Morey stood pat in the hopes of flipping his roster for assets to either acquire a star player, or set the team up for a total rebuild. MOREY DID BOTH. So wake up and smell the roses. If this team somehow makes the playoffs or even comes close to it this year, it means that the future is very, very bright moving forward.
14th pick isn't even that bad man. Harden's a superstar so we aren't thirsty for one anymore, and we've got plenty of youth already.