The problem with your logic is that the '94 Rockets were an exception not the rule. They had an all time great center and a whole lot of "good" players..no second superstar. They certainly won a championship but if you're trying to use that team as a blueprint then winning a championship is a longshot. It's similar to the'04 Pistons Championship team. They were able to win the title without having a top 5 or 10 player in the league. That Piston's team was also an exception and if you tried to build your team in that style then your chances at a title would be minimal. NBA teams tend to adopt strategies that have proven success over several years rather than hoping to recreate a once in 20 year exception. If you did want to try and pattern yourself after the '94 Rockets then the first step should be "Acquire the best player in the league", not "Acquire Courtney Lee". Unless you can find another Olajuwon then that model doesn't work. Based on the Rockets current cap and player contracts they have one more substantial move that they can make. Once they make that move they're likely locked into their roster and won't have much flexibility to make substantial moves. Morey is looking to make a move that will make us a championship contender. His strategy has always been to maintain the flexibility to make a big move when the situation arises. Does Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee make us better? Yes. Do they make us a championship team? No. Morey isn't going to make us marginally better and lose the flexibility to make a move if a true difference maker becomes available. Our flexibility is what allowed us to acquire Harden, make multiple runs at Howard as well as other free agents. Unless there's a deal that makes us substantially better or lets us retain (or improve) our flexibility to make future trades then the Rockets aren't likely to make a significant roster move. Morey's already done the hardest part...going from nothing to having two stars. Now he needs a third player to compliment them but it doesn't have to be a superstar. Until he can get the right player or players that will make us a contender then he's not going to give up his flexibility. Personally, I wouldn't want him to. In order to acquire Howard the Rockets had to purge most all available salary. That was the right move but it does have ramifications. They were able to fill out the roster with minimum salary players but they aren't the optimal fit. It's similar to Miami signing their big 3. They gutted the roster to open up the cap space and then signed minimum salary guys to fill out the roster. While they were certainly good that first season they really got better in subsequent years when they could use exceptions to add pieces like Battier and Ray Allen or picking up guys that were good fits like Chris Anderson when they became available.
I can't say if Court is better, but I agree with your premise. We need a QUALITY supporting cast to make this team worthwhile of its starpower. Right now, we simply have a bench. DM liked Courtney Lee when he traded fro him, which obviously shows that he has talent. The only reason we let him go was because of contract demands and rebuilding. He would have been excellent to give a contract to and keep around. Yes, he has a contract that pays him, but whe C-Lee gets minutes, he puts up his worth. It's not like he's making Joe Johnson money. Anyway, I'm hoping DM goes through with what he should be doing at this point. Last night was terrible. Again.
Courtney Lee can't defend like Maxwell, and he is not a clutch performer like Vernon either. People forget or don't realize that we could not have won a NBA championship without Maxwell's contribution. Lee is a good role player, but he would struggle coming off the bench in Houston IMO.
It seems like some people have forgotten how good Vernon Maxwell was and exactly what he was capable of when properly motivated.
I don't think Courtney or Maxwell are significantly better than the other. Maxwell is a tougher defender, and Lee shoots better.
Aldridge and Love. Why are we putting all of our hopes on these two? I still haven't heard a good argument as to why they'd come here or how we get them without gutting the team. Love seems to favor heading to LaLaLand, and I see no reason why Aldridge would bolt from Portland if they are putting together a winning team around him, only to come here and see his production fall off as a third star. That's the problem with the "3 star" philosophy - at least one of them has to be willing to make a significant sacrifice to do it. And it is immensely costly and will tend to gut the team. And I don't really see it as necessary, anyway. I'd rather have added Lee and Bass and kept Parsons - who is putting up star numbers anyway - than gut the team for a third All Star who we'd surround with scrubs.
Players were taking pay cuts to play with a team that has WON a championship, and that wont be the case for Houston until we at least reach the conference finals. Even if we do get three superstars we wont reach the conference finals with this current supporting cast so I would rather keep two stars and get 2-3 Lee type contracts instead of getting a third star not named Lebron or KD.
-What's make you think he couldn't get rid of lee of that time came ? Lee would be a solid playoff 3&d expiring contract & Morey was getting a 1st from Boston -anything can happen in 2 yrs Howard will have 1 yr on his contract to play with love, and they would still have a weak bench, rocket fans deserve to be able to compete now
Is Kevin Love going to be worth us having a bench of scrubs? I say no because players won't take pay cuts to come play with Harden-Dwight-Love. The reason why players take pay cuts for the Heat is because Lebron is a pass first minded superstar and also the team is in MIAMI.
It is what Morey said though, lol. I've learned to be patient with Morey, I still think Mchale can do more with this roster, though.
I loved Courtney Lee when he played for us. I didn't want to lose him in free agency....until Boston offered him that contract. Don't get me wrong. I love his hustle. I love his defense. I think that he would be a great fit for us coming off the bench. But unfortunately, with the contract that he has, if we had acquired him it would have made it much more difficult for us to make additional moves to improve in the future.
