Let's not forget that MadMax was opposed to getting Yao Ming from day one. Interestingly, his argument back then was the opposite of what it is now. If I understand it correctly, he is criticizing the Rockets nowadays for wanting to be competitive/in the playoffs rather than tanking/taking big risks. Back then, he would rather be in the playoffs by trading the pick than picking Yao Ming.
Howard is similar to Shaq. He's great with physical dominance. Compare the old Shaq and the old Duncan. Shaq was totally useless the lat few years of his career. Duncan is still helping the Spurs win.
I believe the whole thing comes to a head and is resolved this summer. Orlando loses tremendous trade leverage if DWill signs anywhere before they get a commitment from Dwight for an extension. Our pitch to DWill is that if he signs here, we can trade for Dwight to start the 2012-13 season. If DWill signs in NJ or Dallas, Orlando will get a lot less value for Dwight. They either have to play out all the games next season and watch him walk, or they have to trade him. All Dwight did was delay this fiasco until the offseason. Orlando has a very short time this offseason to put together some trades and replace SVG and Otis, if necessary, with the preferred GM and coach of Dwight's choice to appease him to re-sign long term. The monkey games are going to start as soon as Orlando plays their last game. (In fact, they've never stopped.) How would you like to see Dwight and Camby on the floor together at the power spots for about 15-20 mpg combined with DWill, Dragic, Lee, and Parsons on the perimeter?? Talk about lock-down D!
And that is so so so true. Can't emphasize that enough. Duncan dominates and has longevity because of his skills!!! Dwight, for all his physical prowess, is not as skilled as Shaq was, not to mention Duncan and Gasol. And that is why Morey was trying to get Gasol. He's arguably still one of the 2 most skilled bigs in the game today along with Duncan. Personally, I think Gasol is more skilled than Duncan.
DHo is racking up the knucklehead points. Sometimes it's painful to watch these youngsters grow up-- or not-- under a worldwide media microscope. From a purely basketball standpoint, I'd prefer to take a flyer on the Sacramento knucklehead, if he ever becomes available. For now, I'm happy with our veteran centers.
To be fair, Shaq was clever to team up with Wade and Lebron late in his career to play 2nd fiddle. He also said the camaraderie with Dennis Scott, Anderson and Penny was one of the best team wise, and he still went to LA for chasing rings. Howard is making a fool of himself and is nowhere near the decision maker and player Shaq was.
youre right he wants attention now..i mean dude is a good player n he kno the magic franchise wanna keep him forever ...but hes gettin out of line gundy stood by his side the good n bad and backed him up....he backstabbed him...thats a hoe move man.
I am actually done with the Howard drama. He clearly does not want to be here. When it looked like he was close to being shipped off to Houston at the deadline, he was so scared of that propect that he extended his contract another year to play with an organization has has no faith in, a coach he doesn't have faith in, and a roster that needs some serious retooling if it is gonna compete for a championship. Call me crazy, but it doesn't sound like he wants to come to Houston. Also, Howard really went down a few notches in my book with the way he's handled himself over the last year. I want to build a team from the ground up! Why is that so freaking controversial? These shoot-for-the-moon tactics never seem to lead to anything, and we continue to stay mired in mediocrity. I'm all for blowing up the team, but i don't think the probability of actually getting Howard to stay here long-term is anything more than a pipe-dream. So I'd rather leverage our "assets" to get draft picks and build from the ground up, rather than shoot our load on a guy who won't commit long-term, leaving us with nothing to rebuild with at the end of the day.
D-Howard does not burn to win, he burns for attention, he is not a "Win at all costs" competitor. While he is a very good center, I would think that any organization taking him on needs to know they are not getting that kind of player. DD
Howard is being a knucklehead. But remember the circumstances. He is showing that he is extremely competitive and he wants to win rings. And the plain truth of the matter is Orlando has bungled up player transaction after player transaction and have surrounded him with inferior talent. That is on them! It is on them.....even if they were listening to Howard telling them to go get this guy and that guy, etc. They have essentially allowed Howard to GM the team for several years now. Just look at the stupid transactions they have made. Hedo back??? Rashard at a gigantic sum that we all knew was WAY OVERPAYING. Outrageous! Do you think Morey makes those moves?? Nope. And Howard signed to a 5-year extension is a different player than Howard playing on an expiring deal trying to use all the leverage he has to put himself in a championship winning situation. Once he signs and commits to a 5-year deal, he is committing to a team. No more monkeying around trying to GM the team. And as crudely as he is going about it, and as many mistakes as he has made in the media, what he is after is a winning environment and a top-notch organzation that will make the right decisions to build a winner around him. Dwight doesn't have confidence in Orlando's front office and the problem now is there is no short term solution to their dilemma. He's the only serious trade value they have. Everybody else on the team is pieces parts, they haven no real trade value on their own, or they are actually boat anchors (Hedo, JRich, QRich, Duhon, and possibly Jameer) because they are overpaid for what they bring to the team and represent dead salary that another team has to take on when they could get a younger, cheaper player to give them more. There is no doubt in my mind that Orlando makes the tough decision this summer and they try to do it before DWill commits to sign with Dallas or NJ and they lose all their trade value. I bet they trade him, and I bet it happens very fast after the end of the season. They've been negotiating trades with everybody in the league for months. They have a very good idea of what they can get and they have a very good idea of the expiration time limit on those potential deals. And they know once DWill signs his contract that they lose tremendous trade leverage. It's going to be like lightning striking this offseason.
Shaq won his last Championship when he was 35 years and averaged 20 and 9. Duncan is 35 years old this year,averaging 15 and 9 and hasn't won a championship since he was 30.
I disagree vehemently. I won't deny that after many years of being conditioned to hate Boston, I was naturally a LITTLE skeptical of bringing Lurch in. (understood the logic, but my heart took longer) Yet, Kevin has come in and stamped his culture/attitude into the Rockets and already showed why he should be a cornerstone of this franchise for quite awhile. Not only is he adept at developing/motivating players but in addition, the man knows how to win,win,win. We live in an age where so many star players who make tens of millions don't hesitate to wield that power against their coaches/organizations. It happens way too often and I for one will never gain comfort with it. The tail has wagged the dog way too often in sports of late, causing big problems. Dwight can cry all he wants, but forget about Morey firing McHale.... and forget about this fan (and most likely many others) being okay with it. No player is worth compromising the integrity or foundation of the Houston Rockets going forward. Go Lurch and Dork Elvis!!!
I agree with the people saying don't bite on Dwight. He hasn't won any championships in Orlando, so if we trade away our best players to acquire him I don't see us doing any better. What worries me is that I think Morey feels that if he can't acquire a "superstar" soon, then he will be viewed as a failure. I like where the Rockets are headed already, even without a "superstar". I'm perfectly content to wait and see what Motiejūnas brings to the Rockets when he arrives, and I'm looking forward to see what players we pickup in the upcoming draft. Orlando will surely be asking for a king's ransom in return for Howard, and I don't think it would be worth it. Please Morey, don't bite on Dwight.
Interesting. I can't believe you went back to find that. Why do you care what I thought? I doubt anyone here is nearly as interested in my opinion as you are. Yeah, my view of the franchise today is very different than it was then, though. At that point, they were only a few years removed from being a WCF finalist....they were only about 6 years removed from a championship. And I thought we had the pieces to build around already then...I thought Francis was at least capable of becoming that sort of player. I don't see anyone on this roster that I'd currently bet on to be that kind of guy (1st or 2nd team all NBA caliber). I thought if you paired Odom with Francis and another high draft pick, that might be something to build around...had they made that trade and then taken Stoudemire, they might really have had something with that group.
We're adding that language in after the fact....the distinction of semantics, I mean. The poster to whom I responded just threw the names together.
Looking at ticket sales for the team in recent years, it appears that fans are doing just that. Maybe one day Les will notice and get us off this merry-go-round of averageness.
Yeah, I recall those days. Eaton was so big that Hakeem had some issues playing him one-on-one. As for the Howard-to-Rockets issue, I'll believe that is for real when I see the press conference.
