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letter to CD: i remember the crappy olajuwon years...

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by verse, Mar 8, 2006.

  1. verse

    verse Contributing Member

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    dear mr. dawson,

    i've been a rockets fan for a while. how long? my original "favorite nba player" was calvin murphy. so i've seen some icons come and go.

    the biggest waste that i had the misfortune of watching/experiencing was hakeem olajuwon's teams from the late 80s to early 90s. there was about a four to five year period where olajuwon was truly at his peak - after the lloyd/wiggins/lucas fiascos and before the championship years. he was a beast. that time was completely squandered because we paired olajuwon with castoffs and chumps. buck johnson ring a bell?

    had olajuwon been surrounded with better players, he would have accumulated 2 or 3 more rings - easily - and the debate really would have been on about who is the greatest player of all time - jordan or olajuwon.

    seeing yao recently reminds me of that time with olajuwon because i don't want to see us squander his prime years away. do whatever it takes to surround yao with durable, competent playmakers and shooters. dare to be great. if that means moving tmac in the offseason, do it. if that means passing up on certain free agents because they won't defer to yao, do it. but, for the love of granville waiters, don't force yao to carry this team on his own.

    swift was a good signing. i see the logic behind it. i even see why juwan plays big minutes. it's hard to trade someone with a big contract that doesn't see the court.

    mike james for alston? good trade. we needed someone to push the ball harder, distribute the ball better, and make headier plays. the only problem i see with it is that we didn't replace the "spark plug" that james was. we still are missing someone to come into the game (in the backcourt) and change the energy of the game. head's not that kind of player. he doesn't have that kind of edge.

    derek anderson? i'm guessing that there were locker room issues i, as a fan, am not privy to.

    overall, i have confidence in you. but i want you to know that as rocket fans, we see that yao is starting to "believe". we already felt that he would become "the one", but now, i think he is starting to "know it." the way that a rookie comes into the league and everything is, generally, too fast for him, is the way yao played his first few years. now, the game has slowed down. he's dictating, as opposed to reacting.

    now it's your turn. dictate to the league that this team, this rocket team, will be the blueprint. we dont' have to retool our roster to match up with the san antonio spurts or the detroit pistols. let them react to us. dare to do it cd! we're all behind you....and most of us are behind jeff, too.


    thx,
    verse
     
  2. GRENDEL

    GRENDEL Contributing Member

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    Dawson, JVG and Alexander have been very aggressive in pursuing grade A talent, IMHO.

    Some have worked out other haven't.

    If not for the injuries these Rockets would be near the top of the West.

    I expect them to fill in some more of the gaps but I don't see anyway T-mac is moved. He's had an injury riddled season mixed with personal problems, he'll be back next year and I have the highest hopes.

    Still, never know what could happen this year, once they get into the playoffs anything could happen :D
     
  3. m_cable

    m_cable Contributing Member

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    RIP NBA competition.
     
  4. DeAleck

    DeAleck Contributing Member

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    It is a good letter, but it doesn't add anything. CD IS trying to pair Yao up with great talent. There is no evidence that he isn't trying. What do you think he got Tmac here for?

    Tmac, when healthy, is a great player that you put next to Yao. They seem to get along really well, and they genuinely pull for each other. If you trade him, there is no way you get equal value back, because his value is so low right now due to health reasons.

    I do agree that other than Tmac and Yao, this roster needs to be worked on. Starting guys Howard and Wesley aren't going to get it done. I am OK if these two are backups, but not as starters. We need young talent. Tayshaun Prince, Josh Howard, Boris Diaw, Tony Parker... these are the type of talent we need, not Howard, Wesley, Motumbo...
     
  5. ShadyMcGrady

    ShadyMcGrady Contributing Member

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    I completely agree. Tracy McGrady is not going anywhere, and I'm going to have to say that everytime we lose a game or he has a bad night.

    This team is built around Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, neither of them are going anywhere. If anything, the other players on this team are going. We just need the right role players around T-Mac and Yao, that's all.
     
  6. Panda

    Panda Member

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    If T-Mac's back still goes out time after time next season, I'll be concerned. To think about trading T-Mac now for anything less than a superstar, or a couple of all stars is too early.
     
  7. CriscoKidd

    CriscoKidd Member

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    I don't see any way to dramatically retool this roster w/o trading Tmac, and I don't think there's any way that will or should happen.

    fagency is going to most likely be a bust.

    Trades are mostly going to be lateral.

    Only way to significantly get better is to strike it rich in the draft while slowly attempting to add rotation players via trades and fagency.
     
  8. don grahamleone

    don grahamleone Contributing Member

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    Tmac for Luol Deng, Ben Gordon and Tyson Chandler.

    Splash.
     
  9. topfive

    topfive CF OG

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    I think you mean:

    Flush.
     
  10. Will

    Will Clutch Crew
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    If we trade Tracy McGrady, we are going to make somebody really, really happy. And it won't be us.
     
  11. TheFreak

    TheFreak Contributing Member

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    1) Olajuwon's prime years were '92 to '95. That's backed up by stats, as well as wins.

    2) Yao right now has more talent around him than Hakeem EVER had, save for when Barkley showed up. Hakeem never had a player even close to his abilities on the same team as him, while Yao has a player BETTER than him on his team (although the gap is closing fast). The situations aren't really comparable at all.
     
  12. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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    The Rockets to me are just a notch under organizations like the Lakers, Yankees, Miami Hurricane football, etc... In terms of persuing great players. Sometimes to the point that they jump the gun and hurt the chemistry. But it seems like every 2 years this organization makes some kind of extreme transaction. Let me just name some names we've aquired through free agency or trade since 94. Drexler, Willis, Barkley, J. Jackson, E. Griffen, Francis, Rice, Pippen, Taylor, Swift, Alston, Shandon Anderson, etc... Not all deals workout but all the moves make it clear that Rockets managment does everything it can to improve the team. Even risking chemistry and loyalty at times...
     
  13. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    Yes, the physical therapists of a certain NBA city would be jumping for joy.
     
  14. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    The Rockets need to find a 3rd scorer. Someone that can create their own shot and carry the load with Yao if Tmac's back goes out. They just arent going to get to the elite if they dont find that 3rd scorer. It doesnt need to be a 3rd all-star. I am just saying a scorer. And someone preferably at the swingman position.
     
  15. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    As well thought out and reasoned as your post was, you have committed one sin which is a crime against the basketball Universe. You used Granny Waiters name in vane. When a player is 24 years old and looks like Waiters did, then that player should automatically be elevated to 'untouchable' status.

    Another thing(though this wasn't a crime against the universe)was to bring up Buck Johnson in a bad light. Buck could have been more, it is true. But he was a good defender, occasionally capable monster slams, and terrific blocks. He could put in the three ball from time to time as well. His underspoken way of going about things coupled with with his athletic ability is what makes him one of my favorite Rockets, and where part of my SN comes from. I understand that he wasn't a super star, but I have to defend him. :D
     
  16. fa7999

    fa7999 Member

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    This letter is well written. However, you must to a fool to think of trading TMac in this off season. TMac, when healthy, is still one of the top 2-3 perimeter players in the league. And even ifyou are desperately to move him, you cannot trade him when his stock is at probably the lowest level in the last 5-6 years thanks for his back injury.

    If you really want to make a blockbuster trade, how about trying to move Yao? I guarantee that all the other teams will listen. With his stock soaring to all time high and his commercial appeal, you can probably trade him straight up with Duncan or Garnett. Do you want to do that?
     
  17. solid

    solid Contributing Member

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    I think Rocket management has painted themselves into a corner at a very bad time. They seem to have few trading options when the team most desperately needs them. I will repeat again, this team has only two legitimate NBA starters and a host of bench players. No, that won't get in done. How will this be changed before the peak of Ming's and Tmac's career is wasted. Without "trading capital" it does not look good. Perhaps we could get lucky in the draft, but that has only happened once in the last few decades. The railroad of "old burned out Knicks" is not helping. I like what I see of Bogans, but he is another bench player. Our needs are obvious, but how they will be met is the problem.
     
  18. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    The chances of his stock RISING over time, even from what it is now, with what appear to be chronic back problems is nil.

    Tracy to Minnesota would likely be the best available package for Garnett this year if the Rockets offer it - which they probably won't.
     
  19. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    There was another team who thought that T-mac was injured too much, and didn't have the heart, so they traded him. It didn't work out too well for them.
     
  20. ima_drummer2k

    ima_drummer2k Contributing Member

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    Don't you think this is already what we are doing? It's certainly not a finished product by any means, but Rome wasn't built in a day. The moves made this year have made us much younger. No 'big splash' type moves, but moves I think could really benefit the team in the long run.

    Personally, I like this year's new young players:

    Swift, while not the superstar some of us thought he would be, is starting to come on and really contribute off the bench.
    Bogans, who we basically got for nothing, has the potential to be the next Mario Elie IMO.
    Head, who was a 'project' and not even supposed to see the court this year, is already way ahead of schedule.
    Hayes could turn out to be a real diamond in the ruff.

    These 4 guys are young and could potentially contribute to this team for a long time. Plus, they're all role players, which is exactly what we've all been screaming for for the last 3 years.
     
    #20 ima_drummer2k, Mar 9, 2006
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2006

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