I am of the never tank mentality. Too many draft busts and risk, banking on other teams to do poorly to cash in on draft assets. The Knicks have been tanking for 20 years, where has it gotten them?! I’d rather enjoy a competitive product. Of course I WANT to be better, but I had no issue enjoying all the teams between 95 and 2012. Except maybe 2005-06.
Eh that's diffuct to do. When you are ranking you are putting your young players that are looking for long careers in the league in a position to play a lot. Those type of guys are fighting for their NBA careers. They are going to try. Teams tank by resting and trading veterans and letting their young guys develop.
I watched the Rockets as perennial 8th and 9th seeds prior to Harden. Unfortunately I think the Rockets are good enough to make the playoffs; but get bounced immediately. Always fluttering around not bad but not good enough since their picks will not be in the top 10..... usually around pick 14th. Hope is, Harden leaves the Nets and goes to California after next season.....then the Nets dynasty collapses. Giving us good level picks from that point on.
I think tanking starts with clearing your roster of all tradable value/talent. Then rolling out all young and developmental type players. Basically RGV in the NBA. They'll bust their ass to stay in the NBA, but they'll just lose most of their games. I enjoy following a team in the hopes of raising championship banners. Staying "competitive" with some weak sauce big 3 (Dipo/Wood/Wall) acknowledges that we are content not being serious contenders as long as we win more games than we lose and fans buy tickets.
I chose don't tank cuz what's the use in getting the #1 pick if we have to swap with Thunder anyways. So if we tank then make sure we at least maintain parity with the Thunder.
come on man..... If you’re going to jump in, at least make sure you know what the topic of conversation is. Embarrassing.
What? The only thing embarrassing is this response. Why do people have to be rude in here especially when they are wrong.
U I can’t think of a less compelling argument for why tanking is a good idea than what you’ve laid out.
Wall is going to be out at least half the season. Boogie is done/will miss a ton of time. Vic is likely getting dealt for 2-3 picks/youth at the deadline. Expect PJ & EG to be gone too. This team's already bad and they're going to get worse. OKC is going to suck also. It's worth the risk of gunning for top 4 as the difference with OKC isn't going to he huge.
Philly has not separated themselves as a meaningfully more successful team due to their tanking than a team who did not, like Toronto, Milwaukee, or Miami. They are a fine team with some good players, like a lot of teams. Philly, after posting 4 seasons of <30 wins (3 <20), has yet to make the Eastern Conference Finals. Do you want me to say they are a winning organization? Based on what? Philly did not have to tank for these mediocre results. So again, what exactly am I wrong about?
This is a sobering take, but i still enjoy this team. Hopefully PJ gets offloaded asap. FWIW, Russillo mentioned that there is no trade market for Gordon. He is very prudent with what he publicly shares, so i'm inclined to believe him.
Do I WANT to see the Rockets lose? Hell no. Will I feel happier that the team may have lost this year if we ended up with a high draft pick? Yes I would. The Astros would have never won their championship in 2017 if they didn't tank for a few years to get Springer, Correa and Bregman. Yes NBA is different than MLB, but the concept is similar if you have some pieces already in place. Next year I would feel pretty good with Wall and Wood and a top 4 draft pick regardless if we still have Oladipo or Gordon. And with future draft picks at our disposal, if in 2022 this team shows promise then perhaps we can use those in a trade. If not then we can continue to build this team with more young talent. This unfortunately will result in losing years but I think this team is losing either way. At least this way I can simi be happy with a loss. I hated those years where we kept getting the #12-#15 seed in the draft. With Harden gone, this team is not winning anything in the playoffs (if they even get to it) without the likes of Lebron, Harden, Curry, Durant or Kawhi. And none of those guys are coming here.
The next three years is prime tanking time for the Rockets. It must be done. This is our window to tank. Don’t blow it Rockets. I say turn the team over to the young guys. It’s fun to watch young players grow in confidence and skill. We have a three year window to do this. Don’t waste even one year.