I think you could get an unprotected pick from a youngish contending team with depth like Miami, OKC, etc.
Please stop it with the revisionist history. Morey didn't "sneak up" on the Knicks. The trade talks lasted for like a month with regards to the exact protection schemes on the picks, and with the Knicks trying to find any other suitor for Jeffries. Bad economy, teams all wanting to shed salary for a shot at Lebron/Wade, etc. all contributed to a situation where the Knicks couldn't find another dumping ground to free up capspace. In fact, none of Morey's trades involved sneaking up on people. You're making it sound as if GMs are r****ded 5 year olds. That they make trades not based on merit but on whether the other GM is new or experienced.
meh, I'll give you that it's possible to maybe alleviate this concern for the 2012 draft. But not beyond. Yes, right at the trade deadline, a team like Miami (if they had one) or OKC might give you an unprotected 2012 first round pick, since the overwhelming likelihood is that the pick is not very good. Even then, I bet Morey would have to give up above market value to get that nominal designation. Such a trade WOULD possibly allow the Rockets to offer up something like this: "The Houston Rockets' 2012 first round pick, if it is between picks X-14 [I am assuming at least SOME top-level protections here]; otherwise, the Oklahoma City Thunder's 2012 first round pick." Unfortunately, (a) that pick STILL might not hold as much allure as a completely unprotected 2013 pick; and (b) the Rockets would STILL have the same problem again after the 2012 draft ends, except this time without the benefit of the Knicks pick to otherwise offer in trades. No team--not even a top contender--is going to offer up an unprotected pick beyond the then-current season, at least not without a substantial premium being attached to it. For instance, OKC might be willing to give you an unprotected 2012 pick at the 2012 trade deadline; but Sam Presti isn't going to give away an unprotected 2013 pick. Durant could get injured in the offseason and the Thunder suffer through a lottery season in 2012-13. Not likely, but he wouldn't want to take that chance without getting a lot of value in return. But your point is well-taken. There are some ways to fix part of the problem to allow the Rockets to trade their 2012 pick IF it's in the lottery. It's just that the Rockets will have to pay up to get that unprotected pick, and the low-level of that pick being the "fallback option" for any team we're offering it to does not help, either.
The Williams deal has to be Morey's worst blunder, based on what we've seen from Williams, at least so far. I'm still hoping that Williams will blow up, and prove Morey right to make the move, but I'm not holding my breath.
Knicks getting kicked around pretty bad right now. The Rockets may need to really tank just to make sure the Knicks do not get a top 5 pick.
None of yall are concerned that if the Knicks keep losing, and miss the playoffs that they could possibly land a pick in the top 5? That's cool if the Rockets don't make the playoffs ... But if they do make the playoffs and the knicks don't, It's possible the Rockets wont have a first round pick next draft ... right? The way the Rockets are looking, they can't afford not to have a pick next draft.
Not at al. Melo has NEVER missed the play offs so they definitely won't have a "worst three in the league" record!
I think the chemistry is bad, because Amare has only played 4 games this season. As the season goes on, the chemistry should improve enough to avoid the bottom 5.
I don't disagree with your idea that it's a problem. More about the degree of hinderance that it can cause. I kind of feel Morey knows how to get around such problems as well as anyone. He might not be able to jedi mind trick Bosh or Melo to come to Houston, but from a technical standpoint he's been quite amazing. And this issue falls into that category. If Morey gets close to a trade and the only thing in the way is the lottery-portion of this year's pick, which may become likely by the trade deadline, I am confident he can get around it somehow. As for the future, we'll see in the future.
