Honestly I was in favor of making the playoffs right before the trade deadline, but the middling deadline moves have convinced me to go 180 degrees and start tanking instead. Look, you can look at taking the trip to the playoffs as a discount back-to-back flight overseas to the Hawaii islands. Sure it'll only cost $500 for your entire family and you might end up having the time of your life, but when you get back that $500 could have helped pay for you credit card bill. We have no business being in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if we end up upsetting OKC in the first round, I don't think any poster here thinks we can win a 7 game series against the Lakers, Heat and Bulls to win a ring. And if there isn't even a slight chance of us winning this year, then why not miss it and turn our pick into a lottery pick? It might move up just 1 or 2 spots, but honestly the 14th pick is still better than the 15th. If we ended up trading for a franchise caliber player, hell even a Gortat-level one I would loved to see what this group can do in the playoffs, but with the current cast we have and with both Lowry and Kmart suffering from injuries IMHO there's no point.
Even ignoring what Bima's said to counter this, it's just a mentality I don't get. Should every team in the Eastern conference aside from Chicago and Miami go on a massive tank-a-thon now? God knows, I don't know how I could watch the NBA as a whole if it ended up like that.
Not every team. Just the ones stuck in mediocrity that can't obtain elite talent via trade or free agency. Some teams already have their young stars to groom (ala Cleveland). Our focus should be on obtaining elite talent, and the draft is the best way to do that.
Not if they have the one or two players they're planning to build around. Then it's just a matter of finding the right complimentary players to build around. But we have a team of complimentary players with no one to build around...and to acquire the one player to build around by trade means giving up the bulk of the complimentary players that are on the current roster. Not to mentiont that this group of complimentary players might not be the right complimentary players to piece alongside the particular "player to build around" we acquire. I just feel that the current strategy is completely out of touch with the history of the game and reality. It's why Morey said, "the way to get better is to lose....what we're doing here is unprecedented." They say they want to do it this way because they "owe it the fans" not to suck....well, the fans don't care much for this approach, either, clearly...so go ahead and do what you have to do to acquire the guy we can finally build around. Is the draft a 100% guarantee to find that guy....no...of course not. It's never that easy. But it's better than continuing the same.
How about Morey try and exchange the Mavs pick with our team pick, NJ might accept, afterall they don't see any player they like below top 3 or top 5 in the 2012 draft, our team makes the playoffs, we still keep our pick.
Why would they swap picks for one of slightly less value? Thats like saying Ill trade you my Dollar bill for a Quarter because I only want a pack of gum this morning that costs 20 cents.
I don't really want to pick up 3 rookies from the mid-to-late 1st round. I want 1 very good rookie. But, it seems unlikely to me that we'll be able to trade-up in this draft (like the last I don't know how many drafts). Meanwhile, the playoffs are easily attainable and will help our free agency image. May as well make the playoffs.
which fans? fans on this board or fans who never show up here who just bought tickets to a game or sitting at home with his Warriors buddy wanting dearly for the rockets to kick ass for the free 6 pack beer bet. I doubt that, Max.
Tell that to modern day Oklahoma City Thunder, modern day Minnesota Timberwolves, moderm day San Antonio Spurs, any modern day NFL team, or the 1990s Cowboys. The right front office can do wonders with any given draft or utilize many draft picks. For the sake of the argument, let's just say most players in the draft are a bust, yet look at the few players who either became contributors on a team or prominent enough to become an all-star or have the potential to be such. As you mentioned Josh McRoberts, you should take a look at history of top 5 picks in the NBA and drafts that yielded talent from the beginning of the draft into the 2nd round. It happens more often than you think. What easier way is there to find great talent at a cheaper price without necessarily gutting your rosters. We would not lose any talent by having 2 to 3 draft picks. Hypothetically speaking, if we ended up with Jeremy Lamb (or Austin Rivers), Arnett Moultrie (or Meyers Leonard), or an underappreciated, lowly rank wing player falling into the late 20s. Why is that the best GMs often at worst, marginal talent in a bad draft, yet make a killing deeper draft pools. The reason you draft players (or go after players in free agency) is to make your team, better. If anyone thinks the Rockets are championship contenders as is. They are out of their minds. The Rockets need a bench, a future starting center, (possibly) a future starting power forward, versatile wing, and possibly a real go-to scorer. If the team were like 35-5 or 29-15, but it's not. We are barely over .500 with a foot right at mediocrity's doorstep. 3 games over .500 not being a contender for the championship but not being a cellar dwellar, that would be a good thing, if the team were losing year in and out, but that seems like about par for the last 3 seasons (understandably with Yao Ming injuries). It's not unique at all. It's mundane.
I'm for an all out rebuilding through this years draft. Lowry, Martin and Scola for picks!! Now would be the perfect time for a move like this with the emergence of Parsons and Lee as our starters.
