Obviously i'm gonna get blasted but I'm just venting. It is very sad to watch this current team considering the type of talent we had just 3 years ago. The state of the NBA and how the players all want to move to the big cities is also a depressing side note. Is there a ray of hope somewhere ? Can any of the Rockets fans on this forum figure out how this Rockets team will be a championship contender 2-3 years from now ? We as fans are in this game for 1 reason and 1 reason only.......for our team to have a chance to win the big one. I'll still be on here everyday checking to see if there are any trades brewing but other than that this team the way it is currently constructed is sad. Not good enough to compete for a championship and not bad enough to get some legit superstar talent via the draft. I'm looking for optimism, hope, a light at the end of the tunnel....
you really think it's that bad? I think with the Dalembert signing things look pretty damn good. Just have to go through some growing pains with a new coaching staff and def/off schemes. P.a.t.i.e.n.c.e. - have some.
There is always a chance this team might end up being pretty good, probabaly a slim chance but you won't know until we've played about 10 games in. Honestly I didn't think Denver was going to be any good when they traded Carmelo but they turned out pretty good because they have defense, scoring options, good pg play and well coached. They don't have any big super stars anymore either though. I think the key to this team is coaching, if McHale can get the most out of these players, we should be similar to Denver. With Sam, we at least have a rim protector now that can change shots, he just needs to learn the defensive schemes. Patrick Patterson is solid, this guy will eventually be a double double guy that can score 14 - 16 ppg. Kmart is who he is, he's no kobe, but can help you blow out some teams. Lowry is a great tough PG and I like our back up being drajic. The guys I would get rid of if we have a good peice in return is buddinger, pretty much everytime I see him out there he's missing shots and play bad defense. Currently having him and Martin on the court with Scola is a terrible recipe for good defense.
No it sucks, when teams like Minny, Sacremento and the Clippers have better futures, and will soon be contending, while teams like Dallas, the Lakers and the Spurs will soon fall off and get real bad to reload, meanwhile we stay on the middle of the road and never get too good or too bad. Hoooray Mediocrity !!! HURRAY ! DD
Les has begun to sound a lot like a former Houston owner who also didn't want to rebuild and spent his money foolishly. Reality is the Rockets are going to be a bottom tier playoff team and put up a nice fight but fall in the 1st rd. That will keep happening until they make their move, one way or the other.
I clicked on this thread thinking this was going to be another "we should just tank and rebuild" thread. But you know what? I agree with you. The way the NBA is right now you basically have to be a major market or you are screwed. It's like... we could tank and spend the 6-7 years it would take to finally draft a franchise player (I laugh at the people that just act like it's going to take 1 year)... and even then it might not work out (see New Orleans, see Utah, see Portland, see Denver, see Cleveland, see Toronto TWICE, see Orlando TWICE, see New Jersey). The only time it does work for non-major teams is either when they win a title instantly (San Antonio) or if they get lucky and draft a guy that seems to prefer not being in a major city (Dirk in Dallas... and even then that was a fluke win for them). Of course, winning a title in our current scenario is a long shot but possible. We are banking on grabbing Williams or Howard in the offseason, or grabbing a guy like Gasol and only having a 3 year window to be competitive. It's just the way the NBA is. And honestly, I think the number 1 offender is how low max contracts are for guys like Lebron and Wade and Dwight Howard. I really think they need at the very least amend the max contract rules to allow for the top-top FAs to be paid a lot more of the cap. Right now the most you can be paid is 30% of the cap... really? Someone like Dwight is only worth 30% of the cap per year?
That's real sad, isn't it? A worse fall for him than McLane also since he was owner during our championships. In Drayton's case, he was always a miser and a meddler, and even when Hunsicker had our team contending annually it was Drayton who was holding us back. (I still contend we could have won it had Darryl Kile re-signed with us). In Alexander's case, it's harder to blame him, because his method DID actually work early on. He was a hands off guy, wanted to attract stars here, and generally let the GM do his job so long as we stayed below the luxury tax. Unfortunately for both people, the game evolved, they got older, and whatever it was they were originally doing only became more detrimental to the franchise as they grew more and more out of touch with things. Today's NBA is about shoe companies, superstars uniting, 'decisions', and tanking everything until you can get a superstar of your own. Sad state isn't it? Wait a minute, why do I follow the NBA again? Only three teams have a chance to win the championship this year, where in other sports it's generally 10+ before the season starts.
with the new cba, i believe you can tag your ace for his stay. but obviously, i don't see any chance we can land a great player through trade. we have to grow our own products. that means we have to keep picks for future drafts.
No hope for the future of the Rockets. Just staying afloat. Perennial 8th/9th seed team. Nothing to look forward to, nothing to fall back on. A sad state of affairs.
The only player that wanted to play in a big city was Stoudemire. If Wade played in Milwaukee, Bosh and LeBron would of went there. I for one enjoy the process of watching a young team grow into a championship contender, and whether that takes 2-3 years or 10 years i couldn't care less. If i want to watch a team that has a chance to win the big one every year i'll go watch the heat play.
I loved our 08-09 team, but after Yao went down, Artest left, and T-Mac was out, it was obvious we had to go in another direction. I like where our roster is right now moreso than at any point in the past 2 years. The Good? We are deep across the board. We have young talent across the board. We have no terrible contracts weighing us down. We have the ability move a combination of vets and young guys without crippling the team. We have the flexibility to go in a number of ways, with a few smart transactions. We are no longer aching for a particular position (like we were for a C the past 2 years). The Bad? No stars. Although being "between" winning-now and developing young guys means we're flexible, it also means we're a middle-of-the-pack team. What moves can we make exactly? Even if we have the "ability" to do so, how many superstars are exactly available? And with those limitations, I'm afraid we'll give up too much, out of desperation.
ditto, and will keep the reps coming until I am not allowed. well, that didn't take long, "must spread rep...."
I honestly don't think it's as bad as everyone is making it out to be however I do agree with Morey in that the failed deal set us back quite a bit. Contrary to what some think, I do believe Morey is a smart dude and knows what he is doing. He has been around the game and knows what it takes to win, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. When I first saw that deal, I was like what are you thinking Morey? The more it set in, it wasn't bad at all. You look at the teams that have been successful, and all have one thing in common and that is good defense and players who are willing to play both sides of the court. From the teams with mega superstars (Miami, Lakers) to the ones with so so (Dallas, Spurs, Chicago). The major players we were giving up in Scola and Martin obviously don't (as much as I love them both). Now, were Gasol and Nene gonna land us a title? Maybe. Probably not. Was that the best shot Morey has had at landing front-tier players? I would like to think so. And after watching Martin Monday, I don't think it's as much that he doesn't want to be here as it is he flourishes in a motion offense (which McHale doesn't really run). I think Morey realized that McHale runs a defensive mentality system, and an inside out type offense. He wanted to get players that fit the system plain and simple. I just don't believe a lineup of Lowry, Martin, Bud, Scola, Dalembert is going to go very far and I think Morey sees that too. He will probably have to wait until closer to the deadline to address the situation now though. Stuck with what he's got. Just my opinion. Sorry for the long vent, just frustrtated like alot of yall probably. T-Will for MVP!!
The pessimism on this board is sickening. With the addition of Dalembert, the Rockets are atleast as good as Memphis was last year (We just need a new coach imo, McHale sucks)
