In 3 years have any of those team had better records than the Rockets? We may be mediocre those teams SUCK and don't look to be getting any better than us.
Nope....it would take more than 1 superstar. The formula for the last 2 years has been at least 2 superstars, a handful of all-stars/stars or any combination of those kind of players. We have NONE of that. ZERO.
The problem with your idea is that the Rockets are middle feeders and they are not going to go anywhere with the players they have now. Dragic is as good as he will get and he is not going to carry this team. Parson is a great player for a rookie and will continue to grow into an even better player later down the line, but he is not going to be a star and he can't carry a team like superstars can. Parson is more of an explosive defensive type player but not a major offensive threat that teams have to adjust their entire defense for him. D-Mo hasn't prove anything just yet plus his chances of being a star is pretty much slim. Most likely he will be a very good 3rd option on a championship team at best. If the Rockets depends on these guys to carry them on their shoulders to compete for a championship, then they are just out of it. Look at the good teams in the league right now, look at the Thunders for example. They have better role players than the Rockets have and they have 3 star players, 2 of which are superstars and the Rockets have none. The Thunders made it to the finals but lost 4-1 to an even better team with an more experienced star power. The Rockets are not even close to these 2 teams. The Rockets have nothing but good role players that plays well against mediocre teams. But when it gets tough, our players starts to melt down. This team will never go anywhere and unless our organization finally open their eyes, the Rockets will always be in neutral.
This is what stood out to me about this article - I believe this is the second year in a row they have seen a significant decrease in attendance and last year they had a big dip in TV viewership. For the front office to blame the lockout on rather than the sub par product on the court is just plain blind. They should aim to sell out every night , not just when Miami , LA , OKC , Boston and Chicago come to town. I recall the days when this team was good back in the 80's and it was near impossible to get a seat in the Summit , I also remember the times when the team sucked to no end and they gave away two for one tickets on bread wrappers or the back page of the post. The difference was the product on the court. Ask yourself this - What was attendance like when this team had a healthy Yao and McGrady and were contenders. I understand the business model Les wants to follow , I just dont believe its viable in the NBA as it is in other types of business.To fill the arena , you have to WIN BIG , not just half the time. To win big , you need stars .... at least in todays NBA. To get those type of players , you have to fall into a top 3 pick or get struck by lightning .... like the McGrady deal.
You honestly can't say that we've been on par with New Jersey, Golden State, Washington, Detroit, and Sacramento, can you?
Of course not, they are the teams that did not make playoffs in the last 3 years. We are different because we have perfect GM, right? As I said, great job.
If you want to acquire a superstar, the best shot the Rockets have is the draft. Which requires them to either suck(i.e. stop barely missing the playoffs every season) or get very shrewd or lucky with a mid-to-late 1st rounder(i.e. the Spurs with Tony Parker). Personally, I like our odds much better if we field a bad team, develop our young talent, preserve cap space for a future run at a quality free agent(or two), and secure a high lotto pick. We need to stop with this pipe dream of signing Dwight Howard and Deron Williams. It ain't happening. Why would any free agent of their caliber want to waste their time with the Rockets? It's an organization that hasn't won d-ck since those two were in grade school. Houston is a mid-level media market which limits endorsement opportunities. And there's no foundation here to build on unlike during the Dream or even Yao era. Maybe this year they'll finally figure it out. I like hearing the report that Morey's attempting to trade up as high as #5. That signals that perhaps they've once and for all realized that acquiring an established superstar is damn near impossible. Of course even if they've finally embraced this new approach of building through the lottery, it still requires another team to hand over their pick, so we'll see if we can avoid another offseason of striking out on any major deals. BTW, with regard to the attendance, management can't seriously believe the smaller crowds were due to a lack of quality opponents resulting from the lockout-shortened season. It's because the home team was mediocre for the 3rd straight year. Also, if you're depending on the VISITING TEAM to get your own fans in the stands, what the hell does that say about your organization?
