Morey gambles but has that not also helped us get here? Do you want to be the Atlanta Hawks from 3 years ago? That's what giving Chandler Parsons a MAX contract does. It turns you into the Hawks.
Bima showed where we still would have had about 9m to fill out the roster and not pay tax, and the cap is going up to around 80m in 2 years. And I understand that folks SAY they were ready to pay Bosh and Chandler - but what changed then? Why would Chandler be better in that scenario over this one? The point is, we made a move to save $$$$$$$ instead of a move to make the team better and win games. If this org is not really about winning - I mean REALLY ABOUT winning than what is the point? And yes, I am pissed off, I don't like my team getting significantly worse during the prime of a center who only has 2 more years under contract. DD
Certainly agreed with u that Parsons is one of the better SF in the league. But I can hardly believe that not to match the contract is Les's decision. It's more like a Morey's decision, you know, like trying to aviod the trade kicker and/or player option in the contract. IMO, Morey is the kind of Management that would want to have FULL control of all the contracts in hand, at any cost.
The Rockets are about winning CHAMPIONSHIPS. Not just making the playoffs and maybe winning a round. That was the Rockets' ceiling if they had matched the Parsons offer sheet. Instead, they made the hard decision to let him go because they knew it would eliminate any title hopes by ruining all flexibility, even if it meant pissing off the entire Rockets fanbase. The Rockets aren't hypocrites. They're serious about winning the whole thing and took the hard but right step in ensuring they're in position to make moves to win it all.
^^That's it exactly. I do think they are about winning but clearly the dreams of a big three have backfired for the moment. Also worth considering is Stockton and Malone had a far better supporting cast that we have as currently constructed. I think Parsons is gone out of pure spite for the Mav's hitting them. i.e. the rocks first delay things with some S&T talk with the mavs then wait until 3 of the mavs top targets are gone then refuse sticking them with the max. I think the mavs really didn't think they'd get parsons and were just sticking it to us with a max deal.
Les wants to win, but within certain constraints. And really, that's not unreasonable if you don't happen to be the Lakers or Knicks or have the pockets of a Prokhorov or Ballmer. The Spurs have operated under a budget for decades and they just got another chip. Of course, the Spurs have Pops and have had some luck to go with their skill. I think we keep forgetting how much luck is needed to get to the promised land. Avoiding injury, good draft picks, chemistry, and FA's are all a bit of a crap shoot. Just Chicago about bad luck. Just look back to Yao and TMac. Now whether it's in the cards for Les and Morey to get to another championship contending squad, only time will tell. And remember, it could always be worse. At least Harden and Dwight are locked in and healthy right now. (knock on wood)
Or you build a better core by adding another elite player, which DM was attempting to do, and Les had apparently signed off on paying the roster that would've included both Both and Parsons. You act as if the method you mention above is the only possible way in which a championship team can be built. Recent-vintage champs like the Spurs, Heat and Celtics would say you're badly mistaken.
Yet Dwight has a player option. Morey likes to tinker - sometimes the best bet is to stay pat. Chandler made this team better, that is my bottom line here, and why I am upset. Rudy traded to try to get better, not to save $$$, that is depressing to me as a fan of the team now that they seem to be more about cap management over the team. I honestly don't give TWO CRAPS about the cap or how it is manipulated, all I care about is WINNING and putting the best team on the floor - what is happening to the Rockets is distressing to me and I have been a fan since 1972. DD
They run it like a business. If they can make big money putting big names on the court they will spend. Otherwise, keep the costs down, sell some jerseys and some ads.
I agree wholeheartedly DD!!! This makes no sense whatsoever. It is not like there are superstars lining up to come here. What good is cap flexibility when we are shunned by every superstar not named Dwight who I believe came here because of Dream more than anything. CP25 would be a valuable piece of a championship team and we got ZERO in return for losing him!!
I don't think it's that the Rockets organization doesn't want to win. I think it's that Les doesn't understand how to put together a winning team. In retrospect, the Clyde and Barkley trades while reaping immediate dividends for the Rockets(repeat title in 1995, WCF in 1997), in the long run were the worst things that could've happened. Because ever since then, Les and whomever he's hired to run the Rockets front office have operated under the assumption that you need to go into every offseason swinging for the fences and trying to land a big name player either via free agency or a trade. And when those opportunities don't present themselves, you stand pat and make sure you don't commit to anything long-term, so that you can take another crack at it the following year. That's the reason why we've seen stretches of 4 and 3 consecutive lotto seasons since Les has been owner. It's a reason we seem to discard good players (Posey, Scola, Landry, Mike James, Lowry, Ariza, Artest, Dragic, Patterson, Parsons) almost as quickly as we get them. It's a reason we treat draft picks like trade assets instead of opportunities to acquire young guys who could grow into solid rotation players for the team. It's a reason why there's so much turnover on the roster even when we have 50+ win teams. And it's the reason we're mired in a 17-year(and counting) stretch where we've seen this franchise win only one playoff series. The worst record in the NBA in that timeframe other than the Raptors(who only came into existence 19 years ago). And unfortunately, we're quite possibly about to enter another one of those lottery-bound stretches with the way the West is stacked. I'd put the Rockets' odds of making the postseason at 50/50 right now. 50 wins will probably be the minimum number necessary to get in. And rest assured if the Rockets are in the lotto next summer(and we may not even benefit from the pick if LA gets it), Dwight will be not-so-quietly telling Les and Morey behind closed doors to trade him immediately or he walks in 2016. Then we're back at square one with only Harden and Ariza and a bunch of nobodies on our roster. And remember, Les refuses to tank, so you can forget about that team intentionally sucking in order to get the highest lottery pick possible.
At that point, we would be all in with Bev, Harden, Parsons, Bosh and Dwight and real contenders. Without Bosh, not matching Parsons was the right thing to do as we already saw that a big 3 of Dwight, Harden and Parsons CANNOT get it done. Better to save that cap space for future.
This happens every year, people freak out but then it turns out alright. PG position: OH NO WE LOST BROOKS--------> turns into Lowry OH NO LOWRY! --------------> turns into Dragic OH NO DRAGIC! --------------> turns into Beverley PF position: OH NO LANDRY! ----------> Still have Scola OH NO SCOLA! -----------> Patterson OH NO PATTERSON! ---------> Jones SF position: Oh no Battier! ---------> Bud Oh no Bud! -----------> Parsons
Because in that scenario, we can win with Chandler as the 4th star....in this scenario, we cant win with Parsons as the 3rd star.
People need to stop confusing flexibility and being cheap. Of course, it is more fair than ever to doubt flexibility, and I don't question you if you do. Les was very willing to pay 4 max deals all at once. Let's cut him some slack.
Me too. This offseason has been beyond ridiculously upsetting for die hard fans. Missing out on Bosh was upsetting, but it wasn't exactly Morey's fault, at least he tried. Trading Lin and Asik in the deals set up for Bosh and not our current situation sucked. Then letting Parsons walk for nothing to the Mavericks was a huge blow. To add on all of the BS we get the report that the Rockets are going to give up on this next season to wait for the 2015 FA, that one really did it for me, along with the rest of this offseason BS. We could of traded Parsons and Asik for Rondo at the deadline, too, damn that hurts. The only thing that can salvage this wreck of a off season is getting Bledsoe or somebody among his caliber.
If it was for Les. He would pay 10$/hour for any player. Houston 4th largest US city and has so much small market for its size
