To me, the obvious choice is to rebuild. If we dump all of our contracts, we could be looking at some ridiculous possibilites. (LeBron/Bosh, Bosh/Nash/Ginobili), etc. etc. etc. I would rather stomach one crappy year in order to have many many good ones than have one good year followed by many many crappy ones. So hold on to Tmac one more year, dump Artest, and hope and pray that Yao is healed by next summer.
That thinking led to the disastrous Layden/Thomas era Knicks, and the 90s Celtics. When it's worked, it's been through sheer luck (Spurs getting Duncan at the end of the Admiral/AJ era). I just hope we demonstrate patience - don't tie our wagon to the nearest horse. True franchise guys almost always have to be found in the draft. If at all possible, stockpile picks.
Did anyone really think Yao was going to lead this team anywhere? Just look at his playoff numbers this season. 17ppg 11 rpg Pretty mediocre for a guy who doesn't really give you anything else and who is suppose to be the franchise player. He was a non-factor in two of the games vs. Portland and was not particularly great in all but maybe 3-4 games in the entire playoffs. Factor in some of the defensive issues and it's fair to say he wasn't all that great. Although I like the team better with him I don't think it's far fetched at all to think that if this team can land a decent, starting quality Center and another good, efficient perimeter player that the team will be better than it was with Yao last season. Hell, they went 2-2 vs. the World Champions without him and were 1-2 against them with him. We all got excited in the post-season with the way the team played but for me the excitement came from watching guys like Brooks blossom and players like Scola take another step in development. Yao didn't do anything to make anyone believe he had become a true leader/winner.
He was the reason we won the first game against L.A, which was a huge momentum builder. The reason his numbers were so low was because the defense was made in order to STOP him, and he found ways around that. Numbers in the playoffs don't mean everything. Not trying to hate on McGrady, but his numbers are impressive in the playoffs, but don't necessarily relate to the teams success.
Which is why re-signing Artest or pursuing older veterans is insane. All that will accomplish is 1. hurting our cap and 2. hurting our draft position. No player should be signed or re-signed that is older than 25 or 26.
on the contrary, the numbers are everything in playoffs. TMAC did not win simply because his numbers were not great enough. No team can win in playoffs if their star player could not get his numbers. Yao's number was not spectacular but it was the main reason that we won a playoff series.
If we indeed rebuilding then do whatever it takes to get Rubio. Right now we lack that one player that we can build around, but I'm not suggesting an extremely lop sided trade. I wouldn't mind overpaying but as long as its not too much.
this team is not a threat anymore, we are no longer contenders. Many teams are better than us so it's time to rebuild. We'll be in the lottery next year.
I'm through giving up on this team. I say we play who we can next season and let the chips fall. Outside of the cripple crew, what exactly is there to "blow up?" Artest?
Try and get Amare, Barbosa, and Nash here. T-Mac, Battier, Brooks, Cook (expiring contract), and one of our draft picks from this year plus our 1st rd pick next yr (I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out) for Amare, Barbosa, and Nash. Re-sign Artest and Wafer. If you can't resign Wafer, plug in White or one the remaining rookies in his place. Once Yao comes back the following season, he can be Amare's backup for about 20-25 mpg. Then after his contract expires, resign him for less which will allow you to keep the other guys. Nash/Lowry Barbosa/Wafer or White or one of the rookies Artest/Wafer or White or one of the rookies Scola/Landry Amare/Hayes
rebuild NOW. trade the big contracts. everyone is on the table but try to hold onto Scola and Brooks.
Everything will be fine, lets keep the team together! I know with all the doom and gloom thats been going on lately with the Yao injurt and lack of blockbuster trades for us we've all forgotten to appreciate the extremely talented team that Morey has put together. I used to be a big "trade tmac" guy but now that I know he ain't worth ****, I think we'd be better off keeping him. Our objectives should be to sign Wafer and Artest and look to add a backup center in free agency. Then we go to war with what we got. I think one thing everyone has failed to realize is that for the last 6-7 seasons we've always been optimistic about our chances before the season started because seemingly good offseasons. Remember when we thought Mike James and Steve Francis was tear up the league? Remember when Stro was gonna become an all star? The list goes on. Anyways, my point here is that Yaos injury may be a huge blessing in disguise. Never has Yao been able to miss the first half of the season before. Hes always been injured at the END of the season. So let Yao sit out for a while, we'll still be a contending team because of our defence. When Yao comes back, we'll have a young team that took the Lakers to 7 that has matured that much more plus a healthy Yao for the playoffs.
I didn't vote because I think we should rebuild but I don't think it will happen in 2010. That feeding frenzy is mostly hype with the demand far outweighing the supply. A lot of teams will walk away empty handed, or with less than they hoped for, while a couple of teams remain strong or get stronger (depending on what the top 4 free agents choose to do). I don't think the Rockets will be one of those teams that lands a big name because there will be little to attract them here over other destinations. We may get lucky but we may not. Any team hoping for a prize in 2010 better have a contingency plan. The Rockets have already entered a rebuilding mode and Morey is well aware of it. If he is as good of a GM as we think he is, we may be an upper echelon team again in 3 or 4 years.
It's been a very long time since a team losing a series has bragged about it so much. Add to what we have...and what do we have? Yao Ming for half a season if we're lucky, Tracy McGrady coming back at 3/4 what he was (and playing 3/4 of the season) if we're lucky, and a team full of role players. That team, playing at its absolute best, repeats what this one did this year - getting beaten in the second round at best. Not to mention the fact that we don't exactly have a truckload of great trade bait through which to "improve" on what we have...what will we get back for Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, and Carl Landry that will be any better than having Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, or Carl Landry? The Yao/McGrady experiment should come to a close. Even when healthy (when rare), they are not the one-two punch we anticipated. Now, coming off career-threatening surgery for the both of them, I have little reason to expect much better. Let's bring in some young guys. Let's horde some draft picks. Let's stay in good shape financially, and let's abandon ridiculous ideas that this team is just one small step from contending for a championship. It's not happening this year, it's not happening next year...let's try to build something anew with the young pieces that we have and get rid of the other pieces that don't fit. Rebuild.
