Dear Mr Owner Alexander Two years ago the Rox won 45, were the 'best team ever in the Lottery' etc etc, Stevie was The Franchise, the future was bright. Last year the starting 4 was injured in the off season, the starting 3 never got started missing most of the year. Stevie missed something like 25 games with the Rox losing 23. Eddie was a bright hope, Yao was #1, the injured would heal, the future was still bright. This season the Rox got it going. They were 23-15 after the biggest regular season game etc etc with the win over the Shaqsters. However, there were harbingers of impending disaster. Every time Rudy spoke, from October on, he talked about motion, getting Yao involved, and a commitment to D. Only the commitment to D ever evidenced itself in any way. It sounded like RT had lost control of the ship, with the ship doing its own thing, even winning some, despite the coach. The season wore on and now The Franchise was to be a 2, seemed to be dispirited, Cat was odd man out, EG didn't develop, the pizzazz had fizzled. The team still won games including a five game streak, was 'in' the play offs, when the shocker was announced, Rudy T had the Big C. As a team the Rox did not rise up for their fallen coach, they layed a flat egg for Interim Larry Smith, and the future no longer looks so bright. Rudy/CD assembled this 'the greatest team ever' etc etc but the future no longer looks so bright. Now who will have control of the team? Coach or players? This coach or another? Who should? Who really knows -- not me, for sure. I am a Rudy devotee from way back. I regard him highly. I, as everyone does, wish him 100% total success in his fight for health and life. My question for Rudy the Coach, the personnel man (with apologies to CD), is does he have the reins or do the players? Can he find the right players to add and can he subtract the wrong ones? Is it time for Rudy to go or is it the exact time for Rudy to dig in and dig the Rox out of this mess? The East's 8 playoff teams could all win their conference. In the West there is no margin of error to even getting IN the play offs this year or next season, it appears. It is time for the Owner to let the public know the direction this team is heading, and under whose direction. Don't tell us less. Tell us, Les. Respectfully, A Rox Fan
That is some deep stuff right there. I agree, there is no margin for error. Either we just stay complacent and accept the mediocrity that this current team/ coaching staff is destined for, or we start building a squad to take us back to our rightful place at the top. Where do you want to be come May 2004? Contender or Pretender?
So, when will we the public know the answers to the Rox present and future or is it public be damned?
TACO.....LOL.... Anyway, hoping for another summer miracle this June. Well I predict it......well, should I apply to be the information minister in Iraq.
1am time to correct posts. Would be better if you started with: Dear Mr. Les Alexander Instead of Owner....
No offense or anything but seriously, though clutchcity is one of the best fan bbs out there and a lot of Rocket personel do come here for fan feed back, do you really think a owner or any higher ups outside of tim is gonna comunnicate with any fans directly? They are gonna be coerced by us? Get real. Especially since the last 6 month the number of members on this site almost trippled. It's really hard to judge if these are gonna be longterm fans or people just here to be catch the latest flavor of month. And if you think we should listen to all the new "fans" because Yao does bring revenue, will the answer is yes and no. While the road games are selling out this year, that doesn't contribute significantly to Les's rev, the home games which he makes his money are still fairly low. And here comes the other shocker, while most people go to see Yao on the road just to see Yao, he really doesn't bring in as much cash to the organization as people are proclaiming. Look at this article. http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0416/1540070.html Here are a key excerpts. Top-selling teams 1. Los Angeles Lakers 2. New York Knicks 3. Philadelphia 76ers 4. Boston Celtics 5. New Jersey Nets 6. Washington Wizards 7. Chicago Bulls 8. Sacramento Kings 9. Orlando Magic 10. Dallas Mavericks Top-10 jersey sales 1. Kobe Bryant 2. Allen Iverson 3. Tracy McGrady 4. Michael Jordan 5. Paul Pierce 6. Jason Kidd 7. Shaquille O'Neal 8. Latrell Sprewell 9. Dirk Nowitzki 10. Michael Finley Guess where Yao ranked on jersey sales? He fit into #17, while not a bad position, really doesn't see like the cash cow most of us expect him to be. Since Yao by himself can't bring the organization mass revenues, and most of the new poster on this board are new "fans", Les is gonna walk a fine line deciding if the "outcries" on this board really represent his consumer base or just bandwagoners following the flavor of the month. P.S. if you haven't noticed, there are still a lot of fans supporting this current team. While I'm not opposed to a big deal to make this team better (like the one for Barkely after we got swept, hated to see cassell and horry go, but we need the to get pass seattle some how) but I wouldn't do some of the stupid crap like Mobley for Crawford or Francis for Brand or some of the other ridiculous things i saw on this board recently.
Would Yanjing Beer have sponsored the Rockets without Yao? When you see the Randall Reed Rockets commercials (new sponsor), which player is in every highlight? This is the tip of the iceberg.
Sponsorship brings in a significant amount, but i would guess it would be around 1 - 2 million range extra because of Yao. It's definitely welcomed and like you said, its the tip of the iceburg. But you have to realize my argument was that Les wouldn't, and shouldn't be coerced and constrained by suddenly becoming new "fans", some with minimal knowledge in basketball and are only interested in Yao, to dictate PERSONEL MOVES. I see that hurting this organization in the long run.
It is not the fans who have the primary need to know the direction the team is committed (committing?) to, it is the players. The ones here, the ones returning, the ones 'targeted'. If a 'regime change' were in the wind I would want to know how it could affect ME. I would need to know what to expect from the team, and where and how I fit in. Whether or not I was interesyed in fitting in, or whether or not a change might occur next February or Spring. This ship is directionless, from the owner's seat to the coaches seat to the players. The owner has said he'll spell it out. He needs to do it quickly and clearly and decisively.
xiki, in that case don't worry, we have no major FA this year outside of Posey, we are fairly strapped cap wise so we can only offer MLE to FA, and if we resign Posey we prolly won't sign a new FA because we'd be in Luxury Tax land. So the only two changes we have this year possible would be coaching and trade. I think Rudy deserves one more shot, he had us up two games with a softer schedule than the suns with only a few games left approaching the end of the season, I would hate to see him gone because Larry Smith can't coach. Now trades, if theres a good one, I wouldn't mind it but don't trade away EG or Cat for crap plz.
Our future is bright! We just have to give this team a chance! But, I do agree with pretty much everything else.
If you, Mr Alexander, could say so much when the season ended isn't it time to say something now? The loose ends are as loose as the Compaq Center is empty of playoff basketball.
wizkid, you are well on your way to giving your moniker a distinctly ironic flavor. Yao's #17 selling jersey is a drop in the bucket (tip of the iceberg was already taken) as far as his current and future economic value to the franchise. There are a lot of people in China. A lot of them with growing appetites for goods and services and growing means to feed those appetites. No shortage of companies trying to reach that audience. The audience whose favorite team is now the Rockets. There's a proposed TV network through which Les is going to cash in on Yao's popularity. I could go on down the list of ways that Yao will make Les a lot of money, for a long time, before I got to proceeds from sales of his jersey. It is in Les's best economic interest to make sure Yao is happy and will take the max and stay in Houston. The $12 million he would have to pay Rudy if he cut him loose would be Les's second-best investment ever (the first was buying the Rockets for a song on a highly leveraged basis, but I digress) assuming as I do that upgrading the talent at the coach and general manager positions will significantly increase the chances of being able to keep Yao.
are you really quoting yourself to point out to les alexander that you asked for an answer and are now demanding that he answer you, a nobody on an internet bbs?
