What? That T-Mac trade was amazing even in hindsight. Steve Francis sucked after that and sucked before. A selfish player who wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't an all star by any stretch after 1 year post trade. Mobley was also aging and wasn't going anywhere. You usually need to take a bad contract if you're getting a superstar. But yeah, if we had Morey who could get supporting pieces for T-Mac Yao back in 04 and 05 when they were healthy, we would have a third ring here.
Not quite sure how people can say that that the Steve Francis for Tracy Mcgrady was the greatest trade ever...? Didn't 95% of the GARM label McGrady as "T-Back, T-Whack, McQuittin, McLady, etc."? Why are we so critical about the guy if this was "the greatest trade ever"? Sure, Stevie made bone headed plays and was a TO machine...but he was the only Rocket since the DREAM days that played with HEART and a will to win. And lets not forget about the CRAP that was on the court in STEVIE's days as well. As much as people disliked Stevie's game, i haven't seen one person on the GARM that doubted his Heart to win while he was here (before the trade). Wasn't it also Carroll Dawson who broke up our championship team (Horry, Smith, Elie, Cassell) to bring in Barkley? Sure these trades look GREAT on paper...but in the end, if it doesn't win you a championship, then i wouldn't consider it "the greatest trade ever".
Say what you will about CD, but he was able to do what Morey has been unable to thus far...Bring home the big name players the Rockets sought. Morey = Adept at assembling a strong supporting cast with minimal resource, but yet to be able to land the prime time targets. Dawson = Pretty good at "swing for the fences" moves, but questionable when it came to filling out the rest of the roster at times. The difference? CD has jewelry Morey hasn't earned...yet.
well there is certainly a stint there where there were some horrible drafts and selections. When the rockets got Tmac they were talent depleted which forced the rockets to have to give a guy like flyin ryan PT.
Not quite sure what "Jewelry" that some people are talking about in this thread that Carroll Dawson has earned... he took over as GM in 1996. The championship rosters were formed by Steve Patterson (1989-1993), Tod Leiweke (1993-1994), and Bob Weinhauer (1994-1996). Carroll Dawson was Rudy's Assistant coach at the time. Maybe he was a better Assistant coach then GM..??
He loved giving out 6 year deals (not sure if Maloney/Price were under CD's watch). Mo Taylor: 6 yrs, $48 million Kelvin Cato: 6 yrs, $42 million Moochie Norris: 6 yrs, $22 million Matt Maloney: 6 yrs, $18 million Brent Price: 6 yrs, $18 million
CD is 50/50 in my book. The great trades for Tmac, 2 Championship teams, average out the numerous bad deals for poor players. The Eddie Griffin, Rashard vs. Bryce Drew, Charles for Horry, Sam, and Chucky (so what we got past Seattle, begining of the end), and the biggest fiasco of all, which set us back 10 years - Kelvin Cato contract, we negotiated against ourselves in a bathroom at IAH. It appears as if CD lost his mind after the 2 championships and regained it to acquire Tmac.
Correction: that championship team was assembled by Steve Patterson and NOT CD. In the 15 years since their last title, CD got a lot of credit like this that was undeserved. That Steve Franchise "coup" ended up as a failure with SF3 being shipped off to Orlando in the MeMac trade that ripped the team apart without a plan to fill in the holes created by that trade. And you forgot to mention the 2001 draft day debacle that sent 3 No. 1 picks to NJN for Eddie Griffin, the repeated trips to the NBA lotto under CD that yielded ONE player (guess who), the bad contracts he handed out to the likes of Mo Taylor and others, the consistent mistakes made in finding and adding talent and the mismanagement of the salary cap (Moochie Norris). If this boob was such a great guy, then please explain why Morey has been forced to completely overhaul the roster CD left him - a process that continues to this day (still looking for some size on the front line 5 years later). And the team continues to suffer from the ramifications of that MeMac trade to this day. Sorry, but if your Rockets aren't in the championship mix today it's due primarily to the wonderful job turned in by the guy you are praising. He did do one great thing: He convinced Rudy T to coach the Rockets which led to 2 NBA titles.
well said my friend... well said... and how the heck do we have a banner with HIS name on it at Toyota Center???
Dawson did just fine. No GM gets it right all the time. Even Morey has made a few mistakes. Being a GM is a tough job, most fans around the league probably think their GM sucks. Think of all the high first round picks that have turned out to be flops, it's a bit of a crap shoot trying to figure out who will pan out in the long run. Morey is just one bad draft pick or trade away from the majority of members on this board to be calling for his firing. When you look back on the history of the Rockets, you see a team that has consistently been competitive and entertaining, you can't ask for much more than that. It's real easy for BBS posters to say what should have been done years after the fact.
CD was an ok GM - there were plenty of bad picks done under him, I sometimes wonder if his eyesight problems affected his view of players. But he was a big improvement on previous GM's. I think if we had a good GM from 1987 onwards Hakeem would have more rings. Simply getting rid of Bill Fitch would have done wonders. Hakeem's career really took off when Rudy T took over.
what? Paterson brought in the foundations of clutch city Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: SUN 12/19/1993 Section: Sports Page: 12 Edition: 2 STAR Steve Patterson proud of Rockets By EDDIE SEFKO Staff You've heard about the guy who spent all day washing and waxing his new set of wheels, forgetting that it was a rental car? Steve Patterson knows the feeling well. Patterson isn't around to see the finished product that he and his father spent the better part of two decades building, accessorizing and polishing. Patterson was fired as the Rockets' general manager after Leslie Alexander took over as owner. But it must be noted that the potentially ugly Hakeem Olajuwon contract dispute had been resolved and key acquisitions Mario Elie and Sam Cassell had been reeled in while Patterson called the shots for the Rockets. He poured the foundation, erected the beams and girders and did everything but slap on the final coat of paint on this palatial mansion of a season the Rockets are having. "I'm real proud of the job Rudy and the staff and players have done," Patterson says. "Obviously, the guys I worked with for a long time over there are like family members. Between Ray (his father) and I, we put 20 years toward building something, and we want to see it do well. "It's the best team in the league, and that's very gratifying." Patterson is immersed in the business of bringing a minor-league hockey franchise to Houston, work he says is progressing nicely. Assuming lease negotiations come to fruition with The Summit, the Houston hockey team will start play next fall. But the legacy of Patterson is this season's Rockets. He took his share of abuse for the way he handled certain things on the basketball and business sides of the organization. But for performance, how can anybody knock the job that has led to this fantastic ride through the first quarter of the NBA season? Even so, Patterson knows how these things work. General managers get fired. That's one of the clauses in the contract when they are hired. Though he, his father, former owner Charlie Thomas and Tomjanovich made most of the crucial decisions about how this team would be built, but Patterson says he doesn't feel the need to call this his team. "I don't think that's the case," he says. "It's the city of Houston's team. Players come and go, general managers come and go, and owners come and go. But a lot of the fans have been with this team for years and years. It's great to see them have a team they can be proud of. "I thought we'd have a good year. We got most of the problems cleaned up. The guys we acquired were tough-minded, good defensive players in terms of Cassell and Elie. "Those were big acquisitions in terms of the mental health of the ballclub. And I think it's best that Sleepy (Floyd) got a chance to go somewhere else. "It's tough for a guy who had been an All-Star to go what he went through. He conducted himself well, but it wasn't like having a guy who really wants to be here." The Rockets have a team of players and coaches who want to be part of whatever it is that waits out there for this team. It could be a title. Now the Rockets have a whole team of players and coaches who very much want to be part of whatever it is that is waiting out there for this team. It could be a championship. As Patterson said, it is the best team in the NBA. It brings up an interesting question: If the Rockets go on and win a title, would Patterson (and Thomas) deserve a championship ring? "I don't know. I really hadn't thought about it," Patterson said. "I guess not since I'm not with the team anymore." Not with the team anymore, indeed. But its architect nonetheless.
I thought it was Rudy T that wanted Cassell and Elie. He definitely was the one who picked Horry over Hal Miner.
