Most NBA teams go through a rebuilding process, why is Les Alexander so against this?

-signed, Pacers, Wizards, Memphis, Toronto, hell even the Rockets got the number 1 pick a decade ago. What do they have to show for it now?


P.S. There's already a ton of tanking threads. Why start a new one if you don't have anything new to contribute?

 

Because Houstonians are front runners.

Except for Football Houston just won't back a young rebuilding team. See Astros. This isn't exactly a smart sports town. They think owners can just spend their way to the top.

 

Im a little bit annoyed that i feel the urge to reply to such a overdone, beaten to death topic, but do you really understand exactly what you are suggesting? 3-4 years is a looooong time to spend at the bottom. Im a true rockets fan, my favourite team in the world, and the thought of having to endure multiple years in the cellar simply for draft picks is frightening.

The way i see it, morey has soo far taken 4 years to transform the otherwise (yao/mac) barren rockets roster into one bursting with assets. Hell, we pretty much got a top 15 player in gasol for our troubles and still had youth and depth in the tank. If Morey's talent accumulation is so prolofic over 4 years, shouldnt we as fans be excited about what he can do in a 10-15 year period - whilst enjoying wins?

 

Because he wants to sell tickets. Nobody is gonna watch the rockets if they suck.

 

Should we group Rockets as low as Toronto or Pacers?
I thought we had better FO.

The last No.1 pick brought millions of $$$ to the owner. Just ask Les whether he was happy to have that kind of No. 1 pick again.

Its all about the money. As long as Les can profit out of the mediocre team, he won't want big changes for some unknown basketball crap.

 

1. $$$
2. The Rockets have Morey.
3. The number of assets we have is above that of a normally tanking team. We're just short of a star; a center, too, since Yao was both but it's not impossible we can flip our assets for one. There's also the possibility we can trade our players to get into the draft.

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Are you going to pay the bills when people dont come to games? Plus just because you tank doesnt mean you get better. There has been plenty of top 5 pick players that are busts.

 

Yep, I think Les wants to put people in the seats, and attendance will drop even further if the Rockets are obviously rebuilding. The comparison to how the Grocer ran the Astros into the ground is flat out eerie.

 

The Rockets performance over the last 12 years = only 5 playoff appearances, only 1 series win. They've missed the playoffs the last 2 years.

3-4 years is a long time. 12 years of relative suckiness is a REALLY REALLY long time.

I understand why Les is against it, but don't see your view, entirely.

I'll agree that Daryl accumulated great assets that, had Yao and TMac stayed healthy and motivated, would have made them a dangerous team. And it's not Morey's fault they got injured. But as you noted above, 4 years is a long time... you want us to wait 10-15 years?

The issue is rebuilding can lead to years of extreme suckiness - see Raptors, Clippers, TWolves.

But, it can also lead to greatness. See Thunder, Cleveland (with Lebron), Chicago, Trailblazers, etc. Some of these permanently crappy teams have some hope (TWolves with Love, Williams, Rubio... Clippers now having traded youth and draft picks for Paul, and with Blake).... some of them are back again on the slide, like the Cavs, Magic.

When people say tank NOW, I think they do so because the timing is perfect.
1. The 66 game season.
2. The upcoming draft appearing to be strong and deep.
3. The Rockets young players needing some seasoning.
4. If a true "tank", then those assets that have value (Scola, Lowry, Martin) are still there.

People are actually agreeing with you with regards to DM. We believe he is a solid GM, is particularly adept in the draft, etc. With DM and the current situation, this tank seems like it really could be a short and effective rebuild.

 

When the hell did Memphis do "very well"? They had a good playoffs last season... and that was without their "high draft pick."

Look, I'm not against tanking. I'm here for the long haul with the Rockets, and it can be an effective option for teams at times...

But the people that suggest it need to understand that it can be a long, drawn-out process. Sometimes you hit it big on a superstar (LeBron James)... sometimes your superstar is gift-wrapped to you (Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade). Sometimes you miss by a mile (Andrea Bargnani, Greg Oden, Michael Beasley, Darko).

It's not as easy as just getting a top 5 draft pick.

 

I made this post in the Astros section during the Rockets offseason:

Take out Hayes, it still rings true. Morey is not just going to trade Scola and Martin for a bag of peanuts so they can go full throttle into the rebuilding phase. That's not in Morey's character, he wants some longterm value or some upside potential in return.

 

Someone please show me through history that les is against rebuilding. Anyone remember the squad the rockets rolled out at the end of Hakeem last years? The t.c was exciting and the place to be. Even with a very young team that included francis,mobley,taylor,cato,moochie and those guys, people supported the rockets. We knew we werent going anywhere andmaking the playoffs was a big deal. I have been one to say the playoffs aren't a big deal now because the best players make the most money and take up the most room. Back then, it wasn't like that. Not to mention, the element of excitement is going because of all the stuffed suites that occupy the lower levels now.

Look, everyone know houston is a prove it to me sports city, but houston is also an educated sports city also. We know when we don't have a real contender. This has been going on for years now and really its time to just play the young guys and see what happens. The fanbase stuck by all the close losses by francis and cat, and they will stick by whatever failures this team have. Delaying it only makes it worse.

 

Money should be an obvious answer...

 

No one wants our assets for draft picks

 

If 2012 is such a great draft, and Morey is great at drafting, then he should be able to get a good player no matter where the Rockets draft. If 2012 is such a great draft, then many other teams will be getting good players as well. The point is, the Rockets still have an advantage, no matter how many games they win this year.

Tankers should think about this - if Morey can turn a 2nd round pick (Landry) into Kevin Martin, what could he do with a first rounder in the 2012 draft (if it's as great as everyone is saying)?

This is nothing like the Astros. Show me the Carlos Lee on this roster/payroll. Morey is about signing players to reasonable deals so they can be traded for better players. That is nothing like the Astros were. The Gasol move was in that vein as well because he only had a few years left on his contract and he's still near his peak.

The problem with tanking is it only gets you one chance to hit a homerun, and the cost is a lost season (or more). I like the approach the Rockets are taking, even if it might benefit Leslie.