A lot of criticism of Daryl Morey lately but I don't think people are really appreciating what he has done with our team. Let's look at the other teams in the NBA: Boston Celtics - This team is managed well, I believe after the big 3 retire (or 2 if Pierce still plays) they will suffer 2-3 years of mediocrity then come back to contender status simply because they are the Celtics. Unfair, I know. LA Lakers - See Celtics. Miami Heat - Due to a certain douchebag wanting to join his friends, they have a good future probably better than we will ever have for the next 6 years. (Unless their stars get injured *crosses fingers*) Chicago Bulls - Contrary to belief that this team has a good future, I am the few or maybe the only one who seems to believe this team will be incapable of winning a championship for as long as Boozer stays there. Sorry fellas, Boozer is NOT a Championship caliber PF. He is soft, the Vince Carter of Power Forwards. SURE, they have Derrick Rose, who is way better than anyone on our roster. But if we are comparing FUTURES, aka the capability to win a championship and not look like a poser team trying to win a championship we are simply AHEAD of this team because most of our team plays with HEART. Do not say Boozer has heart. And no, I am not simply saying that having heart is the only thing a championship team needs, it is though, the most important thing a team needs. Chicago can have all the talent in the world, but come playoff time, Rose is gonna look like LeQuit because of the piss poor effort of Boozer. Orlando Magic - With the recent trade, we definitely have a better future than them. If they don't win a championship this year or next (they most likely won't), say BYE BYE to Dwight. And then you can compare rosters... Arenas, Richardson, Turkoglu vs the Rocket players we currently have? No contest. Atlanta Hawks - This is the most forgettable team in the NBA. I'm sorry they will never be considered anything special because they are simply boring in terms of being active on the trade front. Forever stuck in mediocrity. New York Knicks - We own these fools. We have their picks. Amare is averaging MVP type numbers but that's not gonna last long. The Phoenix Suns of the East. Truly pretenders...unless they can get Carmelo. Then um sure, they have somewhat a better future than us. Indiana Pacers - Granger, Hibbert. I'd say they're on the same level as us in terms of having a good future. They seem to have the same mindset as us, that is, not wanting to tank in order to get a high draft pick and just simply fight, fight, fight and make good trades. I like our players better than theirs though. Philadelphia Sixers - What the hell is this team doing? They're terrible and clueless. Milwaukee Bucks - A team also stuck in mediocrity due to stupid free agent signings and trades. Toronto Raptors - Another team without direction. Charlotte Bobcats - A lot of fighters on this team, but overall they make the worst draft picks ever. Detroit Pistons - Another team without direction. In fact, this team probably has the worst future in the NBA. Cleveland Cavaliers - I'll give this team a break, they lost their superstar but did an okay effort trying to rebuild but ultimately, they will suck for a long time. New Jersey Nets - Another team that does not know what its doing. If they get Carmelo, then what? Holy **** I just realized I don't want to keep doing this for every team, I'm getting tired I'll cut it short: Teams that have a better future than us-- Celtics, Lakers, New York (if can get Melo), Spurs (because they have an awesome front office), Thunder (because they also know what the hell they're doing), Utah (the lesser Spurs) After those six teams, you DO put in the Rockets for having a damn good future compared to the rest of the league. WHY? WHY IS THIS even though we don't have a Chris Paul, John Wall, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, or some damn good rookie with great potential? Because just like those six teams above, we KNOW what the hell direction we're going and we KNOW what's needed in order to be competitive. That's why Morey tries so hard to get Chris Bosh or Carmelo Anthony. Compared to 80% of the league, we have DIRECTION. The freaking Clippers and their owner, this is a crap team with a crap future REGARDLESS if they have Blake Griffin. If they make the playoffs within the next five, heck, 10 years, slap me in the face or spank my ass. They will NOT because they do not have what we have... A damn good GM who does his research. I'm glad to be a Rockets fan.
I dont see the Thunder passing up the LT. Therefore not championship material. Already peeps trying to get Jeff Green because they want to save money for Westbrook. Otherwise, they would have went for a big man already and been a championship caliber team this year and years to come. Also, not to say its bad but you got too much home team homerism and it shows on your evals of other team to ours.
Patience is key when you want to be a championship team. Which big man would have made them contenders for years to come? Sorry, but No.
There are at least two huge reasons no one can chart todays NBA teams and predict the future. Or feel smug about their teams' current comparative position relevant to the other 29. First absolutely no one knows if there will even be a 2011-12 season and/or if Stern gets his wish for a hard cap. Teams like the Lakers, Celtics, Magic and Mavericks (among others) will be immediately impacted by a hard cap. The players they might have to realease will provide a fertile ground for many current underlings with cap space. Embedded within the next CBA negotiation is the "little" factor that the NBA owns the New Orleans Hornets. It could be nothing. Or, it could be a prelude to league contraction. Contraction, just as the hard cap, provides a fertile ground for underlings who have remained reasonably solvent. Or reside in cities willing to make concessions. Secondly, the Summer of LeBum....er LeBron, is going to have a sequel. Dwight Howard and Chris Paul will be FA's prior to the 2012-13 season. Don't think for a minute that teams currently and/or historically Lottery bound won't be players. Case in point is the Cipps. Right now, the Clipps have less than $20M committed for 2012. $14.8M of which is Baron Davis. Would Chris Paul bolt to LA to be the outside for Blake Griffin's inside? Just one man's opinion. Way too early to start feeling good about anything. It wasn't that long ago Kobe was grumbling for a trade, the Lakers didn't have a reputation for playing much D and Pau Gasol was considered a "soft" mid-post option on the Grizzlies. EDIT: Regarding the Summer of Superman and CP? The Rockets have $22.3M commited to Martin and Scola. An additional $10.8 to Lowery and Brad Miller. Plus whatever it takes to keep Brooks here. Team Options on Hill, Williams, Patterson and Budinger.
It's really simple, teams that have good owners have bright futures, teams that have bad owners have bad futures. The traits of a good owner; hires good front office/coaching staff and then does not meddle. Runs a meritocratic organisation. Makes winning the only priority. Has deep pockets if needed. It seems simple but there are only a handful of owners that meet this criteria.
This is an incredibly over-simplified and unrealistic view of reality. Are the Maloof Brothers bad owners? They fired Adelman and currently have the lowest 2010-11 payroll in the NBA. Nobody thought they were bad owners when they had Vlade, Cwebb, etc. How about the Bobcats? Is Michael Jordan a bad owner? Should Jordan stay away from the team practices? I doubt you could tell me the name of the owner of the Pacers. But he must be bad. The Pacers have the 21st lowest payroll and Larry Bird as the GM. And Larry never meddles with fired 76 coach Jim O'Brien. George Shinn wasn't a good owner. And their new GM isn't all that experienced. But that hasn't detered the Hornets from making a playoff run. As mentioned at the start...you're logic is way too simplistic.
maloofs are not bad owners, Jordan is definitely a bad owner, he doesn't have deep pockets and meddles with his staff. Pacers changed owners recently cos the Simon brothers died, and they were great owners. Don't know about the new owners. Hornets definitely don't have a good future, regardless of whether they make a playoff run or not. I am not talking about the performance of the teams this season, I am talking about the owners and the long term future of the team.
Amen brother. If everybody just looks at the history of this league they will agree with me... Winning the ring or consistently being a contender really isn't about getting lucky with players. It's mostly excellent management.
