I've been an ardent supporter of Les for many years, but his insistence on keeping Yao forever and the decision to "reload/stay competitive" on the fly have me frustrated to say the least. He raked in the dough and forced Rockets fans to eat the last couple of years of Yao ( handcuffing Morey) without any chance of compensation that would help rebuild/reload at the time. You would think after that, Les would take a longer perspective, and let Morey do his thing. But no, instead our owner has displayed short sighted greed. He wants fans in the seats NOW without regard for what is best for this organization in the longterm. Morey's incredible abilities as a GM are a double edged sword in Les's hands. I believe if it was up to Morey, Scola would have been long gone, selling high after the WC. The same applies to Kevin Martin.(before the Stern fiasco) For that matter, it should have started with Battier. The whole direction (or lack thereof) stinks... Unfortunately, I've had this growing feeling of a massive pink elephant in the room for quite awhile now , a VERY familiar one (and I never thought I'd say this about Les) ......But is that you, Uncle? DM playing HUN's role?
I share your frustration over Les, but i don't understand the connection you make with regard to Les raking in the $ at the expense of the health of our team. Correct me if I'm wrong, but i thought all revenues from NBA merchandise and broadcasts were shared accross the league. How did Yao make money exclusively for Les? I mean, i know he increased the value of the team because he improved our world-wide popularity, and sold a few extra tickets, but beyond that, i just don't see it. If anyone is to blame for our lack of a center these past couple of years, it's Morey (who i still think is an excellent GM, but is vulnerable to criticism on this issue). For years, it was evident that we needed to back Yao up with a quality center. We rode Deke as long as we could (and quite frankly, were lucky he was as productive as he was). When he retired, we never replaced him with a quality center, and it handicapped us for the last 3 years. David Anderson, Chuck Hayes, and Brad Miller were simply unacceptable. At least ... this is how i see it.
i thought les's business increased in china when yao was on the team. I agree that we should have actually tried to rebuild, but we're stuck with this half ass attempt. but damn, did you hear chase is in the dunk contest?
I love Houston and all but if you made 10 mil+ a year do you want to live here? Really? The only thing we can sell people is no state income tax, oh and T's. But you have to wonder if any of the max players would accept a deal here. Les is doing what he can but there hasn't been much to do. We went after Bosh and got ignored. I actually thin this team is ok. People were begging for Dalambert and iggy, and now we have one of them for half the price. It's frustrating but I don't blame Les. Actually, I do blame him for making games boring to attend. The empty first level corporate seats get all the attention. The upper deck folks get a dude throwing 6 t-shirts from the rafters, and the occasional whistle/clap dude with the cheerleaders that aren't on the floor. So much more promotion could be done...
Yes, it used to be a lot more fun to attend games a few years ago. Also, every single game I have been to this season, the half time entertainment are some little kids.... doing hula hoops or other stuff like that. What's that about? Oh, and I guess we had a gospel singer against the Suns too. lol
Let's hope you don't have to love Houston to be a Rockets fan. I've had enough humidity and swamp-ass to last a lifetime.
He looks harmless enough, but I think he is our Jerry Jones, rich but doesn't know squat about the sport and thinks he does.
Sorry but Les is the man. Les brought us drexler,pippen,barkley,rice,francis,mcgrady,mutumbo,artest,martin /thread
In Houston you can get your mansion for 170k and eat at pappadeaux everyday. If you live in other cities you wont get jack crap in Manhattan/San Francisco for less than millions. Restaurants, going to the 'klub' is going to be more a young players lifestyle than a night out in Santa Monica or a night out in Scottsdale. From that point of view Houston is way better.
I think it was mentioned before that Morey was brought in to build a strong supporting cast for Yao and McGrady. But since that plan fell through, all we're left with is a supporting cast and no star to show for it. But I can't figure out who's at fault for this fiasco, if there really is a person to blame - Les for insisting on a win-now philosophy, all the while staying below the salary cap or Morey for not using his instincts, but rather analytics a la Moneyball to fit decent players together at the best price, and in my mind, insinuating to the league that any Rockets player is a trade asset, thus making it appear like there's no loyalty here.
I've posted this a bunch before...here's a breakdown of what Yao meant to Les, exclusively: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=6222717&postcount=375
I feel you big time, IBTL. Hey, I'll always hold our titles and Les's efforts to win more close to my heart. Like I said, I've been an outspoken supporter from the get go. But as we've entered different phases of his ownership, cracks have started to show. He obviously bought/inherited a team with plenty of talent. Accordingly, Les was always ready to green light the big move while our window was open. As a native Houstonian, I appreciate that. Going all in can cut both ways though as it doesn't always work out, leaving a big mess. And, it can also become addictive. After winning our first title, he makes the move for Clyde and it's all good. But then you have the trade for Big Sexy. Now, this deal has been debated for a long time. We WERE on our way to a title when Chuck went down, but there are plenty that did, and still have problems with moving those guys out. Anyway, Les feeling the Midas Touch, is making huge deals/shelling out $$$ to take advantage of the window...Enter Scottie Pippen ....an unequivocal failure on all levels...lazy, drinking, and overrated. Later, with Stevie in the fold, Les backs up the truck to the tune of 42 million for Kelvin Cato....and finally follows that by parlaying them into the known to be less than 100% /immature Tracy Mac....At the time, most of us were on board( means to an end at minimum)....Still, interesting trend developing.....I know you win some and lose some. But, this Big Splash philosophy is evident in his actions today.....at a time when we should be rebuilding ...displaying patience. Lord knows he's made enough through Yao and we're finally free of those monster contracts...loaded with enough a$$ets and capspace to make hay. Flash forward to the plan involving the attempted deal for Gasol and subsequent Nene signing. Sure, Herr Stern was out of line, but he most likely saved us from ourselves (Les). This would have made us "perennially good" (without a shot a title) and put fannies in the seats ....that's it. Again, it's my belief that Morey has positioned us to make big noise down the road(even if we don't get Howard and DWill, which is unlikely)...and for a long time. Already though, we have reached a point of diminishing returns at a crucial point in this cycle of the organization's existence. Under normal circumstances the future wouldn't look quite so bright....But, Les has the WIZARD. He just needs to relax, adjust his timeframe, and take the chains off DM.....
I think going from being able to "feed the window", to one foot in and one foot out of rebuilding(but with an eye towards a reload), and finally where we are now is an amazing feat by DM. Most players realize the NBA is a business and the time where players stayed with one organization for their careers is sadly long gone. Free agency also cuts both ways.
