IYO, What Was the Worst Trade the Rockets Ever Did?

I doubt we would have sucked enough had we kept Moses to get Hakeem.

 

Straight up true!!!

 

Trade that made me the sickest was Olajuwon for basically Nachbar. All to sign Mo Taylor. Sometimes you have to look past moving on and show some loyalty. Hakeem in purple. Jesus...

 

touche. Though their stats weren't amazingly different. Moses wouldn't have HOF or even All-Star reserve teammates in Houston (Lewis Lloyd and Robert Reid!). Subtract Caldwell's 10 and 7, too.
Moses ('83-84):23 and 13
Ralph ('83-84): 21 and 11

Dream was leaving no matter what. It wasn't about loyalty. He was too proud to admit he was no longer a star. Toronto was willing to play along with his daydream.

 

There are so many. It makes you wonder how "basketball experts" could do these trades. Maybe they aren't basketball experts.
Alson/James may not be the the worst, but it is the most recent worst.

 

Clearly, the 'experts' whose job it is to make these trades become a reality sometimes have their hands forced.

For example, as much as we ridicule that hockey GM in Orlando, he really didn't have a choice - TMac forced him to do *something*, and, as bad as the deal was, it was probably the best he could manage, ESPECIALLY given that TMac had not only made it clear that he was leaving one way or the other, but that he specifically wanted to come to Houston.

That said, as badly as many people feel about the Alston/James deal, you will never be able to convince me that that was purely a basketball move. I will always believe that the Rox were forced into moving MJ by TMac, because it was plain to see that TMac and MJ were not coexisting peacefully on the court, no matter what they say publicly today.

Could also be a large part of the reason why MJ dodged coming back here, even though we pursued him. I doubt he EVER had any real intention of coming back into that situation. (anybody remember that NASTY elbow to TMac's abdomen when we played them earlier? Think that was an accident?) If it wasn't going to be a trade kicker, it was going to be something else.

 

Spanoulis for ***************...

 

I think it's ridiculous to say the Eddie Griffin trade was a bad one. If you were the GM that day, you would have made the deal.

Armstrong is out of the league, Collins is useless and on draft day Jefferson couldn't hit the midrange or long-range shot, couldn't handle the ball well enough to consistently get FT's, and was considered a low IQ guy. Basically, his ONLY skill was his athleticism. On the other hand, Griffin was the youngest, had the most skills (could rebound, score, block shots) and it seemed all he needed was to put on some muscle and not be so trigger happy (on the court, off the court, in his car, whatever).

Go back to that day and everyone makes the same decision again. Besides, we weren't EVEN going to keep Jefferson, we picked him because NJ told us to pick him.

Battier for Gay and Swift, as I've said before, is not a bad trade. Its just that it could've been better IMO.

Personally, I think the Rockets have done a pretty good job.

 

I agree. And definitely about Griffin on draft day. On top of what you said, RJ may not have developed as he has without Kidd getting him the ball in the right places for so long. An athletic guy like him may not have thrived here. (look at Iguodala, whose game has stalled after his rookie year because of AI...and is now producing/improving already with a solid PG in Miller)

As far as the thread goes...if I have to choose something, I'd have to just go with Moses since he was still so productive after he left? I'm not old enough to actually know about the details, though--just the stats and all.

 

In before the lock.

 

Collier was becoming a decent center for the Hawks before his untimely & unexpected death. He was projected to be their starter the next season. His per-40 numbers were good, and by all accounts, he was showing promise.

Maybe it's just the Hawks, but Pryzbilla is getting the same number of minutes as Collier was at the time after 2 more seasons worth of work.. and has no semblance of an offensive game STILL

 

I still think the Eddie Griffin deal is the definition of a bust.

3 first-rounders (Richard Jefferson and Jason Collins among those) for him?? That would've given us solid, consistent depth at 2 positions, which is rare from a draft standpoint.

 

Scottie Brooks for a 2nd round pick.

When I realized I could be traded to Dallas, it ruined my basketball dreams.

Honorable Mention: Roy Rogers (and a 2nd round pick??) for Quitten. (sign and trade, but still)

 

Shandon Anderson and fodder? for Glen Rice ( 2 years @ 9 mil+ per season)

We could have let Shandon walk-instead we did a sign and trade.....

I hated what we gave for Charles Barkley the fat, but I will not nominate it for the worst.

I guess giving Pippen away for nothing was the worst-we could not bargain due to Scottie's mouth in the media complaining. All the GM's knew we had to give him away...Pippen really did us dirty

 

Hey Manny when this thread starts to die down you should open a "most lopsided trade in Rox history" topic...

 

LOL... Pro Rockets of course...

 

If it wasnt for the eddie griffin deal we would have not sucked bad enough to get the 1st pick and pick up yao. no yao means no tmac since yao was the primary reason tmac chose houston. what would we have with no yao or tmac, we would have a repetitive streak of 05-06 seasons

 

Mike James for Rafer Alston, if we didnt have Rafer we woulda beat the Nuggets and the Timberwolves,

 

LOL. Well said. Eddie just kept shooting all over the place.

Reminds me of a song by Shaggy:

"Saw you shooting bad jumpshots"
-"It wasn't me."
"Saw you shooting at your girlfriend"
-"It wasn't me."
"Caught you jerking in your coche"
-"It wasn't me."
"They even caught you smoking ganja"
-"It wasn't me."