I have been saying this for some time but honestly, the reason we lost last night was because of bad shot selection down the stretch...too many pull up 3's when we could have gone for 2's.
The fool that is losing money financially because his team sucks. The fool that has a disgruntled star that wants to leave.
You started off this thread by saying the Rockets don't understand that its important to acquire great players. Now you admit that they have tried to do so -- and in fact, they've been quite active in pursing this the last few years. If you want to criticize the Rockets, criticize the approach they've taken in trying to acquire this elite talent. Don't say they don't believe its important. We don't have Bosh/Paul/Carmelo (don't know what you're referring to with Lewis) on this team right now because Morey doesn't have good relationships with players/agents? That's your explanation? So which is it? Is our philosophy that we don't need stars, or that we are too desperate to acquire a star? Are you saying that we shouldn't have gone after Bosh or we shouldn't be going after Melo? OK. The Rockets were criticized last year for not giving Adelman enough choices, and now they are criticized for giving him too many choices. Shall we tank and go for a #1 pick? Not happening. Shall we build up a stock of cheap, talent that other teams will covet in a trade? We've done so -- though apparently you think that was wrong. Shall we be active in trading up for a lottery pick during the draft? We have been (using all those "very good" assets you say we have too many of). Shall we not bother pursuing stars that are possibly attainable, because it will hurt our credibility? If you're serious about upgrading the talent on the team, you go for it. But you think we shouldn't bother, apparently. So in summary, you've said we shouldn't stockpile on cheap talent because that gives our coach too many choices. There goes our ability to trade for a star. Oh, we also should put all our eggs in one basket because trying to target multiple stars hurts our credibility some how. Honestly, I see nothing in this that suggests a saner path for the Rockets to acquire that elite talent you covet so much.
If anyone without the rockets tinted glasses would look at this team objectively before the season started, you would have seen a team that is a 6 or 7 seed at best. The repeated talk of championship contender from some people on this board was ridiculous. This team as constructed has zero chance to do anything besides get killed in the first round of the playoffs.
When you compare this roster to the one we have 2 years ago -- what are the relative strengths/weaknesses? Because that team was good enough to get home court advantage in the 1st round and get to round 2.
An everyday desk job isn't the NBA. Trying to correlate the two has always been a fallacy. We tried for Bosh, tried for Melo, LeBron and Wade were never in the conversation, Paul hasn't gone anywhere. Three of those guys all went to the same team. One of those guys is probably going to leave after one year if it's not where he wants to go. What, exactly, is your answer? And what's your criticism of the other 20-whatever teams that also didn't pick up one of those stars? And exactly what insider knowledge do you have that makes this even remotely true. Because there is no real logic or common sense here (just another chance for you to make your 'Powerpoint' joke). lol. Even putting aside the horrible horrible quality that is having 'depth', how else do you plan on getting trading for these big superstars we need?
I think the flaw in Morey's thinking is believing he can acquire a Superstar player through trade, most are acquired through the draft. Teams are not going to give them up very easily and they are not interested in coming to Houston because of Yao Ming's health issues. Therefore the strategy was flawed from the get go. DD
This. Other players can get buckets purely from open looks and easy cuts. No more posting Chuck and Shane PLEASE.
We have also picked up potentially high draft picks. And I don't think their drafting (in relation to where they've been picking) is particularly horrible.
The Rockets have been trying to trade up in each of the last couple drafts, using all those assets which the OP insists are a burden. Or are you saying the flaw in his strategy is that he didn't allow his team to tank?
Just think how good we could have been today had we kept the rights to Rudy Gay in 2006 and taken Jonas Jerebko instead of Jermaine Taylor in 2009 or kept Donte Greene rather than trading for Ron Artest in 2008 or taking David Lee rather than Luther Head in 2005. Except for the Rudy Gay debacle, the others are 20-20 hindsight, I realize. But, no risk no reward.
Either way, the result is the same. We have no big three or elite superstar. Maybe you weren't following the team three years ago, but we also tried to get Rashard Lewis when he became an FA. Here's a link so you can read up: http://clutchfans.net/news/1407/rashard_lewis/ My point in bringing them up is that Morey is 0-for-every time he has tried to lure a top shelf star to Houston, whether it be via free agency or trade. I'm getting embarrassed seeing him trot out his laptop powerpoint presentations to these stars and then getting patted on the head as they go off to sign for a team/GM they take more seriously. Did Bosh consider us for more than 5 minutes? Will Melo? Last year's performance is largely irrelevant. Today, Morey has left Adelman a roster of 15 valuable trading assets, which is great for playing fantasy GM but not great for a coach trying to win basketball games. I don't remember suggesting this. Whether teams covet them or not - no deal has been done yet. You still need two competent GMs willing to do a deal and a star who actually wants to come to Houston. If Feigan says we have been active, then I guess we have. But what has that done for us? Does it help our credibility to keep going after stars who don't even take us seriously? I mean the Bosh example was embarrassing. We've got Morey in one city, Bosh in another and a bus full of fans somewhere else. The guy meets with Morey for a few minutes then brushes him off. Talk about amateur hour. [/QUOTE] So in summary should we endlessly pile up trading chips hoping for a miracle trade and forget that somewhere in this game is a coach who has to actually lead a team through a season? Should we hope that a GM who has never actually signed a top star or traded for one will suddenly be able to sign one? Should we hope that a top level star will suddenly want to come to Houston when hardly any have wanted to in the past? Should we expect a team full of players who are disgruntled over their playing time and who are unsettled by trade speculation will really be able to do their best?
the draft is always a shot in the dark. There were no guarantees that we passed on. This team is missing a goto guy on the perimeter. People always forget that is what T-mac brought to this team during crunch time. So who will replace that? You can't win close high pressured games without that player. That's what they really get paid the big bucks for. If we get Carmelo, I think we have a title shot. Without him, I think we have a shot at the 2nd round, maybe even the conference finals.
Agreed the jobs are different, I was just referring to some earlier language from Durvassa I don't really like to compare the Rockets to 20 other teams. I compare them to the Lakers, Celtics, Heat and other teams with championship aspirations. This is what we have been led to believe is the goal here. I think everyone knows that Morey used a PowerPoint presentation to Bosh and others. Perhaps the joke is that this was expected to actually work. These guys didn't get MBAs or work for consulting firms, it takes a little more to impress them. Glad you were entertained That could be the point. Is hoping for a trade really the best way to do this?
It was a strategy that had worked in the past. No one expected this to become the Summer of The Diva, but taking cheap digs at Morey is your new chew toy, so have at it.
