i'll respond to this too. see my post above. now is a different story from then isn't it? and quite frankly, we didn't need him then. it's quite easy to bash the rockets NOW that we see what kind of player lewis IS and not what lewis WAS. Dickerson has been hurt. riiight. if you remember that the time before you jumped shipped, dickerson's rookie season was way better than mobleys. the only thing that mobley had on dickerson was his aggressiveness. and what dickerson does not doesn't correlate to what he did back then---which was playing pretty damn well for a rookie that was inserted into a starting role. don't care what other teams are doing wrong, just the Rox. obviously YOU need to get off from where you've been sitting b/c our management hasn't screwed up our team like sterling has with the clips. be grateful that we have playoff talks right now instead of 'well who's gonna be on our team next year when all of our best players leave?' as for Griffin, YOU can HONESTLY tell me that you KNEW jefferson would be the type of player he is right now last year? give me a break. Griffin was the projected #1 but slipped b/c the GMs didn't like his behavior at Seton Hall.
Dickerson has been hurt. riiight. if you remember that the time before you jumped shipped, dickerson's rookie season was way better than mobleys. the only thing that mobley had on dickerson was his aggressiveness. and what dickerson does NOW doesn't correlate to what he did back then---which was playing pretty damn well for a rookie that was inserted into a starting role. supposed to be now and not 'not'
Sted, Thanks for your responses. They weren't emotional and you had documentation to support your argument. Now for my documentation. I KNEW Lewis would be a star. I talked to him and his Mom about the NBA. College coaches even followed us to the restroom. Silly. I caught a lot of flack for telling the kid to put his name in the Draft. My reasoning to his Mother was that the Rox would have 3 picks. She could still live with him and he would be in Houston half of the season. Lewis wouldn't qualify and JC would have been a waste of time. Lewis didn't have an agent and his talent was off the charts. Saw him this past Summer and he thanked me for my efforts. He told my Wife that I helped him and didn't ask for anything in return. By the way, he would have signed with the Cougars.
no thank YOU for not turning this into a warfare. i'll try to tone down my arguments more. as for you KNOWING he's going to be a star, that's your own personal BELIEF. knowing is one thing, believing is another. but you got to remember that the organization did what they thought was right and what was the best for the team. the rockets had dream, barkley AND drexler. they didn't have time to bring up a high schooler. they wanted to win IMMEDIATELY. no room to wait around and see if this kid was gonna be a star.
Dr. of Dunk great post I was thinking as I read all these posts exactly what you typed in your post. Sometimes you give contracts on potential. And obviously that potential doesn't always pan out. P.S. 1 post until 10000, man i would make that a good one. Youre probably making drafts for it right now. Ha Ha.
You're defensive, but your argument is about as weak as your delivery. You're nothing but 100% hindsight. FYI, Rudy never drafted Richard Jefferson and Eddie Griffin was widely considered a great potential-player. And your story about talking to Rashard's mom and him is about as laughable as it gets. "Hey Rudy, talk to the potential draftee and his parents... if they don't think he'll do well, don't draft him". Durr. The fact is that several teams passed on him. There were dozens of doubters about his game. The fact is the Rockets were trying to win as quickly as possible with the lineup they were fielding. The fact is that drafting a high schooler and then training him wasn't on the top of anybody's list. The fact is that majority of the people I typed up in my previous post turned out to be absolute duds, but that's not enough for you. So with no further ado, I will put you in your respective place by giving you the following salaries of players from the 2001-2002 season. The following proves that just about EVERY NBA team has duds being paid ridiculous amounts of money. Why? Sometimes due to free agency, sometimes due to mistakes, etc. The fact is : it's not an aberration, it's the norm. But anyway, this is to prove to you (which I know it won't...lol) that the Rockets are no worse than any other team. So... my little defenseless whiner, eat the following : Atlanta Hawks Tony Kukoc, Alan Henderson, and Nazr Mohammed accounted for almost $20 million in salary for that season alone. And we all know they're studs. Boston Celtics Their second highest paid player last year... yeah, that's right... Kenny "freakin'" Anderson at over $8,000,000 for last season. Vitaly Potapenko and Eric Williams follow with $4.5 million apiece. Chicago Bulls Ron "Baby Jordan" Mercer was getting paid almost $7 million last season. Charles Oakley was getting paid almost $7 million last year. And you know Oakley should be the backbone of any championship team. Oh, do you remember Greg Anthony? Neither do I, but the mo fo ate up about $3 million. Cleveland Cavaliers Zydrunas Ilgauskas was making over $11 million last season. He may actually finish this season healthy. Wesley Person, Tyrone Hill, and Lamond Murray combined made almost $17 million last season. Dallas Mavericks Last season Juwan Howard was making almost $19 million by himself. Sweet. Shawn Bradley? Damn, he got a brand new contract for something like 200 years. Last year he tipped the scales at $4.5 million. Denver Nuggets Antonio McDyess actually got traded, but not before he could get on the gravy train with that near-$12 million contract. And you know they loved paying Nick Van Exel over $10 million. But hey, how 'bout we complete the trifecta with Tariq Abdul-Wahad collecting over $5 million?? Hell man, even Scott "Ain't Seen Him In Years" Williams was getting around $5 million. Golden State Warriors Hell yeah nineteen. Are you still with me or are you in the fetal position yet? Erick Dampier says a mighty "HELLO" to you with his over $6 million paycheck last year. He brought his friends Mookie Blaylock (yeah him!) and Chris Mills at $5.4 million apiece, and Bobby "I got game" Sura at $5.2 million. But the party's just gettin' started : he also brought along his buddies Adonal Foyle and Danny Fortson at over $4 million apiece. If that isn't a collection of overpaid stiffs... wow... Indiana Pacers Last season these Eastern conference juggernauts were paying Austin Croshere over $6 million and Derrick McKey whom they released over $6 million. Memphis Grizzlies Damn, where do I even start with this? Bryant Reeves at $11.5 million, Isaac Austin?! at $5.7 million, Nick Anderson at $5.4 million, Brevin Knight at $4.5 million, yada yada holy moly. I'm only on the M's - I can keep going but these salaries you think are outrageous are pretty much the norm... wow, Tim Thomas making over $9 million last year, too. There are dud salaries on every team. If you'd like, I'll also go through a list of centers in the NBA and compare their salaries to Cato's. I do think Cato's overpaid, but after that "dedication" he showed in that (un)forgettable pre-season he had, not too many people complained then because he was to be our future. It's also difficult to get a quality backup center muchless a good starting one nowadays. I still don't think Cato deserves what he's getting. I'll do a similar comparison of backup PG salaries to Moochie's, but I don't think you want me to go there... you may actually realize you have no case. And as I said, we can go back and prove to you that the draft is nothing more than a big crapshoot. It's been done on this bbs before, and I'd be more than happy to put it to you again. As for Rice, don't put words into my mouth. I don't necessarily want Rice to start. I never really enjoyed having the guy on this team. So you'll have to make up your arguments elsewhere... and if you can't defend your takes, don't lie to make them sound good. I give Rudy the benefit of the doubt when starting Rice over giving Nachbar playing time. He obviously hasn't been shy about giving Posey minutes over Rice, so obviously there's something about Nachbar's game that isn't ready. I defer to Rudy on that. I definitely don't defer to you... or did you call Nachbar's mom and did she say that he was good? As I said before, Rudy never really drafted Richard Jefferson. Jefferson was drafted at the request of the Nets management by Rudy to facilitate the later trade. Of course in your grand hindsight you can sit there saying how great he turned out, but in reality several teams passed up on this guy. This happens every draft to just about every team. You can't say Rudy and Co. are terrible at something when everybody else is just about as bad. Oh wait, yes you can, you're Captain Hindsight... And please... keep the "I talked to his mom and they thought he was good" comments out of this. That was about as laughable as it gets. But I do thank you for that laugh just the same.
If a team picks up Maloney past 2 10 day contracts, then his salary goes along with it. Other than that, the Matt Maloney is still chillin at the house, collecting 3mill a season and probably laying up with a bad chick
Good Dr., Shame! I have nothing better to do than lie to you and others? Wow! You must be very important that I would make up these events to impress you. Wanted to share with posters the mindset of the kid at the time. He cried Draft Night. He had great workouts with the Rox. Remember, the kid said Rudy said he would take him if he was still on the board. Rudy said the kid was lying. Rudy wanted Lewis last Summer. Rashard said never! Do the math. Swamping us with mundane info doesn't get away from the fact of $120M on players who won't become All-Stars. Sted, thanks for your comments. No need for war. None of your comments have been out of line. Just trying to bring insight or experiences that the General Public may not know. You are right, I could only guess that Lewis would do well, but it was an educated one. Didn't call Rudy or even know him. It's par for the course that he didn't take him. $75M later, the kid is alright. I'm not begrudging the Rox players for taking above market value for their services. When the Rox can't get better because of the cap, you remember the mistakes quicker. Maloney's deal is all on the Rox. He could sign a new two year deal for the minimum with another team and the Rox still have to pay the $21M.
nineteen, I don't question your knowledge of Rashard's situation, nor did I say you lied about it. My point was, simply because you thought he was good and you were close to his parents, you somehow think you have great insight into how good a player he was going to be. Sorry, I won't buy that and neither will many others. You're full of it, so you can quit patting yourself on the back if you think you know more about how players will turn out than NBA scouts. First you accuse me of not providing solid facts, so I assault you with facts. Now you whine about them being "mundane"? Funny. Instead of "mundane information", why not just admit you are screaming at the Rockets for doing no worse or better necessarily than any other team. You berate them as if they are somehow worse, yet I've shown you they aren't. The fact as you so often like to claim, has been proven. I've shown you how easy it is to find multi-milliion dollar duds in the NBA. Most of them won't be all-stars either... this means that there are several multi-million dollar duds that won't be all-stars - get it? You're making it seem as if the Rockets are the only ones paying sub-all-stars these salaries. You've been proven wrong. Sounds like you have an internal beef against the Rockets organization that goes beyond what a normal fan should have. You hold something personal because of the Rashard case, and that's obvious. I notice you're not defending yourself now when I just showed you that the Rockets are no worse than any other team in terms of "bad contracts". Of course I don't like the contracts myself, but I can't say the majority of teams don't have bad contracts... the fact is they do. ... and all your whining can't refute it; and the sad thing is you won't even try to refute it. But why bother you with "mundane information" as you put it. I'll leave this thread to others to whine in. It's often good to challenge others who come here acting as if what they think is an absolute or gospel. I remember the days when you had to defend your opinion. Your opinion obviously isn't worth defending, and that was your right to choose. G'day.
Dr., I'm glad that you cleared up the Lewis comment. I'm not a family friend nor did the Rox cut me. I can't defend your rambling post because you fail to address my point. Your defense, everybody's doing it, is weak. I understand this is a competition for you. No need for you to pat me on the back. For the last time, being a truth teller is tough. You have sheep mad at you for not following their lead. They will hurl insults and mock you to get back in line. You don't mind following, but those Rudy sheep are going the wrong way! Rox dropped a tough one to G St. No Playoffs with Rudy! See you for a Rudy checkup at the end of the year Doctor!
DoD....thanks for agreeing with what I said all along. The Rox are no better, and no worse than all of the other teams out there. Don....Im not calling all their good moves luck. Cassell wasn't luck. Horry for his service with us wasnt luck. Kenny Thomas wasnt luck. Mobley wasnt luck. Ming was, Francis was. We were lucky that we received the first pick as the 6th seed (or was it 5th) I firmly believe our sights were set at Dunleavy if we would of broken into the top 3. Francis, was set to play for the Grizz...we took advantage of Stu Jackson and his idiot decision to not keep his pick and live with it. The brilliance of making the trade happen for fillins, came after the luck of Francis making the whole world know how he felt. Cohen...When did we start talking about Titles? Obviously you are confused. You found the wrong post, thats my .001 cent. NEXT
nineteen, If you KNEW Lewis was going to be a star, why aren't you out scouting talent for a team in the NBA right now, rather than idly talking about it on an internet BBS? Rashard Lewis went in the second round for a reason. A lot of teams weren't sure. The Rockets are certainly overpaying a lot of bench players. The league, however, is not short on overpaid players.
GB, Funny you said that. Talked to the Head Scout of a NBA team yesterday. Played against him in high school and college. It would have been wiser for you to ask about my Bball knowledge, than to wrongly assume that I don't have any. We were in Indy scouting the WBC. I don't work for the NBA. To address Lewis, I KNEW he was NBA ready. He was a 6'10 kid who could handle the rock and shoot the 3. That is why I relayed the story for BBS. I love the Rox, just cause. That's why I'm here. I followed the site since its inception. I only joined because I couldn't receive access. There are many mistakes made on Draft Night. The Rox chose to take three strikes down the middle of the plate without swingin for Lewis. The Rox don't have a small forward today!
nineteen, if you want to discuss sheep you should get together with roydelton. He's intimately acquainted with them. As far as I can tell, nineteen, you cling to anyone who remotely agrees with you like a drowning man to a life-preserver. And you belittle anyone who shows you up with facts. You remind me of a couple of posters who aren't with us anymore.
Deck, Thanks for the crutch offer. No thanks, I can stand alone. If someone happens to agree, I acknowledge it. I'm sorry that you bullies ran away a couple of Rox fans. I think you have lost sight of what this site was created for. I'm here to bring your sight back. Respect everyone and denigrate no one!
If you thought I was questioning your basketball knowledge, then I apologise for not expressing myself properly. I was questioning why someone with inside knowledge would waste his time trading what amount to insults with faceless people on an internet bulleting board. In all sincerity, it seems that you would really be a valuable member of the board. Anyone who brings expertise and insight is always welcome, IMHO. However, the anonymous nature of a bulletin board means that some people will always doubt the veracity of your identity and information. I really think that you should just be content in the fact that you know you are right/accurate. Arguing/bickering with people who don't agree with you just reduces your credibility. I have absolutely no desire to get into a flamewar with you, or anyone else on this board, but there are some who will. On another note, I also have a dislike of people stating they know things are going to happen. That's why the future is so exciting, because no one knows!
Funny how a thread about Maloney being waved has turned into a debate about Rashard Lewis ... but I'll play along just for funsies. Let's pretend, for the sake of argument, that the Rockets DID draft Lewis back then. Given the forwards we already had in the stable, and our desire to use the veteran pieces we had to make waves in the playoffs (weren't we the oldest team in the NBA back then?), do you think Lewis would have been given any attention by the Rockets coaches? Shoot, he may not have developed into the player he is today if he was on the bench behind all those other forwards we had. But, that's 100% speculation, and I'll never be able to prove anything. However, I think Rashard Lewis was better off going to the Sonics ... sure he didn't get a guaranteed contract, but he got on-the-job training, and now he'll be an NBA veteran for years to come.
