I like Lowry as much as the next guy, but are you seriously trying to say Chris Paul is only marginally better? Personally, I would also prefer we keep Lowry and sign Howard. But the problem is that Howard has a pretty reasonable chance of resigning with Orlando. If that's the case, then there aren't very good options for us to spend our cap space in 2012 aside from Paul or Dwill. I suppose we could try to sign a wing player instead. Do you know who the top wing unrestricted FAs are that year? Ray Allen, Gerald Wallace, and Matt Barnes. Maybe you are more excited about them than I am...
Howard, Asik, Bynum, Batum, Wallace seem to be good choices. Will have to wait for CBA of course. And anyway, you forget trades, that's what this roster is built for. DM says over and over that draft and trades matter much more than FA.
this is more like a restoration, the body is ok, but there are some major parts missing and they are somewhat hard to find... let’s just hope it doesn’t wind up in the barn under a tarp
How so? Morey finds ways to get assets and have cap space to get that big dollar player....and when he does, Les will PAY for said big dollar player. People just be sayin stuff without ANY thought. *smh* And I KNOW if you shelled out two max dollar contracts that amounted to nothing more than wasted loot, you might be a lil gun shy with your pocket book going forward....
For FA: Bynum has a team option that year, which LA will exercise unless there is something that stops them in the CBA. Asik and Batum are ok but I think we need a star. Regarding trades: If we follow the Garnett->Boston model, we need to identify a team whose window is fading, making them want to trade in their now too-expensive superstar for young talent. Howard and Paul fit that bill. Among established players, I can't think of any others. A few other good players that could be available in some wild scenarios are Granger, Aldridge, or Blake Griffin. If Morey is somehow able to get one of those at a decent price, it would be truly astounding. Trades are easier for GMs because they give the GM more certainty about the outcome. But to get a star you still are relatively limited, in that it is very hard to trade for a star that is not close to free agency. When a player is close to or at free agency, you can more easily use your excess cap space to your advantage. This is because you have the underlying threat of making a direct contract offer without a trade, and not many other teams can make this threat. So teams will trade you the player at 70 cents on the dollar to avoid getting nothing. But if your target is not close to free agency, there is no such threat. So you have to compete on a relatively equal level with everyone else in the league.
Yes, this is what it sounds like. Perpetual mediocrity or the mediocrity treadmill is the absolute worst place you want to be. Not good enough to be a contender and not bad enough to get a high lottery pick while hoping all the assets you've collected can be traded for a star.
Being an awful team doesn't really attract players to houston in either a trade or free agent situation. The best option for this team moving forward is to keep being in playoff contention and make the argument to interested players that they are 1-2 players from being a championship contender. That is far better than being a lottery team, getting the 7th pick, the 7th pick being a bust, and then having no hope of any player wanting to sign with us. It makes sense to retain the good players we have, and make a trade for a star with some of those good players to become an even better team. I understand that it might not happen this year or even the next, but I think long term, its better for the fans and franchise to remain a playoff contender.
Nothing wrong with an organization that doesn't believe in being a loser to become a winner. You take your blows (Yao,Tmac injuries), stand back up and keep fighting. Some believe we can just drop dead and come back alive (draft) contending for a title. Wrong. Loser mentality is saved for the losers. The organization has been sliding but continue to put up a fight, that's winning in my book. We will get lucky one of these days, I believe it.
Funny how you think that is wrong when DM admitted that no team has ever won a championship the way he is trying to.
Exactly. Dmorey has said multiple times how it is the easy way out, and confirmed that it was effective. With that said, like I said before the draft, I wanted to see how draft day plays out before taking his word about the direction of the team. With the guys we got, it looks like he wasn't kidding. With a guy like Morris, who I believe will eventually step in as the starting SF sometime this year, if not right off the bat, combined with the group we had last year, it is going to be pretty tough to lose enough games to "tank". And I'm not so sure I am against that anymore. I have a lot of confidence in Morris, but I also want to see him put it on the floor to see if he can reach his upside. If it is anything close to what I think it is, maybe we can build off the core we have now and add to it, instead of a full purging. Also what has given me a little more confidence, and opened my eyes is, although it will be close to impossible to acquire a top 5 pick without tanking, it looks like they have the ability to get a pick around the mid lottery, 10 or so. Morey said they could have traded up to there, but decided against it when they thought their guys would fall. While you aren't getting any superstars with the 10th pick, I think management does have the ability to scoop up franchise level players there when opportunity arises. Guys like Pierce or Granger caliber. Also, I am not so sure they are even that eager to trade Scola. I'm sure if a good offer comes up they will take it. But I don't think they want to just dump him either, just because he doesn't line up with the Rocket's timeline. Patterson is still a year or two away from being ready to step in full time. And Montiejunas, and I absolutely love the pick, is probably at least 2 years away from even a rotational role. There will be pretty big adjustment when it comes the the speed and athleticism of the NBA, as it is for most young Euros. I'm kind of envisioning him in a Jermaine O'neal type of situation, where he learns the ropes from behind the scene for a couple years. Then when we eventually trade Scola, he will be ready to step up. I think we will sign or trade for a center. Asik, Biedrins, Dalembert. Someone of that caliber and skillset. Lowry/Dragic/Flynn Martin/Lee Morris/Bud Scola/Patterson Biedrins/Hayes I think that is a 50 win team. Let's see how far Morris and Donatas develops to see if they can take this team to championship caliber.
SOMEBODY REP THIS MAN another aspect of morey's strategy that is often overlooked - it might even be possible to trade a large collection of assets to get a top lotto pick instead of an established superstar. this way the rockets can luck their way into drafting a superstar without having to tank. yes. it's very difficult, but still possible. 2 years from now, if the rockets continue collecting assets, yet strike out in the howard/paul free agency, they then have the option of cashing out alot of chips to a team that is sick of losing/rebuilding and wants to make a big move forward without grooming another lotto pick. clippers, nets, kings, bucks, wizards maybe. rockets can put together a nice package of proven quality players to compliment another teams young franchise player and then the rockets can take the gamble on the new lotto pick. nothing is easy and nothing is guaranteed, but it does give the rockets another option besides tanking. nobody wants to watch the rockets lose on purpose, except losers.
The Boton model eh? The one where Boston already had a superstar on the roster? The one in which Boston tanked to get a top 5 pick to deal for Ray Allen? Oh dear lord, Morey is running out of smoke and mirrors...
This must be why Morey gets a free pass from his supporters. You WANT to lose as many games as possible. In Morey we trust
The problem with Morey is he's too resourceful. As a result, the Rockets are stuck in mediocrity instead of bottoming out like most teams do. I think we'll start to see some real Morey magic starting this season, now that the Rockets have fully moved on from Yao and fired Adelman (who was brought in to maximize Yao and T-mac's talents). This is now a blank canvas for Morey to work with. Pressure is on, as Morey will not have the excuse of Yao's absence. This is FULLY his team now, with players who are mostly drafted or traded for by him.
Yup and don't forget Morey traded a top 8 pick (who coincidentally turned out to arguably be the most talented player in the draft that fortuitously landed in the Rockets' lap) for a role player (you're welcome for that ) while Boston got one of the best shooters of all time with a top 5 pick.
