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The Rockets, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard: You’ve Been Had

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by spdngyns69, Dec 6, 2011.

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  1. spdngyns69

    spdngyns69 Member

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    Here's an interesting read that just posted on the dreamshake:

    The Rockets, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard: You’ve Been Had


    It’s been an eventful past few days with all the rumors swirling around. Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Nene, Tyson Chandler, and Samuel Dalembert have all been hot topics of discussion. The direction this Rockets franchise is going has been confusing to say the least. They’ve been placed in this awkward spot between trying to go full bore to compete or to rebuild.

    In the time since Daryl Morey took over the Rockets position back in 2007 he was charged with maintaining a competitive roster in Houston but also ensuring longevity. In that time he has brought us a trio of Ron Artest, Yao Ming, and Tracy McGrady, one of the most expensive arrays of suits to see the sidelines in Houston. His tenure has brought a lot of hope, a lot of disagreement, and a lot of questions to Houston and he’s not alone. After the jump we’ll investigate the myths and lines that the fan base has been sold and the inherent flaw in this thinking.

    Star-divide

    Myth: The Rockets are a team with a ton of assets so a deal is inevitable

    The fact of the matter is the Rockets have a lot of players on affordable contracts. What the Rockets don’t have, however, are players that entice a team to go through with a deal. The current Rockets roster is the result of having to get out from under the contracts of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. The current roster also has a smathering of 2009’s draft picks that didn’t manage to stick with their teams. Also on offer are late first round draft picks and traded player exceptions (TPE) on offer.

    When you consider the Houston roster as it is put together the collection of players on offer is middle of the pack at best when you consider PER, production, long-term sustainability, and durability. Unfortunately what gets lost in this offering of players is the simple fact that you’re not going to land a notable player (often coming from a team that is about to go into a rebuild) with a bunch of average players. The majority of our roster is unproven or a known and exceedingly average commodity.

    TPE’s are intriguing for the simple fact that they can be used as a fill in for a player except in the one most critical way you need living human beings in a trade. You can combine players to make salaries match in a trade. Unfortunately a TPE is only good for that exact or lesser value. So as it stands the Rockets have chunks of cap savings that teams aren’t desperate for. Once the free agency class of Lebron James and Chris Bosh finished TPE’s were no longer the hot ticket item. The best part of the TPE is that it expires after the season starts, which will clear the air about literally getting something for nothing off a trade with a TPE.

    The late draft picks the Rockets have available aren’t particularly enticing when it comes to trades because of the simple fact that you want to pick at an impact spot in the draft. That impact spot is not anything below number 10. The draft is a crapshoot but a competent scouting department can maximize their top ten pick. Unfortunately attempting to package the 14th pick with the 25th pick is not going to entice a team to give up a top 7 pick.

    Myth: The Rockets assets are prized around the league

    Now that we’ve had a chance to look at what these ‘assets’ are we can go ahead and assess their value. Rockets fans love to talk about deals that never were but none of us are privileged to the discussions that go on behind closed doors.

    Click on link to read more... http://www.thedreamshake.com/2011/1...s-chris-paul-and-dwight-howard-youve-been-had
     
    #1 spdngyns69, Dec 6, 2011
  2. ThaShark316_28

    ThaShark316_28 Member

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    Same ol' song and dance with this fan base.

    We heard this last year.
     
    #2 ThaShark316_28, Dec 7, 2011
  3. Raven

    Raven Member

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    That should be required reading for all those who still oppose tanking. Seriously, what I started harping on two+ years ago has finally gone viral. The Rockets will not get better (as in championship better) until they get worse, much worse, much much worse.
     
    #3 Raven, Dec 7, 2011
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  4. Carl Herrera

    Carl Herrera Contributing Member

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    If you were "had," you only have yourself to blame.
     
    #4 Carl Herrera, Dec 7, 2011
  5. ascaptjack

    ascaptjack Member

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    It certainly doesn't help that we have a GM who proclaims " no one is untouchable" and we are gonna "Win Big".
     
    #5 ascaptjack, Dec 7, 2011
  6. coachbadlee

    coachbadlee Member

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    The business part always sucks.
     
    #6 coachbadlee, Dec 7, 2011
  7. ascaptjack

    ascaptjack Member

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    True, the moment Yao went down in 2009 playoffs, we should have sold high on Battier, Scola and the rest of our vets.

    It is what it is. You can blame the owner for that. It seems he doesn't wanna have to go through the losing that comes with rebuilding.

    Maybe we draft at 14th again this season?
     
    #7 ascaptjack, Dec 7, 2011
  8. cod

    cod Member

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    The Rockets are rebuilding and have been for a few seasons. They are a rebuilding team that hasn't lucked out on a no.1 overall pick. This team is what the pro-tankers want.
     
    #8 cod, Dec 7, 2011
  9. Merla08

    Merla08 Member

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    "Tanking is for losers" and Rockets fans are still living thru 1995 memories. Id rather suffer 1 or 2 awful seasons and get top 5 picks than suffer as a 9 seed and never get an all-star
     
    #9 Merla08, Dec 7, 2011
  10. Raven

    Raven Member

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    If the Rockets really want to tank, they part ways with a fan favorite and make their starting center a certain 7' 3" bust.
     
    #10 Raven, Dec 7, 2011
  11. JMAD21

    JMAD21 Member

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    Im NOT for tanking! To be honest I don't think players have ever "tanked" Im sure most of you would agree that you can't get to the NBA if you are willing to accept losing... There is a huge difference between "tanking" and "rebuilding" and unless Morey pulls a miracle in the next week or so, It's time to go into a full rebuilding mode. Its hard for me to say that because I HATE watching my teams lose more than the average fan.

    For starters, I love Kmart and Scola... But in this years draft we could easily replace either of them with possible all-stars. Considering the age limit is raised next years draft could be even better. So it kills me to say it but they should be dealt before the deadline.

    Learn from OKC, and lets build from the draft.

    With a huge amount of talent the next couple of drafts, we could easily end up with a superstar soon!

    Examples:
    Jeramy Lamb
    Harrison Barnes
    Perry Jones
    Austin Rivers
    Andre Drummand
    Anthony Davis
    Quincy Miller
    Jared Sullinger

    This is a big step for me, but I can finally admit it.... Its time to go into total rebuild mode!
     
    #11 JMAD21, Dec 7, 2011
  12. cod

    cod Member

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    The Kings, Clippers, and Warriors will find a way to be worse.

    If Grant Hill doesn't re-sign with the Suns they join that group. As does the Nuggets if they don't re-sign Affalo abd Nene. Devin Harris will be in and out of the Jazz line up, Jefferson might join him. They'll be awful too.

    Rockets without their vets are still a better team than this lot.
     
    #12 cod, Dec 7, 2011
  13. Carl Herrera

    Carl Herrera Contributing Member

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    Getting that "star that shakes loose" through free agency, S&T or through a Melo-style trade (i.e. when the guy's contract is about to expire and he is demanding out) is really never primarily about the "trade assets" that you have to entice the guy's current team.

    The first and foremost issue is to have the PLAYER want to come to your team. The relative quality of Houston's S&T package with Toronto for Bosh vs. that of Miami's didn't matter because Bosh was determined to go to Miami. The same goes with Melo and New York.

    The only instance that I remember from this past year where having tanked for a "high value asset" -- i.e. a recent high draft pick-- enabled a team to acquire a star player is NJ with Deron Williams and Derrick Favors (3rd overall pick in his first season. And God knows how that story is gonna turn out. They still don't have enough talent around Deron yet (a natural consequence of having been a terrible team prior to the trade) and Deron may still leave at the end of the season.

    The only recent example where having tanked for a high draft pick enabled a team to trade for a championship winning star is the Celtics, who swapped the 5th pick (Jeff Green) for Ray Allen. Remember, the KG trade didn't really involve a high Celtics draft pick but was instead made for Al Jefferson (former 15th pick) and a pick from another team (in this case, Minny's own pick, which was a part of the Szczerbiak/Ricky Davis trade at some point, I think).

    In any case, the first order of business is really convince the PLAYER that your city is a good place to play for, the quality of "assets" is a secondary issue.
     
    #13 Carl Herrera, Dec 7, 2011
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  14. ric_flair

    ric_flair Member

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    Very well put....
     
    #14 ric_flair, Dec 7, 2011
  15. ric_flair

    ric_flair Member

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    I would also like to remind people E.Griffin and Joe Alexander were Lotto picks and college stars too.
     
    #15 ric_flair, Dec 7, 2011
  16. ThaShark316_28

    ThaShark316_28 Member

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    Only reason (and this, my man, is a big reason) I'm not for tanking is because of future uncertainty. You can run out and get your top pick, but after 2010, I trust none of these young stars.

    If, however, we do tank:

    What's the plan?
     
    #16 ThaShark316_28, Dec 7, 2011
  17. kjayp

    kjayp Contributing Member

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    "we should tank so we can draft a superstar".... ummmmm... dont we already have a crapload of lottery picks on our roster? Why would drafting another one be different? ;)
     
    #17 kjayp, Dec 7, 2011
  18. gmoney411

    gmoney411 Member

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    We don't have a single top 5 pick on our roster and that is normally where the real star power is in the draft.
     
    #18 gmoney411, Dec 7, 2011
  19. ric_flair

    ric_flair Member

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    Thabeet=2
    Flynn=4
    Hill=8
     
    #19 ric_flair, Dec 7, 2011
  20. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    Morey didn't draft any of those guys
     
    #20 REEKO_HTOWN, Dec 7, 2011
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2011
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