The national media sees what they want to see. Last season, they were laughing at us for having two "unmovable" contracts in Lin and Asik last year, saying how Morey ate his own poison pill and now stuck with them. No one actually thought either player was any good. When Asik was with us, he was an albatross contract. Until Morey moved him for a lottery pick. And then he suddenly became the key piece to NO's playoff push. Not saying Asik isn't great when healthy, but nobody outside of Houston cared about Asik until he fit their narrative of the rise of Anthony Davis. Parsons was the ridiculously overpaid guy until he became the missing piece to Dallas becoming a contender. The national media contract themselves all the time because they sell stories, not facts. Is Parsons a star or an overpaid role player? The answer depends on what they want to conclude. If the Rockets had retained him, he'd be the overpaid guy Morey screwed himself over. But he went to the Mavs, so he's the savior to their franchise. That's how stories are written.
In win counts, you're right. The step back we take from season to season for trading Asik won't be much because he didn't contribute much to the 54. But, Asik is still a big loss because he represents potential future wins we gave up on for a mid-first-round pick. If we weren't so intent on cap flexibility, Asik could easily have been flipped for a legit starter at PF that could have added to our win total this year. So, I don't want to say we're doomed, but it's also a mistake to write off Asik like his loss didn't mean anything. I think how you remember the narrative from last season is a bit revisionist, but I agree with the premise that national media fits the parts to the story they want to tell. Still, I think they're justified in being skeptical of the Rockets. Asik, Lin, and Parsons were known quantities, and it was easy to see how they'd contribute. Now they have answer: will the offense work as well with Ariza in place of Parsons? Is there anyone that can provide competent backup PG minutes? Will they be too small on the frontcourt if Howard is injured? Who is the playmaker when Harden is out without Parsons and Lin around? Maybe there are encouraging answers to all of those questions, but you don't really know until the games are played. You have to be skeptical until you see. Now, why they don't seem to be skeptical of teams like Dallas that get annointed before they do anything, I don't know. Don't blame Yahoo. Morey is the one who said we couldn't compete without a third star.
