For those that are upset with management and think we're not doing enough, let's take a look at the real alternatives for the near future. The reality is that it's hard as hell to get a franchise player, and we may be in for a long haul, even if we do everything right. That's not to say we can't put out a good product or be in the playoffs. But we're not winning titles unless we get or develop a franchise player. The Plan for 2010/11: - Plan A - Bosh via SnT. I think it's beyond highly unlikely. - Plan B - Identify dynamic young players with the skills to develop into stars, or undervalued near stars that need a change of location, and then trade for them. Anthony Randolph. Thaddeus Young. Danny Granger. CP3 (not happening) Any others come to mind? - Plan C: If A and B fail, you wait and gather assets. See how Yao's foot responds. Trades that get us better in the near term, but doom us to mediocrity are the worst possible moves. Like dealing for Iggy type players. Signing veterans to longish/bad contracts. We do the best we can this year, see how Yao does. Let Brooks, Buddinger, Hill and Patterson grow. Increase the value of your assets. - There's no quick fix here. People need to quit acting like there's a silver bullet but Morey's not willing to or not smart enough to use it. Plan for 2011/2012 - Plan A: Build through the draft. Hope to get a top 5 draft pick through NY. Re-sign Yao if he's healthy. For those that say you can't count on Yao's health, that's fact, but what's the better alternative? Yao is probably the best FA available. Unless you believe in tanking to increase your lotto position, and ignoring corporate profits from China, you have to bring Yao back if he can play. Durant and Melo will get extended, so forget that. - Plan B: Don't bring back Yao if he's not healthy. Go young and be the team with cap space, so that we can acquire assets and be opportunistic. Acquire young talented players. The new CBA may have a lot to say about what we can and can't do. If Morey drafts well, we should have more trade assets each year. This true for the following summer also, when we get the NY pick outright. If we're in rebuild mode, that's two potential lotto picks. Again, folks, this might take a while. The good news is that we have Morey who is competent and will probably make the right calls and put us in a position to succeed.
very much agree, especially with the part about magic bullets. once you do something stupid in the NBA, it costs twice as much to undo it. even though the rockets need a superstar, theres no need to do anything stupid to get him. i'm curious what the rockets plan to do with so many above average but non-elite players though. there arent enough minutes for everyone, and if players dont get minutes they wont develop. i think its almost essential to trade some of our above average players for one elite or close to elite player. otherwise you risk upsetting the chemistry when the newer or less experienced players feel like they arent getting a chance.
i know what i plan on doing is watching the knicks next year if the rockets dont trade there picks away, and root for them to lose every single night.
Ditto. My priorities will be #1 rooting for us to win and #2 rooting for the Knicks to lose. What a joke of a franchise. Why on earth would Lebron ever choose that dump? They need three years to rebuild even WITH Lebron.
What exactly might Morey do that is stupid? He might do something outrageous but not stupid, like trade Scola or Hill or Patterson + Ariza or Budinger or Battier + 1 or 2 NY picks + filler. That is a little of a hit, but its for a proven guy in Bosh. Stupid would be to trade all those things for an unproven player, like DeMarcus Cousins, or whoever the best player is in the draft next year. Plus, you know Morey isn't going to gut the team for a superstar. He might consider doing so for LeBron, but even that is a stretch.
Riley is on a roll!!! :grin: Nice post again. It is so hard to get a franchise player. Patience is key. I think that Yao can still be our superstar, and we can win like the Kings of old Adelman... I would LOVE to keep the Knicks picks and get DM in as many drafts as possible. I think we can have a winning team for years to come, even with Yao out of the picture down the road...
interesting... Bibby = Brooks D. Christy < K.Martin Peja > Ariza Webber > Scola/Patterson Divac < Yao
Here is my plan that Morey can use in his computer model. It was written in FORTRAN and the source code is available on sourceforge. DO I= 1, INFINITY season=season_array(I) CALL Trade_away(veterans, expiring) CALL Tank(season) CALL Draft(season, rookie) IF rookie == SUPERSTAR: GOTO win_nowEND DO
I don't see how getting Iggy necessarily doom us to mediocrity. Iggy's contract is big and Philly may be willing to part with him if we just give them a replacement for him and cheaper contracts in return without having us take on another contract like Brand's. Something like Ariza, Jeffries, and Budinger for Iggy might be agreeable to Philly. And we'd still have enough assets left over in Taylor, Hill, and the Knicks picks to acquire another impact player. Trading Iggy for Ariza, Jeffries, and Budinger would consolidate assets, by trading above average players for good ones, which our team needs to do.
i don't see how that proposed deal gets us over the hump. It improves us, but not enough. We become a fixture in the top 4 in the west, but are still just another team below the lakers and elite in the east.
Look, i have been a hardcore Kings fan back in Webber days, if i would compare that team to this Rockets team, I would do this: Webber vs Yao Divac vs Scola Peja&Bibby vs Martin&Brooks Christy vs Ariza
You know, this guy can opt out and become a free-agent next year: Next summer, all the teams will have mutilated their rosters b/c of this summer...while we stand pat and make a huge play for this guy.
Nice post. I'm actually considering writing an article once free agency begins about the salary cap ramifications of various free agent moves. I plan to cover some of these issues in more detail once we all have a better understanding of where the Rockets stand. Still not sure about it, though.
Do you have a blog? I think you should get one since there's not a lot of people out there that has a good grasp on the CBA and the NBA's cap situation like you do.
