Would the Rockets record be better or worse if the Stern trade went through?

Actually, now that you mention it I remember the New York Knicks pick being mentioned (not sure if it was the initial or revised version). Found a link on chron saying it was the Knicks pick. Sorry for the confusion.

http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets/article/Rockets-massive-overhaul-falls-apart-2390765.php

Guess my comment is invalid in that case. Oh well, I'd still do it just because it sounded like we'd end up with Chuck Hayes, Pau Gasol, and NeNe (or at least Dalembert). That to me sounds like a better defensive front court than we we have right now (and still quite talented offensively).

 

Not sure, with a healthy Nene, probably.

 

I firmly believe we would have Lin as our backup PG, and a frontcourt of Gasol and Nene instead of Scola and Dalembert. So the only real downgrade is losing Martin.

I think our record would be a lot better.

 

Even without Lin and Chuck our record would be better.

Martin has scored well, but also been lit up.

The scoring would have been made up by Gasol/Nene as they would definitely overproduce Scola/Dalembert.

Our D has been solid, with those 2 would have been outstanding. Not hatin' on Scola, but he's not intimidating inside. And SamDam has on and off nights. Gasol/Nene aren't exactly powerhouses, but both are smart, professional defenders who use their size and length to alter and block shots.

We'd have 20+ wins with them

 

We would be legit contenders for WCF.

 

I think the team becomes a dark horse candidate for the Championship. I'll take Chuck Hayes and Gasol over Dalembert and Scola, with Nene on the mend for the playoffs. As for the guard rotation, McHale is already moving away from Kevin Martin in crunch time, and with how much he's willing to play Lowry-Dragic-Lee lineups, I find it very hard to believe that Jeremy Lin wouldn't have gotten some great minutes at the off guard. He wouldn't be dropping 25, but I think he'd be at least as good as Dragic is right now. That also gives you the ability to use Morris and Patterson as trade chips for a starting wing if you really need it.

Who couldn't this team beat? Right now they're winning based solely on P&R execution, rebounding and 3point shooting. Add in Gasol, and you have a guy who's unguardable 1 on 1 in the low post. Add in Chuck, and you don't have to have Parsons struggling to play the 4 against small ball lineups, and can keep those beautiful Adelman corner sets. Add in Nene and his absolutely ridiculous foul drawing abilities, and the Rockets can take advantage of their outstanding free-throw shooting.

As for the Lakers with Chris Paul; I personally think it would be a terrible fit; Kobe's not a great spot-up shooter, while CP3 can only be the best PG in the game if he's allowed total control of the offense. Plus, look at their bigs depth chart: it would be Bynum/McRoberts/Murphy. Sure, maybe a Howard trade was coming, but from all indications, Bynum simply isn't enough to get it done.

Morey wasn't kidding when he said the vetoed trade set the franchise back years; knowing what we know, and considering the state of the league as a whole, you'd have to go back to 1997 to have a Houston Rockets squad that would be as dangerous as the hypothetical.

This isn't Oden over Durant, but this is a moment that will be remembered in NBA, and Rockets team history.

 

Yup. The rockets record would be better or worse if the stern trade went through :grin:

 

A couple things.
1) Lin was on a un-gauranteed contract. Pretty sure with the Rockets track history, he would have been dropped. No different then now. Why you guys think otherwise is beyond me. Lin didnt show his true colors until he became a starter of a go to type guy.

2) Nene is a would have been option of whom we went to (in other words we dont know if he woulda came here). I'd honestly still prefer Bear to him.

We would have been a beasting defensive team, thats for sure. (if replacing Bear with Nene)

 

Ill take Chuck Hayes and Bear over what we got now. Get ready for the Bear-Wagon front court!!!

 

Better, only because we would have kept you-know-who.

 

1) If the trade goes through, and the Rockets sign Hayes and Nene, the Roster would stand as such:

Nene/Chuck/Adrien
Gasol/Patterson/Hill
Parsons/Budinger/Morris
Lee/Williams
Lowry/Flynn

To create salary cap room, the Rockets would have needed to amnesty Thabeet. That leaves 2 open spots for both Greg Smith and Lin, and considering how thin that backcourt looks, I can't imagine they'd drop him, if only to serve as the 3rd PG, and he would have done the exact same thing he did in NY, beating out a terrible PG in front of him for minutes. Lin would have been all but guaranteed to get 15+ mpg here, especially since McHale has shown he's not afraid to drop guys who are underperforming out of the rotation, and that's pretty much all Jonny Flynn has done since he's been in Houston.

2) Even if the Rockets whiffed on Nene and gotten stuck with Dalembert, they'd definitely have Chuck then, and would still be markedly better. They would definitely need a better SG to be a contender without Nene, as they'd need to have an effective foul drawer on the court to replace Martin.

 

Out of the playoffs.

 

2nd seed in the West.