[ESPN Insider] A Texas Showdown: Rockets steps toward relevance

Houston Rockets

The situation

The sad end to Yao Ming's career due to chronic foot problems is tough for many Rockets fans to swallow. But the Rockets sit on the brink of the playoffs with a talented but unproven and quite unbalanced roster. There's the singular-minded scorer Kevin Martin, who owns the highest scoring average for a non-All Star in the past five years; the tough but somehow already aged Luis Scola (31 years old) and the newly drafted Marcus Morris, who could end up being the steal of a draft loaded with steals.

New coach Kevin McHale (who is finally the head man with no other duties to distract him) will have nothing but opportunity to prove he's the basketball mind many people (including me) believe him to be. From Les Alexander to the fans tweeting from the cheap seats, there is the belief that the Rockets have what it takes to return to the playoffs after a two-year absence. There will be great angst in Houston if they fall short of that goal, and even though the Rockets are taking baby steps in the right direction, there is a ton of work still to be done.

The man (men) with the plan

General manager Daryl Morey has generated considerable attention for being at the forefront of ushering in the NBA's age of analytics. He's often compared to Oakland A's manager Billy Beane, who revolutionized roster building by putting less emphasis on traditional athletic value and used numbers to determine a player's efficiency. But Morey's calculator-pounding ways have actually yielded very little. In four seasons as general manager, the Rockets have averaged 48 wins, made the playoffs twice and won only one series. None of Morey's draft picks have made an All-Star Game or averaged 20 points. Only one pick (Chase Budinger) from his first three drafts (2007 to '09) are still with the team.

In fairness to Morey, injuries to Yao and Tracy McGrady and a maxed-out cap left him smack in the middle of a rebuilding effort, but that's the stark reality of being an NBA GM. And now his tenure will enter an interesting period with the addition of McHale.

McHale rolls into town as the newly minted head coach, playing Oscar to Daryl Morey's Felix in this odd coupling. There will need to be considerable give and take and compromise between the two and McHale acknowledged as much during his introductory news conference. Not exactly a student of metrics, the Hall of Fame forward values traditional basketball intangibles like heart, swagger and unselfishness.

In his two abbreviated stints with the Timberwolves, despite being saddled with inferior rosters, he developed a rep as a players' coach who believes strongly in positive reinforcement and getting guys to buy into a system. McHale's true value will be teaching Houston's young bigs the art of post play, particularly footwork, counter moves and his vaunted up-and-under which helped make him one of the 50 greatest players of all time. McHale was a smart hire. He'll teach, motivate and communicate. Now Morey needs to get him a star.

Key needs

The Rockets don't need much, just a franchise cornerstone. All kidding aside, without one, playoff success, title hopes and residency in the league's upper echelon are just pipe dreams. The Rockets need a star who can make those around him better and embrace a true leadership role. Martin has been a terrific scorer, but it's clear he's not comfortable as a leader or adept at getting the most out of those around him, two absolute requisites for a franchise cornerstone.

We can easily surmise that the Rockets' recent chugging through the rut of averageness has a heck of a lot to do with the fact that they don't have a player to build a team around, which makes constructing a competitive team more of a crapshoot than normal. Morey won't find a franchise star in his spreadsheets. It will take some serious dealing to bring one to town through a blockbuster trade. Perhaps Martin and Scola for Dwight Howard?

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There's also a part about the Mavs and Spurs. If you guys want, I could post that as well.

 

Nothing the average member here couldn't churn out.

 

You severely overrate this board, I think... :grin:

 

Yeah, other teams can make similar or better offers. But hes on track about combining Martin and Scola, its the only way we can land someone big.

Aside from a superstar we need a starting center too.

 

Oh, baby, don't tease me...

 

Why would the Magic want a 30 year old Scola and a no upside, defensive liability in Martin?

Smith would hang up the phone in a second.

Dwight's going to either Brooklyn or LA.

If I'm Orlando and I want to send Howard to Houston, I ask for Patterson, Morris and Lowry for starters, not to mention draft picks, etc.

 

Not after the Rockets trade Lowry/Martin/etc for Chris Paul... You heard it here first...

Dwight is in control.

Mentor=Dream
Best friend=Courtney Lee
Superstar Bud=CP3

 

I pray that you are right my man!

Hakeem is gonna be our savior once again!

 

I find that to be incredibly misleading. He makes it sound like they were busts that didn't work out for us!

First, Aaron Brooks very nearly did average 20 points for a whole season. And Carl Landry isn't a terrible scorer either - but NOBODY expects guys that get picked in the late first round to early second round to be All-Stars! Come on, man!

Second, we traded Carl for somebody who does score more than 20 points per game - Kevin Martin. Trading the 31st pick for a guy like Martin means that pick worked out pretty darned well for us.

As for Aaron, as good as he was in his second season, he fell out of favor due to another brilliant Morey acquisition playing even better. Sure - none of us were pleased with the ensuing pity party Brooks started throwing for himself nightly and we all would have preferred if we could have traded him when his value was higher - but even still, I don't think anybody would say Aaron Brooks, at 26 or 28 or where ever it was we took him, was a disappointment.

 

jm,

Sometimes though it is better to build through the draft, constantly trading your picks does not mean the team is better.

I don't think it is any better today, do you?

We have just shuffled the deck and moved the weaknesses around....

DD

 

I have heard that Boozer, Lee and Josh Smith are all his best friends. Wonder who he likes the most.

 

Martin and Scola for Howard. Works - - if it's Josh Howard, either that or he's joshing.

NBA rule of thumb: in any multi-player deal the team that trades the fewer players gets the short end of the stick. Oh!lando cannot trade Dream's child for small value. The obvious deal involves Bynum but obviously Jimmy Buss is oblivious.

Lopez and _____ from Brooklyn? Owww-ch.

BTW - - I'll take on his brother from PHX (for not too much in return).

 

more importantly, who likes him most.

 

Rockets making the playoffs ? No way. Adjusting to a new coach, mediocre talent and no draft picks that can contribute immediately. Also Flynn, what can he add ?

We need a major shake-up, Patterson and Lowry are the only untouchables imo.

 

A guy coming off of ankle surgery and a former career backup?



Come on now, no one is untouchable when you are the Rockets.

DD

 

:grin: Excuse me: This is nothing the average poster with 2 years of membership couldn't churn out.

 

read the article, if we acquire a suitable superstar is the caveat.

thanks to AFS & ICanDunkOnYao for the find & post but the piece doesn't say anything not posted here many times before. btw, IF we could acquire said elusive superstar no one is untouchable imo.

 

on one hand, i can see us easily making the playoffs. at the end of last season (after trades and ASB) we were killing it. lowry was playing out of his mind and judging by the impact league and the philly game, it seems like he's going to pick up right where he left off. everyone will be a year older, which helps us because everyone but scola is young on the team. Also, I see NO dropping out and depending on what happens with marc gasol and battier, memphis could drop out too. i could see us easily getting into the playoffs with something even as high as a 6th seed

on the OTHER hand, the big question mark is how the hiring of coach mchale will play out. i can see him playing people like thabeet, hill, and williams more. if we play them too much, and they still suck, then we might suck more overall.

overall though, i think a full year of kyle lowry as the starting point guard, and dragic as his backup will outweigh any mistakes that Thahilliams will make throughout the year