Why is everyone so mad? What did y'all expect? There aren't many "stars" to be had.

Oh for sure. In fact the first thing that came to mind when I saw these signings was T "It's on me!" Mac. So far this offseason We've seen Morey go against everything he's been preaching for the past several years (his hiring of a one-dimensional retread coach in MDA and yesterday's signings of Anderson & Gordon). This just has to be the work of Les Alexander. Morey may be many things but he's not this stupid.

 

The rockets improved with these two moves and upgraded the roster. How much that is differs from everyone's views and remains to be seen. Whether that's lateral to you or not. But as far as going backwards that doesnt make much sense to me. Going backwards is just plain losing and accepting you're playing for the draft without any intentions of having any success over the course of an nba season.

Sometimes y'all's expectations are just way too high and really not realistic. That can be a good or bad thug of course. There wasnt any one move that was just going to catapult houston into a true nba champion. And yes that includes just getting KD. This roster just has too many holes and question marks for that to be true. But with these moves they're taking necessary steps to improve and get guys that will fit in how they will operate this coming season. That's what it's all about. Building back into a nba contender that hopefully regains a better view from others all around the league and shapes houston for a better future as harden Free agency looms in the next 2 years

 

Black gm, this thread would say the opposite. Farud

 

Our major losses will be Dwight and Terry. I think we can agree that Gordon is a better player than Terry. The only concern is if he will be healthy for a significant portion of the season.

The trickier one will be if Anderson is better than Howard. Over the past two years I believe the Rockets went 34-18 without Howard, including 7-4 last year. So it would appear that they don't need him at all. They added a shooting forward that should help space the floor, something the team really needed. Sure, I would like to see the addition of another center just for insurance, but I think the team undoubtedly got better. I also suspect that Morey isn't quite done.

 

Despite his recent injuries, Parsons wanted a max deal from the Mavs. He made it plainly clear that he wasn't going to give the Mavs the same kind of "consideration" that Dirk had when he took that $8M deal. This rubbed some in the Mavs front office the wrong way. Rick Carlisle was never convinced that Parsons was that 2nd "star" player they needed to put next to Dirk so he never fully bought into Parsons anyway. Parsons played the Mavs and FA perfectly - he got his big payday which is all that matters I suppose.

 

Since you include this in most of your (what?) 10 or 20 posts per day, a little perspective...

If he were to lose his job in Houston, easily 15-20 teams would line up to give him a raise. And we would wind up with a lesser GM.

Bear that in mind as you continue to call for his head.

 

It takes a unique GM...like a Billy King....to convince Vanoulis Spanoulis to come back to the Rockets.

 

i'm not so sure he would stay in bball. there's a lot of other industries that could use his skillset as well. maybe he takes a different path.

 

You tell 'em

 

I'm sorry but this is absurd.

I've seen this sort of idea a few times and it's so inaccurate I have to respond. It is a known fact that Morey himself has coveted Anderson badly and for years. Anyone that's ever watched a basketball game can tell you he'd want a great shooter even more after hiring MDA. And though I don't share the occasional secret I might learn through my friendship with Morey, I don't mind saying that the reporting on Morey wanting Anderson (which has been extensive) is true. He has told me the same privately.

I wouldn't share a secret but this isn't one. It's a well-known and much-reported thing how badly DM's wanted Anderson. How does anyone say it's not his style to pay for a guy he has openly coveted for so long?

This is one of the sillier of many silly things being posted here in what is always the silly season.

 

I see your point, but do you really think these kinds of moves gets us closer to contention - because to me - contention is a binary thing - not a slope. Teams don't gradually become contenders - they jump from one level to another.

These moves feel incremental - move us from an average-ish team to an above-averagish team.

It may not be possible to make that leap in the current situation, which is why I think we should think about rebuilding from a foundation that can make that leap.

 

Indeed Batman, we've been going after Anderson for quite some time now.


Sweet Lou we will have to wait and see bud. Hopefully this is a roster that will be in contention for quite some time.

 

I think we go as far as Harden and complementary players can take us, which may well be farther than we've gotten so far, which would mean the finals. I don't think we've seen Harden's best year yet. Do you?

Last year was a bust so the front office responded in a radical way and a total change of course under new leadership.

And, like the coaching hire or not, with D'Antoni as coach these were actually great signings. Shooting is necessary in his system and we didn't have it before. You call the moves incremental. I call them necessary.

So I love the moves so far but Morey isn't done because Morey is never done.

FA isn't over and it's not the only way to improve the team. But so far I'd call this offseason a success. Anderson and Gordon are exactly the type of players we need for D'Antoni and Harden to succeed. We didn't just need stars; we needed different kinds of players. We needed shooters. Now we have them.

I expect at least one more major move, maybe more, before we go into camp, maybe through FA, maybe through trade. That's not from knowing anything (I don't) other than how hard Morey is always working to improve the team in every possible way.

Anderson and Gordon aren't meant to be two of three superstars; they're meant to be great complementary players and, for Harden, they will be.

 

It's about building the best possible team while maintaining maximum flexibility If a star arises. It is literally the exact same maneuvering we used to get Harden, then Howard. Every single person up in that front office realizes that we are big moves away from being a true contender, but take a look at the decent shooters we have locked in with D'Antoni, and the great flexibility we still maintain despite it.

 

not mad just a tad disappointed after last season, last postseason, the draft and the free agency so far

 

Great post. Repped.

 

The only part of this offseason that truly surprised me so far is the fact that the Rockets did not even get a meeting with Durant. I guess Houston got a headstart on its Plan B (and C and D) and saved itself an iPad, but I thought they'd at least get one shot at a sales pitch.

 

It's a damning indictment of where the team is three years after the Dwight signing, when we were trending up. MGMT has to take responsibility and consider doing things differently

 

Harden probably asked Durant personally when they were hanging out, and Durant candidly told him Houston would not have a shot. So on Harden's rec we decided not to bark up the wrong tree.

 

And signing EGo is a classic Morey move isn't it?

An effective go-to scorer for a very mediocre (in the current climate) salary. What's not Morey about that one?
The only thing that surprises me is the lack of team options. But I suppose in the current climate, nobody is going to agree to that.

Everyone had cap space, getting a team friendly contract on a decent guard is a good effort (IMHO).