neither.. We don't have the all star team. When we had good players Houston was a more go to destination.
Lots of people want to be in Houston. Every time I go to Walmart it's more crowded than the last time I was there.
The Rockets organization, I don't think stars necessarily mind what cities they are going to necessarily. Pau Gasol, I could understand . . . leaving a first class team (previous 2x World Champion) for a team that is trying to find itself and is far from being contender. Dwight Howard has wanted to go to Brooklyn for awhile, just as he has also shown preference towards LA. He's truly the biggest diva of the crowd, though a little to his credit Orlando is probably one of the most incompetent organizations in the league. LeBron James ... I still don't see where the hatred is coming from, he properly left the team as a free agent. He honored his contract and didn't break his ethics in anyway. Most of all, judging from yesterday's draft and the past couple of seasons. I can see why he left, Cleveland is another team that is just too incompetent to build a contending team from scratch. Carmelo Anthony -- He was a diva about leaving...he's sort of an exception, because he actually wanted to live a REALLY GOOD FRANCHISE, I cannot say that about Orlando and Cleveland to go to the piss poor Knicks. He wanted to be a bigger market. Amare Stoudemire -- Respectfully left Phoenix to go have his own tea, though in New York. He didn't have any promises of joining up with another superstar. Chris Bosh -- Toronto Raptors....Can I say that again Toronto Raptors? What was the point of him staying there for a team that wasn't competing with him? Chris Paul --- Terrible franchise, they've reinvented themselves, though after he left and gained new ownerships. I think some of the players are divas, but how come the teams aren't taking responsibility? How come teams like the Jazz, Suns, Nuggets, (in a few years you might can add the Spurs and Celtics), Trailblazers and the Rockets to smaller extent are able to compete after they lose superstar? Good organization skills and competent management. Why would a superstar want to go or stay on a mediocre team or franchise, if he has no personal ties or meaningful connections to it. The only case that was a real aberration was Carmelo Anthony. Why are all of the bottom feeders the same cast of teams Cleveland, Charlotte, Washington, Minnesota (until they prove otherwise), and etc.? The good franchises find a way to win or stay relevant. There's nothing unique about the Rockets right now, except they have a billions SF/PF. They don't have any kind of direction, yet you want to entice a superstar to come to a team that is sort of in limbo. That doesn't make sense. In Dwight Howard's case, it's just Orlando all over again. At least in Brooklyn, he knows he'll be playing with another superstar. Alot of star players or upcoming players would want to play for OKC, San Antonio, and even Portland.
Miami no, Dallas yes. lol. Nobody outside Texas gives two ****s about Dallas, it just happened to have a hit soap opera named after it 100 years ago. It has zero of Miami's allure, and when the Mavericks were laughingstocks, Dallas was a complete non-option with free agents. Kind of like Miami was before Dwayne Wade. Kind of like Houston is now.
Free agents didn't exactly flock to Miami before Wade emerged as a star. LBJ chose Miami over NYC where he would have gotten much more media attention. Not being able to sign major free agents as of late isn't a knock on the city of Houston.
Ya as far as Dallas being a more attractive desitnation, a guy named Dirk and NBA Finals appearances...and... a win will do that (I could barely type that out).
You can add Clyde and T-Mac to that list. Hell, with these four alone, Houston can go toe to toe with any other city as a place of destination for stars.
Some of yall must think Houston actually compares to LA, Miami, or NYC. We're not either of those cities. Not even Chicago. And what makes things worse, is that cities like Chicago and Atlanta at least are still media hubs. Dallas or much more of a media hub than even we are. And that's not a whole lot. If yall are blaming the Rockets, I dont think some of yall know what players want.
Nope. Its all Rockets organization. People love Houston. Athletes come to live here in the offseason. They love the fact that it has a nice summer even if it hot. Its close to the ocean and has plenty of good food and women. The problem form what I gather lately has been the team and its direction. The perception around the league among players on how we do business. It sure wasnt a problem with the last GM.
Speaking of crapping on the city/organization, and it may just be his personality, but Lamb seemed far less excited to be coming here than Rivers was about going to NO. Ouch.
I lived in Miami, and except for a stretch of beach a few miles long, that entire city is a dump. It is the dirtiest, most poverty-stricken third-world ****hole city in the country. Well, come to think of it, I guess I just realized why athletes might like it....
Seriously? So because its cheaper to live here, its hwy players want to flock here? Are some of yall listening to yourselves. LeBron and Bosh picked Miami. Melo and Amare wanted to go to New York. CP3 preferred to get traded to LA even it it was with the Clippers. Yall do know Portland is a very nice city. Atlanta has its perks. Not that Golden State is going to Frsico, I guess players will want to start picking the Warriors. People we went through this with Beltran. The man wanted to go to New York. Ended going to the Mets, and if he desperately wanted to be a Yankee. A nice city is Houston, and I'm a proud Texan and Houstonian. But flashy we are not. And disillusionment seems to be common around here now.
Oh I know. But MIA is still considered a singles town. And a party city. Miami-Dade, is about as hood as you can get. But to people even thinking our beaches compare to South Florida, I don't even know what to say that.
That's the biggest conception about all of this. .. you don't need an all-star team to put a solid team together that might attract a higher end player one day. For Chris Bosh, which one sounds more enticing playing with Lebron and Wade and building an all-time great team or one with the potential to be that or a team featuring Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin, and Luis Scola that might have a shot at getting out of the first round in the Western Conference. Also, a team that did not make the playoffs, it does not make sense to go to a slightly better version of the Raptors. WHy is that not consider a good thing? He actually wants to go to a team that has a chance at winning championship, while he more a less took a paycut to do it.
I doubt Duncan, Ginobli or Parker have stayed with SA for so long because they love going to the Alamo. Gotta build through the draft and find that one elite talent first before we can attract other all-star free agents. See Texans w/ Andre, Astros w/ Bagwell and Biggio, Rockets w/ Dream and Yao.
Lebron = Ring chaser Bosh = Ring chaser Amare = Max Money chaster Carmelo = p***y-whipped (See La La Vazquez), also wanted to join another star with Amare CP3 = would not have joined the Clippers if they didn't that Blake. Beltran = His agent is Scott Boras = pure greed.
You just dont want to put it on the Rockets organization but Tmac wanted to be here, Pippen, Roger Clemens, Petite, Steve Francis, Drexler. Camby likes being here. Arian Foster stayed. Its all according to how good the situation is. Right now we have a loser on our hands and a management doing some moneyball games. Players want stability. You do not get stability in a mostly moneyball system.
Johnathan Joseph and Daniael Manning came here. They saw something being built that looked like it was about to be special. Players will come when Morey starts to build something here.
