Based on what I have seen in the past week couple weeks, I think it has become fairly clear what DM is trying to do. Just look at the following: 1. Battier + Brooks for Rubio (18 years old) 2. Offering Ron only a 1 year deal 3. Going after Gortat (25 years old) at the strike of midnight 4. Pursuing Ariza (24 years old) 5. Drafting 2 scorers in 2nd round Notice Morey hasn't made or pursued any deals for older guys with fat or even manageable contracts. Why? He is putting together a team of role players that will duke it out next year. Based on those next years results, some players will stay and some will go. When the summer of 2010 rolls around, Morey will make a HUGE push at the FA class and I wholeheartedly believe he will go after the cream of the crop. Whether that means Lebron, Wade or Bosh. Some might say that those players will sign an extension with their current teams before even hitting the market. I say they will follow Kobe's footsteps (a la 2004 IIRC) and test the waters, let people speculate and then make a firm decision. Lebron, Wade and Bosh know the spotlight will be on them starting next Feb through the summer and they will not pass up the opportunity to bask in that kind of attention. I don't think it is far-fetched idea that Morey will go after those guys. After all, we have seen him make brilliant moves that some might have assumed were impossible to make. Build a team of role players and sign someone big next summer. I can take one season of mediocrity if it is followed by 5-6 seasons of complete domination. And if Yao is back in 2010, that is just icing on the cake.
It's going to be tough next season. The Rockets had so much potential too, but injuries have effectively put a stop to this current team.
we still need to get a young, exciting player this offseason though, otherwise the toyota center will be close to empty this year.
I think he is making the best of this awful situation and setting us up for future seasons as well. It sucks that it has come to this, but I support it. That said, we have Scola and AB (somewhat) as our only players who can create their own shot...not good
i love it. get rid of players over 30. don't bring in players over 25. young, athletic, healthy, durable!! things the rockets haven't had enough of in years.
You haven't seen Taylor and Budinger yet. Budinger looks promising, but lets just hope he's not another Boki.
Here's the plan; 1. Save Money for the Future 2. Evaluate the guys we have now until McGrady and Yao come back, if they do. 3. Go after Bosh or Joe Johnson in 2010
Are you saying Morey is a pedo? going after younger players? but nevertheless, excellent observation. i hope that's his plan.
Lebron isn't going anywhere, he's playing at home and cleveland will do anything it can to keep getting players around him.....Wade on the other hand...i can see him leaving Miami and Bosh will definitely leave..let's not forget there's other guys available next summer, i wouldn't mind getting 2 stars instead of one superstar..
Exactly, so many people on this board want to see instant results considering all the activity that has been going on around the league, but would trading for Carter/Jefferson/Hedo et. al help the Rockets next year? Hell freaking no! I like what Morey is doing - go after smart, young guys who will make excellent role players. Then sign a big name FA next year (presumably). And hope for Yao's recovery. The West is too damn tough - what is the point of taking on a huge contract and barely sweeping in as an 8th seed only to get swept out of the first round? You are back at square one with little to no cap space, a low draft pick and no young pieces to build around. As I said before, I'll take a year of mediocrity followed by multiple seasons of success any day of the week.
The greatest thing about Morey's plan is that during that summer we will be nearly $30 million under the salary cap, given that we will only have $29 million given out currently + whatever we sign the new rookies, + Gortat + others. We would have to use a good chuck of that to resign Scola, probably 10 million. Like everyone else has been saying it will really be interesting what Yao/China decide to do, opt out, resign, or what?
Let me supplement OP's thoughts. Scenario 1: I think Morey is still going hard after Stoudamire, who fits the age criteria. If we can land Stoudamire and Gortat, our frontcourt is good enough. We lack a scoring wing to make real noise in contending, but even without one, we would be a 6-8 playoff seed. With a huge amount of luck, perhaps Yao could join the playoff push, which would really change things. We would be a threat to make the 2nd round and maybe WCF. The following year, we would be pretty dangerous if Yao is healthy. Scenario 2: If we cannot land a star like Stoudamire, we roll with the young guys, hopefully with Gortat in the fold. No sense in rushing Yao back, so he takes the year off. We are a lottery team, maybe we get some lottery magic. In the summer of 2010, maybe we get a good draft pick and sign a Chris Bosh to pair with a healthy Yao in 2010-2011 season. The battle among the kids is over, and we can roll with the young players, plus Yao, Gortat and Bosh (or some other Max type player).
