I mean, I hear DM saying that all the time, and then we go and buy draft picks, and include cash in deals. But - the Rockets made $29 million in profit last year, and have virtually NEVER paid the luxury tax - one year they were barely over. Here are some of the players the Rockets have let go - because they thought they might have to overpay them - or they weren't really worth the value they were seeking. 1. Dragic - much better than any PG on our team 2. Patterson - much better than any PF on our team 3. Parsons - much better than any SF on our team In each case, we have let players go that would actually HELP us be a better team. Saying they did not believe this team would be a championship contender with Parsons is mind boggling - he is a 25 year old player who has improved every single year, and was arguably our most important player last year - when he was out, we lost. He does so many little important things, from moving the ball, to hitting 3s, to leaking out for easy buckets. I don't buy that we can win 54 games in the team's first year, and simply assume that was all that team could be or that it would not grow, simply by staying together. I like Morey - but I find his "Shiny object in the stream" approach to be somewhat flawed - I am not convinced that constantly flipping the roster will net the results you want - and think the org REALLY undervalues good coaching. Yes, I am upset, but ACTIONS speak louder than WORDS - and this team doesn't seem to want to PAY to stay elite, or is pedantically driven towards one strategy of assembing through trade. BTW - Dwight can opt out in 2 years - and getting WORSE in the 2nd year - is wasting another year of his prime. Unless Morey is going to get us a major upgrade at another position to make this year's team BETTER than last year's team - I think he has underperformed in his job of making the team better - that is his ONLY job. I hope like hades - he has a rabbit up his sleeve. DD
So signing Dwight Howard is proof the Rockets don't want to win? And you can see into the future and know we're going to get worse? Talk about overreacting. And people make fun of Lakers fans?
I thought it was 40.7 million in profit. Impressive for no TV deal. But to answer your question, Les wants to win but is cheap. He will go over the tax if DM begs but if he DOES go over the tax and the team falls on it's face DM will take the wrath of a cheap owner.
DD hitched is wagon to another doomed Rockets prospect.. ALL DD'S FAVORITES UNCEREMONIOUSLY BANISHED FROM HOUSTON!! stay away from Troy Daniels!
No that is fine, and it didn't cost the Rox anything, but you are supposed to take steps forward once you reach contender status, you keep the core together and go out and find that Mario Elie type of player to bring it all together. You don't let one of the best SF's in the league just go for nothing - that is simply poor, IMO. DD
matching Parsons at this point doesn't make us a championship team, itd be guaranteed 1st-2nd round exits until our stars leave. We couldn't hit with one of the big stars despite information that we had a really great chance. We just got really unlucky imo
See that is a circular argument - so any upgrade has to net us a championship? By that logic signing Howard was a waste of time becuase we didn't get a championship and he was just a little better version of Asik. I honestly just want the team to win, and to put the BEST TALENT on the floor night in and night out. Parsons >>>>>>> Ariza - so therefore Morey just made the team worse. Stll waiting for Cap Space to win its first game. DD
I thought when we got Harden and Dwight we would stop flipping the roster and let the core of the team build some chemistry. But now I realize that's never going to happen with this FO.
It's not about the luxury tax, it's about being able to fill out the rest of the roster. You say they aren't about winning, but the only reason they aren't paying the luxury tax now is that Bosh backed out at the last minute. They were ready to not just pay Chandler, but pay Bosh as well. That completely destroys your little dramatic whine of a thesis.
Morey doesn't like overpaying for role players or keeping players who would hinder the development of players with higher potential. If Parsons could be had for a more reasonable contract, Morey would have kept him.
That's just not true. The addition of Ariza and maybe a Hawes would have been perfect, exactly what we needed. A big that can stretch and some defense at the wings. Add that to 54-win core, you can make some noise. All we've done is subtract.
Trying to get Bosh and after acquiring him keeping Parsons makes us a championship contender. Bosh falls through so makes sense not to shoot us in the foot a keep us basically the same team as last year without any room for growth. Now we have room for growth and also have the ability to expand if need be if anything comes up at the trade deadline.