About the next trade

Ideally, we can do both and be like Oklahoma City. They are young, have good contracts (which gives them room to add a big) and already have 2 superstars to build around. That's Moreys dream scenario

 

Thats the model we should be trying to replicate.

 

It also involved being at the bottom of the barrell and Presti having good draft position.

 

No I don't think OKC did both, they went one way with it, they "blew-it up" from the Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis era...

They first got lucky by landing in the 2nd overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft with which they got their franchise player, Kevin Durant.

Then in the same draft they traded Ray Allen for the 5th pick owned by the Boston Celtics, which landed them Jeff Green.

They sucked the following year (07-08) by "developing the young guys" which got them to add Russell Westbrook via a high draft pick(4th overall) in 2008... IN the same draft they manage to find a gem with the 24th pick(via PHX) and got Serge Ibaka..

Basically the core of OKC(Durant, Green, Westbrook and Ibaka) was established via the NBA Draft, and good scouting, aka "Re-building"

The Rockets IMO need to do the same...

 

No, we already have plenty of Young talent. This is what needs to go down:


Trade:
Brooks
Scola
Miller
JJ
Bud


Get:
1 or 2 bigs
Couple of Young guys or 1st rnd pics


We're aren't the Wolves, Cavs or the other bottom dweller teams. We don't need to blow it up. Just get 1 or 2 good bigs and we're set. We're in the same position that the Lakers were before they got Gasol. One very good center will put us over the top.

 

They are doing both in a sense that the great talent they have is so young that they are good short and long term, while also not taking on huge contracts so they still have the ability to add any missing pieces that they need.

 

Man, talk about a false sense of superiority... lol

Yeah, but to get into that position, they practically "tanked/developed". Most of the small contract's are due to being in the draft constantly. I mean OKC had some very bad season prior to last year, so they could be in the position they're in now.

The Rockets will have to be bottom dwellers for a season or two before they can get their hands on some game changing talent, like OKC did. (and there's no way to avoid it.)

 

OKC was the ideal way to rebuild but also required a HUGE break in Portland choosing Oden. Saying that, them and Portland were the ideal ways to start over with good management in charge.

I keep reading Morey will only trade Scola, Martin or Battier for a superstar, my question is WHY? Will Melo come in and change everything with the team? Will he get Martin, Scola, AB and Bud to play defense?

 

Um... We don't have anything remotely close to a prime Kobe, or a Phil Jackson... Situations really couldn't be further a part.

 

Maybe, but our starting lineup is:

Lowry
Martin
Battier
Scola
Hayes

Not one of those guys is "young." Our young guys are not getting chances to start and finish games, which is what they need if they are going to become stars in this league.

If we don't land a legitimate superstar (Granger, Iguodala, and Ellis are not superstars) then as a fan I think our best shot at winning a title in the next 10 years would be "blowing it up" like the Supersonics/Thunder did.

 

^^
This... it's that time

 

I think this could have gone in an existing thread. You're talking about picking a direction, which is a subject that's been beaten to death.

 

This is an oversimplified analysis of the position the team's in. Morey has more than two ways he can go before the deadline. There are numerous paths he could take. The Rockets already have a lot of young talent, so I assume you're talking about trading for different young talent. The fact of the matter is, what Morey ends up doing will depend on what the market will bear.

 

Three-way trade between Rockets, Kings and Suns. We swap Brooks and Yao's contract to Suns, along with draft picks to sweeten the deal. We swap Scola to Kings. We take back Dalembert and Landry from the Kings, and Nash from the Suns. The Suns get Jason Thompson, the Kings get Gortat (when his trade restriction is up in February).

The Suns get a starting PG in Brooks, cap relief via Yao's expiring and draft picks from us. Don't know if that would be worth it to the Suns, but this is all hypothetical. Maybe we could send someone else to the Kings in exchange for a future pick to sweeten it even more for the Suns. They also get a young, talented, offensively-minded C in Thompson.

The Kings get a young, defensively-minded 7" in Gortat, and no more questions about who starts at Center. And the get Scola's consistent scoring and rebounding, because they're not happy with Landry and his production of late. With the logjam of bigs freed up, there's plenty of minutes for Cousins and Whiteside to develop for the rest of the season and onward.

We get our closer (Nash), an able body at Center who can defend the paint better than anyone else on our team and pull down 10 rebounds a game when given starter minutes (Dalembert), and a proven contributor who'd be welcomed back with open arms (Landry).

Our lineup would be:

Nash
Martin
Battier
Landry
Dalembert

with Lowry, Lee, Budinger and Hayes running the second unit. Throw in a bit of Patterson and Miller, and I think we could make a push for the playoffs. Even if we don't make it, we resign Battier and Dalembert in the offseason and keep that core together until Nash retires.

I'm just not ready to give up on this core of players and "blow it up," so to speak. Obviously, it's clear we're missing something significant, but I don't think we're a team like the Kings or the Cavs, where we're light-years away from contending. I still think we're just a few pieces away from being a dark-horse contender, if not this season but next. Look at what our role players alone did last season, and the flashes we've shown this season.

 

Second way is the key.

 

Any trade for Nash is an automatic fail unless The Rockets could also bag another franchise player to pair with him. Sure, Nash could get us 50 wins next year, big deal.

The goal isn't to win 50, or make the playoffs, the goal is to win a championship. Nash would only prolong the inevitable.

 

The thing is we have no idea what Moreys plans are for the team. The only thing he has talked about is trading for a star. Besides that we dont know anything. Even if Morey wants to blow this team up, its clear he wont trade just to make a trade. Otherwise he would have done it already as we have been sucking for a while now.

Its going to be a waiting game. If Morey cant find his star by the deadline I suspect we will be stuck with the same team and try again during the next off-season.

 

I like the enthusiasm OP.

But I think your [first way] is lame, Melo WILL NOT sign an extension here. We would be throwing away our team for nothing. Kind of like a scratch of lottery ticket- sure there are chances; but the people who play them don't know ish about math/odds.

I like your second way better. Although I would be uncomfortable with it, going into the unknown, it sounds more reasonable. (but this, to me, sounds like a push-push --on the luck factor.

Lose on purpose? Come on.. I'd like to have some dignity. But who knows, maybe, That Is, what we are doing.

 

Kobe Bryant ring a bell?? We don't have a superstar.