One thing you can say about the Rockets is that they don't waste talent by giving up on it prematurely or driving it off.. I can' think of a case where someone the Rockets discarded became a star somewhere else. Throughout the years this has contirubuted to the Rockets overall success. We have made our share of draft blunders, though we have done pretty well. We have traded young talent Horry and Sam for Barkley, but we have never just discarded talent prematurely such as many other teams have done. Tracy McGrady, Rahseed Wallace, Jermaine Oneal, Minnesota with Marbury,Shaqulle O'Neal etc. come to mind. When you accuse Rudy of being to slow to pull the trigger, too patient or too concerned with being a player's coach etc. you need to realize this. I believe this is Rudy's reason to to keep working with the talent of Cuttino or Eddie with Steve and Yao rather than prematurely giving up on them.
I agree totally. Rudy T and CD trust their instincts, and they are usually correct. Even players that we have to eventually cut loose seem to catch on somewhere else. It is amazing how many Rocket draft picks are still playing pro ball somewhere in the world.
This season has been the BIGGEST waste of talent. The Rockets shouldn't even be THINKING about missing the playoffs right now, yet they managed to mess up again and again...
What's your definition of "defination"? Discard means "to get rid of". What glynch meant was that they don't trade players or let them go by free agency until they know for sure what that player brings to the table.
I agree with you glynch. I tried to think of who the Rox have let slip through their fingers. The best I could up with off the top of my head are two guys who, while certainly not stars, could have contributed something to the club - Craig Ehlo and Avery Johnson. I don't recall seeing much if any of AJ while he was here, but Ehlo clearly had talent but could never get the minutes he needed to develop his game. As I recall, Ehlo got his revenge by having some pretty darn good games against the Rox. On a slight tangent, it will be very interesting to see if they hold on to TMo after this season (am I right that his contract is up?). I hope they do.
I was gonna ask the same thing because some of the players mentioned by glynch weren't gonna resign with their original team so the player really discarded the team. Nonetheless, it is surprising how the Rockets have not been in a situation where negotiations took a wrong turn with a young star or the player didn't show any loyalty. I think this shows the class of the organization and how players like to play for Rudy.
That's right. Instead, they let them wither and die on the vine, expose every weakness, invest zero in teaching and development, and lose all value before waiving or dumping them.
Outstanding point glynch. Don't expect A-Train to explain what supposed talent is being wasted. I think he's with the crowd that thinks the Rockets have more talent than Sacramento.
You mean like Michael Dickerson? Or Othella Harrington? Or Kenny Thomas? Cassell? Horry? Cuttino? Okay, I give up...what players are you talking about?
Rudy and Co. are excellent talent evaluators. Im not the biggest Rudy fan as far as coaching ability but he is very good at identifying talent. The Rockets have made their share of mistakes but so has every team. The difference is some teams make mistakes while rarely hitting the home run. The best thing about Rudy, CD, etc. is that they aren't afraid to take chances. They traded for Drexler, made the Francis deal, swung the EG trade and worked their butt off to get Yao Ming, despite all the naysayers. Clyde brought us a ring, Francis has panned out, EG is still a work in progress, and Yao Ming looks to be the real deal. When you're proactive and are willing to go against the grain and takeyour lumps, it demonstrates your commitment to winning. There is nothing more a fan can ask for. Everyone says they're committed to winning but few organizations try to make it happen.
I was thinking Hakeem. I was thinking the unwillingness to bring in assistant coaches for player development, like Mo Malone. I was thinking passing on trading Eddie and Cat. But mostly I was shooting my typing digits off, and got smacked down. You're right, I was wrong, I was an ass. My bad. I just very frustrated with what I see as a stubborn overvaluing of their hand.
Excellent point. I may re-pick up my confidence on Eddie... One the other hand... some team never stick with their talent and never achieve their goal. Like Timberwolves with Garnett (maybe this year?), Knicks with Houston and spree, Camby..... well there must be a balance point somewhere.
I will agree glynch that we have not shipped out any Mcgrady's, but thats no reason to keep Mobley. He is not going to be the next Mcgrady if he is traded. He is a veteran, and regardless if he thinks he is an all-star, he is not! I 100% agree with Clutch, that Mobley would be first on my list to move. As much as I wanted Allen, I did not want to give up Cato in that package. Taylor, yes! but the 1-2 punch of Ming & Cato is working fine, and bringing Collier into that #2 position would be a joke.
