Are you asking whether the Rockets could have traded Drexler if they had agreed to trade Sampson? Not sure but you have to realize that it was very different at that time. Most importantly, it was a center's league back then under those rules. Ralph was coming off of of 4 year run where he was 3 time college player of the year and then NBA rookie of the year. He was going to revolutionize the game (or so everyone thought). Drexler wasn't a sure thing by any means back then. He was still just an athlete, with no real jumper. He was the 14th pick in the previous draft and he had come off the bench his rookie year playing behind Jim Paxon who was an all-star. Jordan was the college player of the year and people knew he would be good but nobody had any idea that he'd be anywhere near what he ended up being. Chicago actually wanted a center. They only drafted Jordan at #3 because Olajuwon and Bowie were already gone and supposed trades for Jack Sikma and Tree Rollins fell through. Nobody knew what to expect of Barkley either. Not a whole lot of comparisons for a 300 lb guy who's under 6'5". Nobody had any idea who Stockton was when Utah drafted him at #16 in the NBA draft. School's like Gonzaga weren't playing on TV back then. Also realize that the Rockets also had Rodney McCray (#3 pick in '83) and Lewis Lloyd on the team too. McCray was 6'8" and could do a little of everything though he wasn't elite at anything. Lew Lloyd was a 6'6" shooting guard who was great at attacking the rim, could shoot it from midrange and probably defended Magic Johnson better than anyone at that time. You add Sampson and Olajuwon to that and you've got the core that we saw in '86. Add in 6'11 Jim Peterson from the '84 draft and they were a huge and extremely talented team. The also added Mitchell Wiggins (Andrew's dad) as a 3rd guard. Wiggins was 6'4, long arms, could shoot midrange and a very good defender. After Lucas was released in '86, they went with a starting lineup of Robert Reid (6'8") at PG, Lewis Lloyd (6'6) at SG, McCray (6'8") at SF, Ralph (7'4) at PF and Hakeem at center. They were huge, all extremely athletic, all ran the floor well and all played good to great defense. You can't really fault the Rockets for not trading Sampson prior to the '84 draft. Everyone knew how talented they were. It wasn't a matter of "if" they'd win a championship but rather "when". They got close in '86 but unfortunately Ralph's knee injury and Lloyd and Wiggins drug suspensions ended their chances. I'm sure others would disagree but I still consider the '86 squad the most talented Rockets team that I've seen. Now, in hindsight it seems like a no-brainer that you trade Sampson and draft Jordan but it wasn't so clear cut back then.
Hopefully he's more consistent now than he was at UH. Though his overall numbers were good with the Coogs, it seemed like he was either nuclear hot or ice cold. Not a whole lot of in between with him back then. I will say though, he was always willing to take the big shot.
I came to this conclusion as well. Lou Williams is a fantastic comparison. Perfect 6th man type of guy to lead the 2nd team and provide instant offense off the bench. Vinnie Johnson-style.
We were on a 6 game winning streak prior to the rash of injuries, players going in and out of rhe lineup and trades! I think once we get a good Off-season, Training Camp and hopefully a high draft pick, they can be much improved.
No. It was also after Jordan's 2nd year. He broke his foot early into his 2nd year. He hadn't quite cemented himself as "Jordan" yet, and Ralph was going to dominate the NBA because he was the next great big man (along with Hakeem). Big men were the prize. If the Bulls had the first pick in the '84 draft, they would've picked Hakeem. Portland would've picked Hakeem. The Rockets picked Hakeem.
