Can we rename this thread "Boogie Cousins Appreciation Thread" because there's some good stuff in here...
NY needs a center for a month or so, because of injury to their starter and reportedly had interest in Oladipo. We get our draft picks and expirings. https://tradenba.com/trades/5hmitqM9y
Cousins was supposed to be a vet minimum low risk backup center. To that, he more or less played to my personal expectation. Because the team was on a skid, the Rockets org (and the fans) wanted (maybe even needed) him to be more. With covid, injuries, load management and most importantly; the team's lack of bigs, he was getting a lot of burn. That was asking too much. Parting ways is fine. Team did him a solid on the guaranteed. I'm not a fan of opposing teams punishing us with height, Justin patty-mac Patton better step up.
while this is probably better done in the random trades thread, I do think that the Knicks line up well as a trade destination for Vic. With Tibs coaching i can see Vic as a good fit and they are finally making some noise in the East. They have picks and assets to play with and could want Vic long-term. So I agree, the Knicks are a prime candidate to deal for Vic.
The previous poster mentioned Golden State. But most of the other teams on this last had to be terrible before they got better as well. - The Spurs won 26 games the season because of Robinson's injuries before they drafted Duncan first overall. - The Cavs were definitely in tank mode, having won 22, 32, 30, 29 and 17 games the five seasons prior to drafting Lebron. - It's easy to think of the Celtics as contenders only after making moves for KG and Allen, but those moves don't happen if they hadn't drafted Pierce 10th overall in 98 after five straight losing seasons. - The Mavs had eight losing seasons before they lucked out with drafting Dirk in 98. - The Heat don't become a powerhouse without Wade, who was a acquired with a top 5 pick after Miami won 61 combined games the two prior seasons. - And the Bulls were terrible for years before they drafted Jordan and Pippen with top 5 picks in 84 and 87. Every one of the Hall-of-Fame franchise players listed above were drafted as top 10 picks by teams that were terrible the year prior. Most of those teams had been terrible for an extended period of time before they drafted their superstar(s).
I'm fine with his tenure here. It's the most that anyone could expect at this point in his career. Those that expected more were deluding themselves. We need to ship out vets and continue the beginning of our rebuild.
I'd still call it small ball when your team's philosophy is prioritizing 3 point shooting to the point where you are stuck trotting out a 6 foot 5 center. The Rockets hoping to pull off some wild last minute trade at the deadline for a little bit of height doesn't really prove to me that they were not okay going small. And I didn't begrudge them at all for it last year. The terrible move they made before that point put in a desperate situation where they had to roll the dice if they wanted a chance. But now we have a blank canvas to build the team and it's literally been reported the Rockets "want to go smaller." If I'm taking them at their word, why would they say that? You mentioned the reasons for going small last season. What would be the reasons for doing it now unless they're trying to shape the team's identity?
This. We could eventually win again post Harden because superstars eventually leave andteams move on. The problem is the guy who runs the team. With him I don't think we will ever be a competitive team again unless something drastically changes.
Shooting ability isn’t necessarily correlated to size. Also it wasn’t some wild last minute attempt. The Rockets targeted Wood as the player they wanted before they even traded Capela. They believed Detroit would take a #1 for a soon to be free agent and they miscalculated. They believed there were a number of other guys that would be available and the market dried up. If there is any criticism that is where it should be. They never intended to start PJ Tucker at center. Westbrook/Harden/Covington/Tucker/Wood is a long line up. Why would the Rockets go small now? Because that is what the league as a whole is doing, even the Knicks are going small. Also, the Rockets want Wood at the 5 (Silas) and are adamant about that and there is no other viable big available. The Rockets also are very guard and swing player deep and those are their best players so they want them on the court. Last the Rockets have one of the 2-3 worst offenses in the league and need more scoring. This is now the second straight regime in Houston that is going small. While I would love a couple of 6’10” forwards with 7’3” wingspans that can shot and switch and alter shots; they are very rare and hard to find. These flaws in the roster show why the Rockets need to tank and add a couple lottery picks. There are a lot of holes on the roster and free agency and trades won’t address them all. We saw it with Harden. Les never let Morey tank and it was 8 years of using trades and free agency trying to fill holes - it doesn’t work.
harden driders were so butt hurt because omg boogie said the Harden situation was a distraction. I mean how dare boogie speak out!! (meanwhile harden driders kept saying there was nothing to see here, media conspiracy, hurt ankle blah blah blah)
“Jeremy Lin isn’t walking through that door... and if he does, he will still be old and crappy. Time for Lin fans to accept reality. DeMarcus Cousins isn’t either and if he does he will be arthritic and slow.” - Rick Pittino