Morey needs to make a decisive decision on which direction we go

i don't know why this thread is rated so low...OP makes a valid point. I was actually working on a thread similar to this.

The rockets are at a crossroads. but it's not a mistake...

 

A fire sale is when you sell all your assets for cheap out of desperation.

 

This thread topic is the one that needs addressing above all others.

I read all 10+ pages of the game analysis. Mostly, it alternates between what players we need to dump and how management has failed us.

No, you dont start dumping players or firing coaches and staff until the philosophy thats in place has failed. That philosophy being who the team is build around, and who the compliment players are. Yao is that piece. He has been the central figure. Yao hasnt failed our team, his body has. And as much as I and some other folks have this vision of him returning to his prime years, its just too unlikely at this point to continue to devote our team plans to. No, Yao at 60-70% isnt going to do it. The anchor has to be solid, or the ship is going to wander off course.

I believe it is premature to get rid of players until a new strategy is ascertained. This must be first, otherwise we could get rid of the very players needed in the new scheme.

I think the obvious first move is to change Yao's role from franchise player to role player. Its only wishful thinking to consider otherwise.

Usually, the next step would be to move someone else into the star role and build your chemistry and your rotations accordingly. Unfortunately, our team has one star and 14 role players. Alright, cant go to the strength of one player, then go to your team strength. While this is highly debatable, I believe the high tempo fast pace offense is the team strength. I was recalling the other day when we used Lowry and AB simultaneously. We used to REALLY cause problems for other teams with all that speed and penetration and the 1 & 2. They used to break down defenses routinely, getting other players easy shots. I dont think ive seen that combo once this year.

While I see us winning more games and gaining a identity with the above, I dont see us winning a championship that way. And now we come to the crux of it all. Do we want to be better or do we want to win a championship? Most agree that you need that superstar(s) to get the latter. Well, that makes it seem simple. We get one. Problem. Thats what everyone else is trying to do also. Supply/Demand. To me, tanking is just too mentally detrimental as a strategy. "Ok guys, get used to losing. And in 2-3 years when we have the right people, we need you to start winning again." Ive heard time and time again how often times players used to losing never turn it back. This can happen to teams and franchises. Clippers anyone?

Now, close to tanking might work. We get picks for the players we have that willl draw them, and put a young team out there that probably cant win, but develops and is allowed to TRY AND WIN. Rid the bench of all but the key veterans for just sitting them hurts us.
1) Their value drops the more they sit and thus give us less chance of getting good picks. Trade them before we bench them please.
2) Simply benching them can also cause morale problems as inevitably they start complaining and becoming distractions.
3) Let them play somewhere else if were not going to play them here.

The rest is up to chance and luck. Whether the young team develops an identity or whether we get a good enough player in the draft to make a difference are a dice roll. But I think we can bend our odds in our own favor if we make the big decision. Make the commitment to a certain course.

 

Isn't making a decision by definition being decisive?

I can't decide....

Its the allstar break for sure, that is historically when deals go down in the NBA

 

Exactly. I have been saying that for 1,5 years now.

He has 3 options:

1) Tank - Trade leaders and key players for young, promising talent if you can and DRAFT PICKS.

2) Trade for a superstar - very unlikely.

3) Stay with this group. I mean make some minor trades (like Lee) and hope this group can get healthly and can get something going in the 2nd half of the season.

No. 3 option sucks to me as well. We all see, this is not working. Even with healthly Yao and Brooks this team is an 6-10th seed in the West. Is that what we want? Playoffs and quick exit ion the 1st round? Sure no.

I'd say, keep Brooks, get rid of players like Yao, Shane, Martin, etc and get young talent. It will be painful at first, but it may give you wanted result.

 

Man, this is starting to become tough to watch.....what a gut punch season..... and we are in the middle of a rebuild. The only way this can get worse is if Yao magically becomes healthy next year when he is the starting center for the Knicks.....

 

I'm so sick of hovering in the marginally competitive tier of the NBA. The last thing I want to see is a couple of band-aid moves to pick up 10-15 more wins this season. Who cares?

If we make another patented Houston sports organization move and pick up another veteran journeyman I'll stop attending, or even watching the games on television. Hanging onto this Yao Ming dream has driven us to the basement of the SW. San Antonio, Dallas, and now even New Orleans look at us like pissants.

Blow it up. Rebuild through the draft. Harrison Barnes and Perry Jones appear to be franchise building talents, and they can likely stay healthier than a 7'6" 310lb man.

 

landing superstars is just too hard to do these days, especially free agents. Only other route is through the draft. The million dollar question is, who do you rebuild around? I think it starts with a good center and power forward. You absolutely cannot build a franchise around an injury prone player. That's what leads to mediocrity for so many years. Now should Yao be traded or just use him as a bench player? It kind of depends on how much Yao wants to be paid come next year. If he is willing to take a big salary cut, then of course you keep the big guy. If he isn't...well that's up to management to decide. We need a capable center and power forward combo. I think we're pretty close to what we need at the guards. SF will need an upgrade soon as well.

 

why trade for role players don't you think we have enough role players on this team.? what we need is star player on this team.

 

he is helping them but he isn't a player you can build a team around.

 

I have had this feeling for a long time now, Morey is too quiet for some reason, I really think he is planing something but I don't think it's going to be Melo for some reason, I don't know why though/.

 

the problem is yao's injury/rehab and his upcoming free agency being not that far apart...Morey pretty much has to guess what will happen...he doesnt know what kind of contract yao will be worth. The team is going to be forced to make a decision mostly on a guess and the guess may be the opposite of what it wanted or had in mind for this team.

 

When it comes to Yao, its 100% Les's decision and he is pulling the strings. I wouldn't doubt Morey has probably already suggested that the team move on, but Les just doesn't want to give up his cash cow.

Yao's value to Chinese market has always been more than his value as a player.

You are really naive if you believe they are "philosophically" on the same page.

Les is all about a dollar.

 

I still don't understand how Morey is still the GM of this team, we're doomed as long as he's here. He doesn't watch the games, his analysis comes from stupid number crunching. Mediocrity and first round exits await as long as he's here

 

Alexander needs to first walk into Morey's office and fire him.

Then calmly walk across the hall to Adelmans office and fire him.

 

Yes, the best GM in the business and one of the best coaches in the league both need to be fired.....

Thats the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

 

If he has to guess then it should be pretty simple, IMHO. The guy has broken down four years in a row and even if he comes back at this point we are looking at roughly 40-45 games of Yao at top notch shape, if you take out of the financial ramifications, the guess shouldn't be much of one.

 

should he then give up the team to avoid re-signing Yao purely for financial reasons?

 

i don't think we will ever trade yao. if yao agrees to a $5-6mil/year contract, he can be a great role player to us (IF HEALTHY). big men are hard to come by.

morey has ALWAYS tried to get that star. he has just failed. hopefully he succeeds soon with that, instead of accumulating good role players

morey is NOT the best GM in the business. you need to be able to get a superstar to be in the conversation.

 

This would all be so easy, if only the rest of the teams in the NBA will just agree to whatever trade proposals DM makes.