Exactly. This is what I want to see happen. Let this team sink or swim on its own merit. Don't add a Dalembert-esque player (veteran role player) to the roster...don't swing a trade for 38 year old post players mid-season. Trade guys like K-Mart that aren't part of the long term plan and who keep younger players from getting more minutes. No one is suggesting that you tell the players not to try their hardest or to intentionally play to lose on the court. My opinion is that if you get rid of K-Mart and play the young guys, you're going to end up with a pretty good pick in the next draft. Since we seem to be unable to swing trades or bring in free agents in the elite status, I don't see what choice we have. The former approach of collecting assets to be flipped for high level talent ain't working.
Not sure if the young players are going to improve very much if they're not even taken out of the game for playing like crap. Not to mention playing really bad basketball for a full season is probably more detrimental to player development than it is beneficial. Just don't want to get into a situation like the Wizards. Basically wasted the first two years of John Wall's career. He literally got absolutely nothing out of them, except maybe the development of bad habits.
Tanking comes from boxing for throwing a fight. Tanking is losing games that a team could win with their roster. Rebuilding is not tanking. Developing players is not tanking. Having a fire sale on any one too old by the time the team is good again is not tanking. I think the Rockets will rebuild this season. I do think the Rockets will snatch up a young to prime all-star if they can.
+1 The Rockets are not throwing games for higher draft pick potential. They are rebuilding. Thread over.
Call it whatever you want to call it. Call it guacamole if you'd like. When people here are labelled as "pro-tanking" like I am...it's because I take the position that I'd rather not keep around a K-Mart if it means taking minutes from a younger guy...it means I'd rather not see them go out and acquire a Marcus Camby midseason...it means I didn't want them to go get Dalembert. Ultimately it means I'm not interested in seeing them get marginally better at the expense of higher draft picks and a better chance of being able to draft the kind of player they seemingly are unable to trade for or lure here otherwise. For the purposes of this discussion in the GARM, that's been how the term has been used, no matter its boxing roots or any other derivations of the word.
Ehh, it's a good definition, technically. But, in reality, no team is ever tanking with this definition. Maybe an unscrupulous team will throw one game or even a handful of games at the end of a season to incrementally improve their draft position. But tanking a whole season isn't something players or coaches ever do. In the NBA, you tank by letting good veterans go (like Scola and Dragic), or trading them for assets that won't help you now (like Lowry, Lee, and Camby), or filling the rotation with inexperienced players (like Lamb, Motiejunas, White, and Jones). Tanking in the NBA is done by the front offices, not the players. Sure, you (the front office) are rebuilding; sure, you're giving the young guys experience; sure, you're eliminating guys who can't be part of your long-term strategic plan; but, you're also self-consciously and quite intentionally losing games and counting on the lottery pick at the end of the rainbow. Let's suppose for a moment that the 2013 pick we owe to Atlanta had no protection on it at all. Would Morey have done all the same things he's done this offseason? Some of them, I'm sure, but not all of them. Amnesty cut of Scola in particular stands out as a tank maneuver.
Exactly, the tanking has begun in earnest. But there is no conspiracy we just constructed a team that will have a hard time winning 35 games.
Play the young guns, let them develop. If the team doesnt do well that is fine, but dont intentionally throw the season away. That is proven not to work (See Charlotte Bobcats)
We are gonna suck bad this year even if they don't want to. Haven't heard jack shizzle about Mchale running a training camp ala JVG style. Coach (Yes Man) to comfortable already.
Deja Vu.... "What a great idea! Let's tank the season less than 15 games into it for an inknown commodity! Not smart."
I'd like them to just play as hard as they can. A quarter of the season in and we will see how they're doing. Who knows? Maybe Lin really develops into a Rondo or Nash-esque player? Or Lamb/Motie/Jones/White make a big jump and enter ROY consideration. OR... we are just not that good and end up with the 12th or 13th seed.
