Would you call what Stone and the Org are doing, tanking?

I don’t understand the need for a poll.

He just told you were tanking without using the “T word”… which he can’t say unless you want a Colangelo ushered in here by the league. Nothing has changed in any way since Harden was traded.

does he need to draw you a picture?

 

I don’t think anyone disagrees Silas’s time must come to an end at the end of the season but I don’t think Silas is coaching in a way to maximize chances to win. He’s trying his best to develop the young talent and carry out orders from above.

He’s trying to win in the sense that he’s not telling players to purposefully miss shots or throw the ball out of bounds, but he’s not going out of his way maximize the current strengths of his roster in the name of accumulating W’s.

 

Oh it’s tanking, but it’s tanking with the caveat that we’re going to play youth and if the coach won’t do it, the gm will trade the veteran.

 

I think they certainly wanted another top 3 pick this year for sure if that’s what you are asking.

However I personally believe that very few GM’s get the fortune to have two drafts in a row where you get the consensus #2 prospect and the following year you get the consensus #1 prospect.

The organization should have said to themselves that it’s a better bet to put infrastructure and professionalism around Jalen and Jabari now then try and double down at the roulette table when you just hit black two times in a row. They could have always still bench everyone after the all star break if they had seen the growth they needed and the games were meaningless at that point. Then you call up G-league two way players etc when the season is lost and Jalen and Jabari are in a groove and ready for the next offseason.

Stone didn’t cash out on his winnings for two hands in a row and now is risking losing those winnings by doubling down.

Last June after the draft they should have made a coaching change, and been active to make a few trades for at least a couple vets like a Stephen Adams type to shore up the 5, tried to pursue someone like Mike Conley to help with running PG, and actually paid a couple vets like Danny Green etc to be solid 3 and D players. Surround Jalen and Jabari with guys like that where they are likely the only 2 real 1st and 2nd year players.

Looking back at it now I think trying to tank three years in a row was a bad move because it has hurt Jalen and especially Jabari.

 

ah more excuses to cover for the ineptitude... cant wait for this franchise to move to las vegas...get a fresh start !

its not working...stone and silas had plenty of talent they just arent a good gm and a good coach and this is not a basketball city...

 

So I been posting Stone and Tilman quotes on acquiring talent through draft the last 2-3 years and it just hitting you that they had no intention on winning.

Silas isn’t being judged by winning just like POP isn’t being judged either - it’s development of players …which they are attempting but Stone hasn’t given him anything to consistently be competitive.

 

Of course, 100%, and I feel it is a fine strategy for a few years.

 

are you interesting in buying any bridges perhaps? i have a couple of them now, could have sold you on real cheap, you know...

 

We are definitely tanking. It's pretty hard not to win more than 20 games in an 82-game season. Teams that don't win more than 20 games are either deliberately tanking, ravaged by injuries, or dealing with both issues. Besides drafting new players, Stone did nothing to improve the roster from last year's 20-win team. I think Silas is a whipping boy for the fanbase's frustration with watching year 3 of 'the process' Rockets. There is no way to 'gracefully tank.' Firing Silas after forcing him to be the face of this shitshow while Stone largely avoided the media, doesn't give me a lot of faith in him as GM where most of the blame should lie. I'd like to see Silas have a normal year of coaching a non-tanking team before the front office decides whether or not to keep him.

 

Fine time to tank with the new lotto format.. But hey, anyone that was projected to go no.1 and drops to us means he's a great talent evaluator right?

 

deserves its own thread. you know the acronym

 

By all accounts Stone was here and on the tilman side of the WB deal

So when he talks about what he "inherited" all I hear is " weasel , snake, liar "

He doesn't like that he's FINALLY getting some pushback after being the worst team 2 years in a row and looking like it will the case for number 3

It's absolutely tanking . I believe stone controls rotations too . Not only trading players that would help us win , but also telling Silas or himself making sure they play less .

Losing is not some byproduct of us being young ... it's the goal

He says he has a plan . Just like he had an offer with multiple 1st for oladipo

Guy is out of his depth . Unfortunately i think we will all see that next year .

 

Yes this is tanking. The problem Stone is about to discover is that it’s not a switch you can just turn off.

he’s sent this truck down a steep mountain side and he has to pray the brakes hold up.

 

Tanking without developing the players you drafted from previous year's tanks, and teaching them losing habits in hopes of a 14% chance at getting a top pick and turning off any free agents wanting to sign here in the future is the strategy.

 

A: "I don’t think anyone disagrees Silas’s time must come to an end at the end of the season"
B: "I don’t think Silas is coaching in a way to maximize chances to win. He’s trying his best to develop the young talent and carry out orders from above."

If B is true, why is A necessarily true?