If we are going to suck...NOW is the time to do it!

In 2-3 years it's going to be Houston Portland and Oklahoma City in the West vs. whichever team Lebron goes to in the East. Orlando might still be there because of an improving Dwight, but they have really crippled themselves with some of the contracts they've taken on. Rashard Lewis is really gonna tail off any day now. As for LA, I don't think Kobe has more than 3 years left at a superstar level, and his teammates have even less. Artest has maybe 0.5-1.5 good years in him, Odom 1-2, and Gasol the same. Fisher has -2 good years left in him. Who will rise up for them in the meantime? Farmar or Shannon Brown? Maaaybe Bynum, but he'll never be as good as Gasol is for them now. The Lakers will be tough to stop next year, but that window might as well be the same as the Celtics' two years ago.

 

The Rockets dont even have a core anymore.

Tmac is gone. Yao is gone. Ron is gone.

Their core is Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza.. They need a superstar whether its through trade or lottery.

 

I think it will probably be these teams...

West
Portland as long as Roy continues to grow as a closer.
Oklahoma City will be in the picture in 2-3 years. I really see that team growing up soon.
New Orleans because you can never count out Chris Paul.
Denver if they keep Carmelo around.

East
Cleveland assuming Lebron stays.
Chicago because Rose I think can be the centerpiece of a contender.
Orlando as long as they keep Howard surrounded by players.
Miami if they can keep Wade and surround him.

After that, it really depends on where players end up, situation around them, and if they start turn into centerpiece type players and really there are a lot of players who faall into that category such as Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Rudy Gay + Mayo, Andre Stoudamire, Al Jefferson, Devin Harris, Chris Bosh + Barganani, and Danny Granger. And beyond that, there are still probably a few lottery picks from the past 2-3 yrs that were really raw and end up developing into superstars.

A lot of this has to go with the Team management. Like, as long as the Spurs keep Pop, Utah keeps Sloan, Detroit keeps Dumars as GM, etc. those teams can always be in the mix.

 

Lol there's never a good time to suck. You can't predict what will happen in the future, there will always be contenders no matter how long you wait. Tanking and doing everything possible to get a high lottery pick sounds good, but in reality there's too many variables to consider to make it worth the effort. Rather than tanking, why don't we just roll with the guys we have and see how far they take us? If the our players step up, they will definitely impress alot of guys in free agency next year and will make them more willing to sign here with us. Isn't that better than conducting a fire sale and getting rid of Battier and Scola just for the sake of tanking? Because I assure no way in hell our team ends up in the top lottery constructed the way we are, especially now that we can run RA offense properly.

The Bostons tanked and did everything possible to ensure Duncan will fall to their laps. Guess who got him instead?

 

Well I completely disagree. We have two gynormous contracts coming off the books that are very appealing. We have great role players that could be thrown around to alot of teams that can give us strong rebuilding pieces. There is no reason to think we will suck now. In fact right now with alot of teams hurting financially is the time to profit, rape and steal and get the pieces to completely turn this team around 180. The Celtics were looking like a team on the way out a few years ago and look at them now. Heck look at Kobe and the Lakers. The question is how bad does Les Alexander and Morey want it. Do these guys in the front office have the BALLS and determination to pull that trigger and just go for it? With this injury as much as we love the guys on our team EVERYONE is expendable. Especially right now at a time where people are hurting. The fire SALE IS ON!

 

Next season is gonna be tough for us not only because of Yao's and T-mac's injury, but also because our western opponents, like Spurs and Mavs, have all strengthened themselves by signing some solid players.

 

i agree with most on this thread. we need a top 5 lottery pick.

 

I survived several years watching a team on which Moochie/"Wizard"/Mo Taylor/Cato and "almost dead" Glen Rice had significant minutes. I say we blow this team up, endure a season of mediocre ball and come back strong.

 

As much as I like the Rockets to tank the season and get a high pick to speed up the rebuilding process, I don't see it happening. For one, most of the players on last years playoff roster is still here, granted both of our star players are injured, but in the playoffs, brooks and scola prove they can pick up the slack. I not saying the rockets will make the playoffs, but we have a bunch of guys they play with heart and pride, and we also have Rick as our coach. I'm predicting the rockets will be a team that will be on the outside looking in when playoffs comes. We'll prob. in up with the 13th to 15th pick in the draft. But don't feel too bad if we don't land any of the top 10 picks. If we do get the top 3 picks, Morey would prob. trade it for Jokam Noah or something.