Some Inside Scoop

I talked with a friend of mine over the Rockets over a burrito today. He's someone who has a lot of connections within the organization. He even played for the Rockets under Don Chaney, but then got cut and went to play in the Phillippines. Anyways, to keep longs stories short, here is a summary of what I found very interesting:

1) Forget what the media said about Vernon Maxwell and the off-court issues, the Rockets let him go - The Rockets were in limbo when the Clyde Drexler deal was on the table. 2 team meetings were held, one with the whole organization, and another just with players. After both meetings, the party made the tough decision that it would be best to trade for Clyde Drexler. Vernon Maxwell went immediately to Rudy and pleaded what his role with the team would be, and Rudy said he'd still be the starting 2, Clyde the 3. When Clyde got here, though, Clyde refused to play the 3, so Rudy was forced to use Mario Elie at the 3, meaning Maxwell would only play about 5 mins a game behind Clyde. Vernon went to Rudy and said, "Hey Coach, you promised me I'd start," and Rudy said something like, I know, but you earn your minutes in this league or something like that, and Maxwell was furious at Rudy. He went to Les immediately, and that was the first time that Rudy left something sour in Les' mouth. The Rockets had no interest in Maxwell whatsoever from then on.

2) Matt Maloney was dating Les' daughter - Rudy asked the team to re-sign Matt Maloney, not necessarily to a ridiculous price, but just re-sign him. I guess Les' daughter did a damn good job convincing Les that Maloney was the perfect guy.

3) The Rockets traded Hakeem, he did not demand one - I don't know if you remember Hakeem's year in 2000-2001, but he was freakin' awesome. He almost sat out the season because of some heart/blood issues, but Dr. Cooley fixed all that up and he was back on the court. Only problem was Rudy never started him, opting instead to go with Cato. Hakeem went to Les and told him he deserves to start over Cato, after all he's done, but also because he is just flat out better than Kelvin. Les went to Rudy and asked Hakeem to start, and Hakeem started a few games here and there, but Rudy would use his injuries as an excuse to come off the bench. When free agency came rolling, the Rockets did NOTHING to re-sign him. Sure, they offered him a contract, but Toronto sent Vince Carter and other management officials to Hakeem's door and begged him to join Toronto. It was a no-brainer from then-on. He then said that he won't be surprised if Yao Ming gets traded down the road if Les is still owner, when he's past the age of 35.

4) Half the players on the team want JVG out - He told me that all the players that hated JVG are now gone, and now there are guys who want him out because of his offense. I got the impression that he was talking about young guys, so my assumption was he was specifically referring to Luther Head, Stromile Swift, Chuck Hayes, Maciej Lampe, and Keith Bogans. Probably explains why Lampe and Bogans, who both have talent, won't be back.

5) Rudy screwed the organization - Other than the fact that he had cancer and ongoing alcohol problems, Les Alexander was irate with the way Rudy handled things with Hakeem and the way he was coaching the team. The Rockets are in the financial state that they're in today because of Rudy and his "loyalty" towards his players. The only way Rudy gets back with this organization is if Les sells the team to someone else.

6) The Rockets are screwed - That's this man's opinion. I vehemently disagreed. He said TMac's back is chronic, meaning he's screwed. He said last year at Tracy's Charity Softball game, TMac took a big swing and hurt his back; he took himself out of his own game. He said the worst thing the Rockets did was trade for an injured Tracy McGrady, a McGrady who has had the same injury since he was in Toronto. The Rockets didn't even give McGrady a physical. If McGrady were to take an NBA physical today, he'd fail, according to him.

This got me very upset. He basically shut out all hope for the Rockets. Furthermore, he kept bashing JVG and Morey, claiming basketball is a game of experience and knowledge, not nerds, and JVG and Morey are both the latter. I bet him right then and there that not only would the Rockets make the playoffs next season, but they'd make it past the first round, TMac would play at least 65 games, and Yao Ming would never get traded, because that's just dumb business. I told him about Billy Beane and Theo Epstein and Moneyball and how sports was evolving into something much different, but his old-school, hard-nosed, raggedy philosophy denies it all. He was then bashing Pat Riley, saying he isn't using Shaq right, and he said any coach that has Ryan Bowen on their roster shouldn't even be coaching middle school. I stopped all debate there and said I had other matters to attend to.

 

It was really a collective thing. He was bashing the Rockets so much. And then he was saying that Ryan Bowen played so much the past 2 years. I told him, JVG uses him right. Injuries forced JVG to play Bowen more than usual. Look what happened vs. Dallas: there was no Ryan Bowen: it was Germanator, and he just laughed and was like Dirk Nowitzki can school Ryan Bowen any day of the week. I then told him the refs screwed that series, and it was just back and forth. I couldn't take it any longer. Nobody disrespects my team, coaches, or Assistant GM like that.

 

Remember that he's a former Rocket. I'm not doubting his credibility.

But it's damn frustrating to hear him say that TMac is a liability b/c of his back, and that this is just the beginning of injuries to Yao's lower body.

 

You can clearly separate the opinions from the facts. It's an opinion Rudy screwed the franchise. It's an opinion basketball isn't a game for nerds. But it's a fact that Matt maloney went out with Les' daughter, players on the Rox don't like JVG, and Vernon Maxwell was given the boot.

 

Well according to him they're facts.

 

I could have heard wrong, or he might have stated it wrong, but the point he was trying to make was that Hakeem went to Les about Rudy, and Toronto did everything they could to get him. I remember back in 2002 there was an article on the front page of the Chronicle where Hakeem bashed Rudy, and Rudy was very upset. When Hakeem's jersey was retired, however, Rudy went to town in his speech.