What is that direction which is so clear to you? I think I lack the ability to comprehend it. I sure as hell have no idea how Morey plans on making us a contnder again. Thats the goal of every ball club - to contecnd for the title. So does Morey see us contending soon or is it going to be a while? Are we going young and rebuilding or are we keeping this team to wait for the right trade to come along in Moreys "Superstar"? How long do we wait and what do we do in the meantime? Or is there any other ways to build a contending team besides trading for stars or tanking and gambling on lottery? If so what are they? The stuff in red is what I mean by direction. Or did you have something else in mind by what is being reffered to by "direction". Either way I am lost.
At the end of the season I would love to have the number one pick in the draft and also win the championship. That is my preference but since neither is very likely whether we are the last playoff seed or the 14th lottery pick is inconsequential to me. I agree let us go in one direction or the other. I don't have a problem with mediocrity or should I say I do not see a way out of mediocrity with this current roster. So I accept that we are stuck in the middle going nowhere fast right now. What bothers me most is that we are currently mediocre and playing hard to be mediocre. Translated players like Scola and Battier will never lead us to the promise land. In fact they will probably not be on this squad by the next we are seriously ready to compete again. SO my thought is that we should trade anyone on the roster that is not part of our long term future since our short term future looks bleak. I would immediately trade Scola for picks or youth. I would trade almost any multiple player/picks for an upgrade at any position. Meaning if Brooks and Hill gets you Iguodala then do it. If Brooks and Scola gets you Lopez then do it. If Brooks and Martin get you Melo then do it. You notice how I include Brooks a lot. I do that because I think Ish will become very good point guard soon. His shot is better and will only get better. And I like Lowry as a defensive backup. Brooks will be expensive to keep and if we can get a solid asset for him they I say do it. I do have one condition that I would consider not to blowup the veterans and extra assets. And that would be if we make a blockbuster trade that makes us competitive this year. In that case I woulld want to keep Scola if possible. I do not know what that trade would be but possibly Anthony and Nene or 2 contributors like that. SO bring me a roster change that we can compete with now or trade mid term assets for long term ones.
what do you mean "crumble" ? we have been mediocre or better every season for the past how ever many seasons. only having 2 lotto picks in the past like 7-8 years or whatever. i dont know what "crumble" means? if we dont choose a direction and stay mediocre, that is crumbling? we have been plagued by injuries for the past 4+ years. we were counting (hoping with fingers crossed) on yao this season. that didnt work out. im sure morey has contingency plan upon contingency plan. we had to see what happened with yao before we could go another direction. i wouldnt worry about this team ever "crumbling."
Exactly OP. To say the Rockets know already is also wrong. Yao just went down making their last plan envisioned completely change because now he is out indefinately. He was part of that plan. Now it is taking shape again as we speak. We need a clear direction. Superstar and compete now or rebuild.
Once you drop out of the playoffs, you stay out for on average 7 years. That's a statistic Morey has mentioned himself.... And last year we....
I think the Rockets will choose their direction once it becomes clear what other teams are going to do. Remember, Morey thrives in predatory positions. I'm willing to bet he's put together every algorithm known to man about the different possible scenarios that can play out, and their impact on our salary cap, and our future picks. He's going to outlast every other GM out there in terms of patience, and probably strike right when we think nothing is going to happen.
I think the Rockets as well as the fans need to realize without Yao and without any decent defending, this team is going nowhere this year, next year or even the next five. It is time to face the fact that this is not the team in 2008 with Mutombo bailing us out at center and still having the JVG mindset. We must realise that when Adelman took over, we got an all offensive minded coach known as a players coach. Taking reign of the team is not Rick Adelman, he puts it on the players to perform as he as indicated many times in interview. We all question the man's game plans, especially in clutch situations and who he puts out there. Fact is, even if some guys are cold, he lets them play to give them confidence and it's all up to the players to do it. He's a loyal coach and for some that works, for some it doesn't. Right now, we have a team ready for rebuilding, we are getting younger every year and with Yao out it is time to look to the future. Try to win as many games while they do of course, tanking is a moot point, but realize that even if they make the playoffs, we are not going to make any noise. We had a chance in 2008 and 2009 because of defense, but now that we do not have that, there is no way we are going to get far. Adelman and Morey have done a great job in giving us a team and players who are good, fun to watch and score a lot of points but that's not going to get us anywhere. We are on the opposite of the early JVG days when it was ugly, low scoring but we won. Now we score a lot but the others score more. Bringing back JVG isn't going to make us better because most players we have right now are offensive-minded. I am worried though and I have been since the end of 07-08 when they weren't bringing back Mutombo. To me, that was a sign, because even though he was old, he scared teams enough not to bring anything into the paint. Luckily they did sign him, cause of Yao & Tracy, and it paid huge dividends. Back then we were talking about getting a legitimate back-up, even with Mutombo on the team cause he was always talking about retirement. Now, again, the Rockets are in desperate need of a true center. No disrespect to Hayes, Miller or whoever on our team you think can play center, they are just not going to cut it. Miller is a nice option as a third center, a veteran who you can play because he knows the system and give you some points. Should be a guy playing 5-15 mins depending on who we play and how he plays. Hayes is a nice option as a back-up PF/C, an all out defender who you need in certain situations but a starting center, flat out no. True centers are rare and hard to get so we shouldn't expect a replacement for Yao anytime soon. In my opinion the Rockets organisation has failed tremendously in not looking for a good back-up since 2007/08 and for a future starting one since 2009. With Adelman as a captain hasn't helped because even when we had Mutombo he didn't play him and if Miller could, he would start. Adelman just doesn't care enough about having great defense, he rather has offense. This has hurt the team and I think the overall mindset. There is not one player, outside of Hayes, who plays good defense every single game. Some players cannot help themselves, like Martin who just isn't a good defender no matter how hard he tries. However, the trying part is what is a concern for me. If you look at the championship teams there was always the effort from a few players. You could always count on a few guys each night to try their best. Adelman and this team doesn't seem cut out for (trying) to play good defense night in and night out. Rather than having a core of 6-8 players, we have 12 guys who can get minutes. Each night, there is at least one player not up for the task, leading RA to look down the bench for help. Firing Adelman or getting a center will not help the situation, however for the future I think it's best if next year we get another coach and this deadline but especially during the summer look for a legitimate 7 footer. Adelman is a great coach but I think combined with Morey looking at mainly 2nd round gems, doesn't care too much about size and probably under pressure from Alexander to keep an entertaining team on the floor, will not work in the long run. Alexander in my opinion is a good owner, willing to spend the extra buck for even guys like JT and Budinger but seems to be in winning now mode every single year. Don't forget that the championship teams were formed under another owner, though it was partly due to Olajuwon putting them under pressure to get younger. Fans weren't exactly excited about Kenny Smith, drafting Horry & Cassell, having Herrera as a back-up PF but turned out to be huge parts of Double Clutch. Now I must admit we are getting younger and some nice talent, like Brooks, Budinger & Patterson which weren't exciting draft picks at the time but can turn out crucial for a championship. If we compare this team to the championship teams, outside of defensive mindset, though I want to get into shot blocking later, is the lack of leadership and lack of a player to step up at the end of games. Now I must remind you, that the Rockets back then were also known for blowing huge leads. The big difference is of course Olajuwon who they could count on to score, which Yao was to a certain extent, but especially a fearless guy like Maxwell. Here is where I can see the value of a Carmelo Anthony, when you really need a basket, not afraid to take a shot. Brooks has come through for this team a few times in clutch situations but there's no consistent guy we can go to. Martin is a great shooter but to expect him to turn things around or make a winning basket, do not count on it. With that being said, I think outside of a center, a good defensive scorer at SF or replacement for Martin is vital. However, Carmelo is not the answer. He costs too much, so we have to give up too much, he has an ego the size of his bald head and I don't see him fitting in. Battier is great for now, but doesn't cut it as a starter so hopefully we can either find a new starting SG / SF in the next few years who is committed to defense and with the fearlessness of a Maxwell and the scoring ability of Martin / Carmelo. Shot blocking is something I want to address because we have been a terrible shot blocking team for years now, even with Mutombo. This is due to size yes but it seems also due to a lack of effort and know-how. Patterson shows some potential and occasionally Hill will have a nice block but outside of Battier, there is no other guy getting even 2 blocks once every 2-3 games. In my opinion if the Rockets would look at the future, we definitely need to look for a replacement for Scola because I don't see him starting for many more years. I don't mean in any way trading him, but we just need to look to get bigger and a PF with a knack for shot blocking wouldn't hurt. So to conclude I hope we get a more balanced coach, we will get a legit center we can work with and keep Yao as back-up in case he comes back, and just start looking for the future and hopefully get bigger, more shot blocking, more defensive minded and fearless players. In the meantime, I hope Adelman keeps playing the young guys so they can develop, especially Patterson, and just show some fight for a playoff spot.
