I have to agree with DD. I was in the JVG camp with the hopes he could bring in a creative assistant to run the offense but alas.... Anyway, I think we can turn this ship around with D'Antoni. I like his focus on getting the chemistry right with the players (and management). That obviously starts at the top. James needs to not rest on his laurels this summer (which I assume he won't given his stint with Team USA). James has to use the failure of this year and come back ready to sacrifice himself and his comfort for the good of the team. Morey needs to make a real play to surround James with guys who can play D'Antoni's system and not just focus on putting the biggest names ont eh floor and expect the Heatles. Les had made his mark, now its time to step away and only show up to write the checks. My hope for the offseason is as follows: 1. Trade Ariza + both our seconds to ATL for Jeff Teague 2. Meet with Whiteside first thing during free agency (while awaiting a meeting with KD) and offer him a max contract 3. The moment KD gives the vibe he is going elsewhere or staying in OKC offer deals to Jared Dudley and Courtney Lee 4. Re-sign DMo to a show me deal (1+team option) 1 - Teague/Beverly/JET 2 - Harden/Brewer/JET 3 - Dudley/Lee/Dekker 4 - DMo/Beasley/Harrell/Dekker 5 - Whiteside/Capella/DMo
Team needs a stretch four that can rebound, currently there's no one on the roster that fits that bill.
Adelman was one of the best coaches we've had in Rockets history , and the day we let him go for McHale was really a dark day. Imagine what Rick could have done with Harden.
I'm at the point where I really don't care about the D'Antoni hire since I don't expect the Rockets to be any good anyway for several years. My prediction is they strike out in free agency this summer, they're a mediocre ballclub next season as Harden simply can't do it all himself, they'll be forced to deal Harden before February 2018 so they don't lose him for nothing, and then they're in full rebuilding mode. By then, not only is Harden gone, but Morey will either be canned or will quit, D'Antoni may step down since he won't wanna preside over a rebuilding project in his late 60's, and all of this will have been moot. The real question then assuming it plays out this way is what will Les do? He's never gone through a true rebuilding process in nearly a quarter century of owning this team. Will he have the patience for one now or will he decide to cash in and sell the team?
Wow, that's the apocalypse scenario, and definitely a possibility, but let's see what MDA can do before we start abandoning ship!
Is it apocalyptic? I think the odds are far greater we don't land any impact free agents this summer than we do. Obviously we're gonna sign or trade for someone. We have to given the minimum cap threshold we have to meet. But Durant ain't coming here, every rumored destination for Horford that I've heard of seems to be in the East, and Conley is a longshot. Who else does that leave? Ryan Anderson at 15-20 mil a season? Couple that with no first round draft pick, a weak roster assuming we either lose or renounce all our free agents(D-Mo's the only one who might be back), and the competition in the West only getting tougher(Utah, Minnesota, maybe even Sactown), and there's simply not much for D'Antoni to work with. And the problem with all of this is the timing. If Harden was signed for another 3-4 years, I'd be a lot less concerned. But in 2 years, he's a free agent. And the truth is, a decision about him will have to be made by Rockets management possibly as soon as next summer. If they have a mediocre year again, they have to start entertaining offers immediately. They'd be insane to wait til February 2018 in the hopes that things turn around. Cuz if they don't, they'll be forced to deal him for pennies on the dollar at the deadline. And even if they do improve, he could still bolt that offseason. I don't consider this apocalyptic. More like the snowball effect of what's already transpired this past season and I think will carry over into next season.
I'm not saying that your scenario isn't LIKELY, in fact given that only 1/30 teams win a chip, it's the MOST LIKELY. But it is a disaster scenario given how close we got to being contenders.
If Houston sports has taught me anything, having high expectations is a BAD thing. When the Texans were expected to make it to the superbowl, we finished 2-14. When we picked up Ty Lawson and were noted as one of the favorites for this year, we barely got into the playoffs. The Astros on the other hand last year were not expected to be very good, we were one game away from winning it all (I say this assuming that if we beat KC, we run through the rest of the playoffs). The fact that people don't have great expectations for us make it all the sweeter in my opinion. If we fail, it was expected to implode. If we succeed, it was through perseverance and is a great accomplishment.
No one got to embrace any team, can still be a fan and dislike a move by a team, but in no means does anyone got to waste their time embracing a team when they disagree about how they handle certain situations.
Hey, it happens. Look at Dwight's old team, the Magic. They were NBA Finalists in 2009 and Conference Finalists the following year. A year later, they're first round fodder and then the Dwightmare was upon them. Their win totals the last 4 seasons? 20, 23, 25, and 35. And they're now on their 4th coach since SVG was fired. Things can go south for a franchise very quickly in this league.
I get it - but I hope that scenario doesn't materialize. It is much easier to build around a player like Harden over the course of his entire career and address his flaws directly with coaching or indirectly with personnel than it is to find a new superstar. See Dirk - with time, he became a competent defender and they put the right pieces around him such that when the time was right, they were in a position to succeed. Again, this is not to discount the (very real) possibility that we have to blow up the whole thing in two years.
I hated the hire at first but given the options available at the time he was announced as our head coach, I was actually feeling a little better about it. The key is his personnel. You bring out guys like Corey Brewer how can't make 3s or lay ups, than he's no good to the system. PF needs to be addressed because Dmo can't be relied on to stay healthy and Harrel is still to raw to contribute. Then who's our back up center to Capela assuming Howard is gone? This team can succeed with D'Antoni and Bzdelik but what matters more than them is the roster.
Which is why I said I'd be a lot more confident if Harden was locked up for 3-4 more years. The Rockets' dilemma is they don't have the luxury of time to rebuild around him. Les all but admitted it at the press conference. They wanna win now. Obviously that's always been his mantra which is why the team's been stuck in neutral for most of the last 2 decades, but in this case, they really do have to try to eek out as many wins as possible this season. Otherwise Harden will be eyeballing the exit as he goes into the final year of his contract. And that's where I lose confidence. How do you go from 41 wins and an awful defense to 50+ wins and being a dark horse to win at least one round in the playoffs in just one offseason with all of it hinging on free agency when almost every other team in the NBA will have lots of money thanks to the cap skyrocketing? No wonder Morey looked so miserable at that press conference yesterday. Not only was he sitting next to a coach he didn't want, but he has to know he's being given a nearly impossible task by Les this summer.
Horford -Capella Beasley- Harrell- Jones Ariza- Mcdaniels - Decker Harden (point guard)- Corey- Combo fire power guard best available-?- Bev.
He was given another impossible task in staying competitive for playoff seeding while rebuilding and chasing a star, and he succeeded. I think Morey can turn this team back into a contender if he's given more than a year.
i aint embracing ****! this si ****in bull****! un-****in-belivable! im gonna wait and see wtf these guys do in the offseason its not hard to build a 2nd round team around harden when you have tons of cap space the real question is will rockets org **** it up? have to be on some storng mental r****dation to do that
