It's a bit different really.. Yao has been a Rocket his entire NBA Career. Tracy became a Rocket when he was in his prime. Who do you think will have the more crazy expectations? Honestly, when Yao was drafted, I would never think he would be a 20/10/2 player he is, when he is playing. I thought he would be a pretty good player, but never to the point where he would be the best player at his position or one of the best players at his position. Not to mention, every other basketball fan in the world would write him off as well.
tmac has to be up there. he's one of the most talented players EVER to don a rockets uni (or history of the NBA), and he has accomplished the least team-wise. when we got him in 04, i thought we were on our way to a championship after that mavs series (him being in his prime, yao showing glimpses of greatness). unfortunately, injuries and lack of role players derail that hope. i know tracy and the team are basically done. but it's time for a new era, which has already started.
After all he has done to this organization. YES I am. Yao doesn't make as much money and hasn't been in the league as long as Tracy. I agree they both have been disappointments. But, I'm willing to give Yao 5 more years to see what he can do for this team without all the drama.
Scottie Pippen would not even be one of the 50 greatest players if it was not for Micheal Jordan...He benefited from his airness...
Even though I disliked him for what he did to this team. You might want to consider checking out what he did in the 1994 Season.
How has nobody said Vassilis Spanoulis? Or Bob Sura who was injured for like 3 million years with a thumb injury or something. What about Joey Dorsey? And Yao Ming, the "best center" in the league whose biggest accomplishment, while playing with 2 of the best defenders in basketball history, was 2nd round of the playoffs, and got injured every year.
How about the actual trade of Pippen to Portland We got a mountain of crap for a future Hall of Famer. Literally a mountain. Brian Shaw (probably the most useful of theses guys, released and helped Shaq/Kobe get rings) Carlos Rogers (crap.) Walt Williams (tall crap who could shoot some threes) Kelvin Cato (taller crap who could block some shots) Ed Gray (I'll be honest, I don't even know who this guy is. immediately released) Stacey Augmon (immediately released) This was like an NBA Live '98 trade where you just trade your crappiest players for Shawn Kemp b/c the computer trade decision was based on the total rating points going from one team to the other. (i.e. 49+51+49+55+65 > 85, TRADE ACCEPTED!!!!) I remember when this trade went down I was like wheres Jermaine O'Neal?
RIP Eddie Griffin, but I have to agree. You can't really say Pippen, cause he was about to past his prime by the time we got him. I kind of blame Francis and Mobley for Griffin not developing in the two years he was on the team. You can't get better if you have two guys dribbling doing one on one stuff and not giving up the ball unless they get an assist. I remember Griffin, getting maybe one post up play a game that was it.
You gotta blame the coach for that, not the players. And even if Eddie would've been developed better as a basketball player, he definitely still had issues in his personal life that would have continued to bring down his career
Has anyone mentioned a Rockets' coah, yet? JVG takes the cake for his crappy coaching and decisions with Yao Ming. JVG: "Yao, lay the ball in the basket!"
without JVG, yao wouldn't be the player he is today. JVG made an emphasis to emphasize yao in the offense, and that made him the best post player in the game.
Actually the only thing JVG did bad was destroy potential young guys on our team. Like V-Span. Like said and done, If JVG was coaching last season, Brent Barry probably would've been the starting PG over Brooks and Lowry. He's one of those Old Guys > New Guys people. JVG has destroyed most of the players development on the Rockets, but I don't believe Yao is one of them.
Well Rudy T was a players coach and Steve Francis was his best player. Even if Rudy had told Francis to get Griffin more involved in the offense he still wouldn't of listen. The guy was hard headed and don't listen. Thats why he and JVG didn't get along.
Here's my list of top 5: 1. Rodney McCray 2. Eddie Griffin 3. Bryce Drew 4. Ralph Sampson 5. Sleepy Floyd I don't include Scottie Pippen because I had my doubts about him fitting in with Rudy T and Charles Barkley. I think Pippen needs to play with a premier perimeter guy to be effective since he is not able to be the focal point - point forward my butt. Clyde would have been a better compliment. Rodney McCray was suppose to be a star - not a good player that faded away. We passed on Clyde for him. Eddie Griffen - well, we all know the story. Richardson! Come back to us! Bryce - well, compared to Lewis is clear this one was really painful... Ralph Sampson was a bad pick, but outside those first two years, he really bottomed out fast. And Floyd...ah, how big the expectations were....that trade was supposedly a blockbuster. The worst part is, after a while, it looked like the Rockets had become the Golden State Warriors. Dark days indeed.
JVG is no way a disappointment. He, just like Adelman was a big part of the Rockets over achieving during our injury filled years... I will agree with Mo Taylor, Cato, Vin Baker, Maloney
It's absolutely hilarious to see posts like this. I don't know how long you have been a Rockets fan. Remember in his early rookie season, Yao was expected to be the 2nd coming of Olowokandi. Everybody expected him to be a total bust. Marbury crossed him over and everybody laughed at this Asian weirdo. Charles Barkley said Rockets should have drafted Jay Williams and said Yao wouldn't score 19 point a game. All the experts came out and said the same thing. Even the most optimistic scout didn't expect him to be a 20/10 guy ever. On the contrary, Tracy came in and said he would bring championship to Houston. Big freakin' difference.
