Of course most fans would prefer a Championship team. However, every year 25/30 teams don't have a prayer. And the Rockets is one of them. As for Roster moves, this was the best decision for basketball and business given the way it went down. No Lowry, no Dragic, Nash signed, Kidd signed... who was there left? Do you think the Rockets would have been better off trading assets for Felton or Calderon? Picking up Ramon Sessions? All to save a few non-luxury tax dollars? You do that, you have not only a team NOT competing for a playoff spot, but a team that Nobody would be watching, and possibly not even Enjoying. I believe in an old sports maxim... if you do NOT have the assets to compete in the playoffs, at least have an INTRIGUING team. A team that's both non-competitive AND not relevant is the deathknell of a franchise.
Dragic was great to watch and I feel perfectly comfortable with him as our PG. With Lin, it feels shakier and there are more uncertainties. I'm kinda nervous every time he dribbles up the ball, it's like I'm expecting to see a turnover or some horrible play by him. Of course I know that's untrue, but just can't help feeling that way. That being said, Lin will be fine. I don't know if he'll as great or as mediocre with regards to how some people are saying here, but he's gonna do okay at the very least.
Lol. It is funny that you say this. I was having a discussion about how influenced people are by the media subconsciously. The media has drilled into everybody's heads that Lin is unproven & they tend to focus more on the negatives than the positives to the point that fans overreact to everything he does good & bad. If Lin has a turnover PANICK if another PG turns the ball over silence. If Lin has a bad play HE SUCKS if another PG has a bad play nothing. I personally don't think Lin is unproven I think the more fitting word is that he is inconsistent. But the word inconsistent doesn't sound as suspenseful or intriguing as the word unproven so clearly the media won't use it. If the media talked about the fact that Dragic has been an inconsistent player as well as much as they do Lin most would likely feel the same about him. Most of Dragic's flaws are discussed on twitter as opposed to the national press. Anyway that is just my opinion would appreciate any responses.
Sure you did. I bet he also wanted Scola too. Phoenix is going to be a 6-7th seed playoff team with our help.
Tell fans to go beg this player ________ to play for us. Then an article comes up months later, I did like dragic btw guys. Good job, good effort!
That's Morey trying to sell Lin as much as possible. He's got to hint that Lin is a centerpiece, so that fans will invest long term in the team. I'm sure he thinks there's a chance of it happening, but he also knows Lin still has a way to go to become that guy. Morey never gives out contracts like these unless guys have proven themselves for a while. There had to be more to it and that was Les trying to cash in on Lin's popularity. Omer got the same deal as a back up, but he at least had more games and in much more different situations. It's easier to predict what he'll become because he's mostly a defensive specialist and a big. He can apply his skills more consistently than someone who's more offensively-oriented.
Actually, I agree to a certain extent. Lin's strengths and flaws are definitely magnified so in a way, he's both overrated and underrated at the same time. Depends how you'd define unproven, bear in mind that he hasn't even played starter minutes for an entire season. And yes, he's very inconsistent, probably why it's nerve-wrecking to watch him sometimes.
I posted that quote to disprove your initial statement that Morey hasn't talked about what Lin can accomplish. I think you are reading your bias' into somebody else's statement. Lin's salary is that of an average point guard I am of the belief that if it was about the marketing to the degree that you think it was Lin would have received more money. Also, the Rockets never thought that the Knicks would not match. We will have to agree to disagree on this one. Just wanted to point out your initial statement was incorrect.
If given the choice, Morey and management would choose Lin over Dragic. Dragic is the more proven player who has played more NBA games. His downside is higher, but this also means his upside is lower. He is a more proven commodity. For as much flack as Lin gets for being unproven, this also means few of us can predict his upside. What we do know is that in the actual games that he has played, his topside performance was more productive than Dragic's. You put those two things together, and specifically for a franchise in our shoes who's priority is to gamble on potential star players, it is a no brainer which one to choose. So why didn't we offer Lin a contract first then? The same reason no one offered Lin a contract on July 1st: It was a forgone conclusion that NY would match. You do not alienate your own FA who presumably had a higher probability of resigning with you by going after someone else's FA who likely would have been matched. It is a game of odds that a cardcounter like Morey knows all too well. In fact, even after Dragic's deal fell through, and we upped the offer to $25M for Lin, Morey still told Jeremy that there was a 90% chance that he would return to NY. From the horse's mouth. The truth is, the Rockets never thought they had a shot in hell at Lin. That's why they tried to resign Dragic. A bird in hand. It was a fortunate twist of fate how Lin landed here. Like JVG keeps saying lately, it is about time that the Rockets get lucky one of these days. Was that the case here? We will see.
Thanks a lot for responding. My response is as follows. Neither has Dragic right, he has 36 starts under his belt 28 of those came in Houston last year. So if your definition of unproven is that Lin hasn't played a full season as a starter well then players like Dragic would be unproven also right? And yet we don't here that word attached to Goran from the media right in fact we here very little about Gorans weaknesses. And yet you have no uncertainties or nerves over Dragic's play. Dragic has also been inconsistent much of his career as well imo, I had this discussion with a NBA blogger on twitter. And don't get me wrong I love Dragic. In regards to inconsistency a lot of young players are inconsistent. The hope is that as they get more seasoning they start having less bad games and more good games & develop that consistency. This goes back to the whole media thing, as you stated quite accurately everything Lin does is magnified to the point that he can't have the luxury of going through the lumps that young players naturally go to. And because of this fans overrate & underrate every little thing he does. Anyway, would appreciate any responses.
I do think there is more Nash in Lin than in Dragic. And Lin is almost 2 years younger than Dragic. Right now, I think Lin is a better pure passer than Dragic. And I suspect he is a bit smarter and sees the floor a little better than Dragic offensively. Lin scans the floor more early. Dragic tries to force the defense to collapse on him and then he gives up the basketball. Dragic is a willing passer. He just creates in a different manner than Lin. Lin looks for space goes to it, hesitates, waits for the defense to react, and then he's on the go as soon as the defense reacts towards him. Dragic has a tendacy to drag the defense around the floor with him until he can make a play or a shot. Defensively, Dragic is way stronger and a more dogged defender than Lin is. Lin plays defense differently. He plays the passing lanes and puts himself in position to effect dribbles and passes. But he also gambles,cheats off his man a lot more and gets burned a lot more as a result. Dragic just straight up takes his man, bodies him up for 24 seconds and frustrates the dickens out of him (Westbrook is a primary example). One-on-one defense....Dragic by a country mile. I actually like how Lin slices through the lane with his head up more than I like how Dragic does it. And I actually think Lin has the iq edge on Dragic, but not by much. Dragic is a very intelligent player. Lin gets to the free throw line more often than Dragic does. I don't think he's more aggressive than Dragic. I just think Dragic absorbs contact better in the paint and doesn't get the calls that Lin gets. With that said, I worry about Lin's body. He's somewhat frail. But Nash is frail also and he's remained healthy for the bulk of his career after suffering injuries early. It remains to be seen what their career trajectories will be. They're both good kids that study and work hard. So, if they stay healthy, they'll both have a long upward curve to their careers. However, in this age of the point guard, I think they'll always be looking up to CP3, DWill, DRose, and Rondo.
No. Lin is more athletic than Dragic. At this point everyone is aware of Lin's combine tests no? Did Dragic is also test out with a quicker first step than Irving, Wall, and Rose? Lin's steals-blocks-charges taken/40 last year was 3rd among point guards and significantly higher than Dragic. That stat is highly correlated with athleticism.
