I love it. Force the front office to do the smart thing and actually USE its biggest trade piece. Team chemistry was at an all time high with Dragic. Lowry says he thinks he needs to be traded, while Dragic says Houston is at the top of his list.... What young free agent with real potential has said that lately?
I think it's a case of "regime loyalists" with both Lowry and, even more so, Kevin Martin. They were both successful with Adelman and liked him, and they are not comfortable running the new stuff that McHale and his staff ran (without the benefit of a training camp to adjust, too). It's how some Iraqi soldiers got after the fall of Saddam (not that Adelman is Saddam). I kind of experienced the same thing when I taught high school. The first year I taught at a school, I got a lot of "but our old teacher never had us do this!" As I said, it's Lowry being Lowry. There are times when he couldn't co-exist with a referee during summer pick-up league. He's probably not a bad guy, just a hot head.
Perhaps the Brooks vs. Lowry debate will be solved by which one brings back the bigger return in a trade. Brooks gave us Dragic and a 1st. Can Lowry do better?
So the Rockets is the place to come to become a legit starter, then get moved I guess. First Brooks, then now most likely Lowry. So who's going to overtake Dragic next year?
Lowry has improved so much year after year here. I don't think he has a ceiling as far a potential. I've seen a guard who only went hard in the paint to draw fouls into a good shooter who is a great field general. This will suck if he's gone.
Except that if we had made the playoffs we actually had something to cheer for.... now we are doing this year after year ... without an identity. This is going to tough, wear on other young players as well..... We forgot that Kyle is still a young player in many ways. I mean the only guy who played through those trade rumors happens to be a free agent. Martin and Scola's games were affected. Tough situation. Nobody is going to be happy in this mediocrity treadmill for long.
Some (realistic, I think) possibilities: 1. Lowry + Scola to Lakers for Gasol 2. Lowry to New Orleans for the 11th pick + Jarrett Jack 3. Lowry + 14th pick to New Orleans for Jarrett Jack + 4th pick 3. Lowry + Dalembert + 14th pick to New Orleans for 4th pick + Okafor (Some of these subject to lottery draw results). But what's the alternative? Tanking and being on horrible teams is tough for the psyche of young players, too. You think guys on the Bobcats and Wizards were happy to go to the gym every day? Competition for minutes and positions is a fact of life in the NBA unless you are at the Kevin Durant level where nobody is realistically going to challenge your position on the team and the team has no reason to trade you. What's the Rockets realistically gonna do when a former back-up emerges to be as good as, or better than, the starter? Ignore it and keep the same pecking order so it doesn't disrupt people's lives?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Resting comfortably!!! Goodnight!!</p>— Kyle Lowry (@Klow7) <a href="https://twitter.com/Klow7/status/206242365353111553" data-datetime="2012-05-26T04:36:26+00:00">May 26, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
1. Lowry never returned to the starting lineup after his infection. 2. Dragic never played better than Lowry did. 3. Everyone knows that Morey saying he "wants you here" means jack crap... especially when he's already said he really wants to bring Dragic (an unrestricted FA who will be looking for a starting PG spot) back. 4. Don't give me that "late game demise" crap. The team struggled late in the season because the coaching staff made very few adjustments. They struggled late in games because Dragic kept picking up his dribble, which forced him to pass it off and put other guys in bad positions to make a play. Lowry played very well coming off an injury that forced him to be out for over a month. And even though he played well, McHale never even considered putting him in at the end of games even when it was painfully obvious that Dragic was not playing well. Lowry has done nothing to warrant giving up on him just for the sake of keeping Dragic. He deserves the starting PG spot, and the team should make a commitment to him by letting him know that he will be the PG for the future. I'm tired of playing on the merry-go-round when it comes to this team's PG.
Lowry shot 33% from the field, 28.6% from behind the arc, after returning from the illness. He was not 100% and was not playing all that well. http://espn.go.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/3012/kyle-lowry
What a b**** move by Lowry. He didn't have to go public and gut his trade value. There are ways to do this, and he knows better. What an a-hole.
It's actually closer to 5 mil, but your point is still valid. I'm surprised no one said it before. Obviously free agency and the draft complicate matters. However, if it's just a debate of Lowry versus McHale, that's a no-brainer to me. Bye Coach!
I think this was pretty much just bluntly stating the obvious. There is no shame in hiding the fact that Lowry and Dragic cannot co-exist next season. They are both starters. One of them has to be moved, and Lowry probably feels like he lost his job because of something out of his control. -The McHale stuff I dont really buy. He could just be referring to decision on who starts and who comes off the bench. Either way its lose/lose. He might not be referring to ill feelings towards McHale at all. This sucks for Kyle, and I feel for him. At the same time, whats best for the team and Lowry is to get this situation resolved as soon as possible. If it takes Lowry going out and publicly saying, "just trade me first," then he is doing everyone a favor here. No games, just be honest, and get on with it. Lowry has been awesome to this city, and if he does get traded, I hope he has a great year next season. At the same time, Goran Dragic better be worth losing Lowry next season after he gets over paid by the Rockets. He will have a pretty decent sized contract to live up to. That being said the Rockets front office can always let Dragic walk if they feel thats the best thing to do and then Lowry is back in the saddle. Then its back to business as normal.
