Are the Rockets not good at developing young talent?

Thabeet: Does not want to get better, therefore nobody can help him.

Flynn: As a rookie, he was pretty dominant and has the talents just needs to get enough time to get back.

Hill: I don't know whats wrong with this guy, he is tall and athletic, should at least get 1 block and 7 rebounds per game. He is just playing like a damn p***y.

Williams: Has the talents, but attitude towards the game is not right.

 

-Newsflash- The Rockets were trading Scola for another 31 year old PF so I don't see how that affects anything as far as playing time goes. Not talking about how good the trade was or anything like that.

I disagree. We have McHale who I'd guess knows a lot more about teaching big men than Dalembert does. While I will admit that I'm sure they are learning something from Dalembert, I don't believe that it will be making a huge difference in their performance when you factor in that it costs them playing time.

 

Some of you people really need to listen to this NBA Today Podcast with David Thorpe (the personal coach for NBA players including Kevin Martin and Udonis Haslem) on player development.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7510545

Thorpe praised both Rick Adelman and Kevin McHale as guys who have done good work helping players achieve their potential, and criticises teams like the Kings and Wizards for doing a poor job developing young talent.

According to Thorpe, contrary to what most casual fans' belief, player development does not mean just handing young players minutes and the greenlight to shoot (which is the mistake made by, for exmaple, the Kings with Tyreke Evans) but requires coaches to give specific instruction on what it takes for him to be successful, give him the opportunity to fail, but also hold them accountable. Coaches also need to be "authentic" in their praises and criticism and you can't just tell guys "you are great!"


Objectively, the Rockets have had many recent draftees/young players "developing" into contributors without being just gifted minutes and greenlight to start their careers: Brooks, Landry, Budinger, Lowry, Patterson and now Parsons. It's a pretty successful record considering where these guys are drafted and, according to Thorpe, their approach is superior to the "entitlement minutes approach" advocated by casual fans on this board.

 

The same could be said about Chauncey Billups.

 

They were basically all busts when we had obtained them.

 

Or Kyle Lowry.

 

So if you think the Rockets should have gotten rid of their older players to allow their younger players to get more minutes this year they are a "casual" fan? David Thorpe is entitled to his opinion and so are we. That is the same guy that thought that Morris was going to be one of the biggest contributing rookies this year. We had very little to lose by playing the young guys and seeing what they were made of this year and I stick by believing that is what they should have done. That does not make me a "casual" fan.

 

Flynn's field goal % was 41. Not exactly dominant.

 

No, it doesn't make you a casual fan. It is a sign that your parents did a poor job developing your mental faculties. Maybe they should have shipped out your older siblings to give you more playing time.

The difference between David Thorpe's opinion and yours is that he has spend decades studying the game and has developed sufficient expertise in the area to get paid both to develop players and to share his opinion with ESPN readers/listeners. What, might we ask, is your experience in the player development field? Is it fair to say that your studies in this area is more casual than that of David Thorpe's?

 

Im not talking about the age of who they were trading for, but their willingness to trade Scola and Martin. Fans complain that the Rockets need to trade Scola, which I would reply, Im sure they would like to, but you have to have a willing party to give the Rockets something back in return.

If you read what I said, its not like I was suggesting that Dalembert be their coach, I'm suggesting that players like Parsons, Lowry, Bud, etc. are better players on the court while playing with one of the better shotblocking centers in the league backing them up on defense. He makes them better on the court which makes their value increase. Young players that WIN have a much greater value then those who put up numbers on losing teams.(See Nick Young)

 

lmao @ CarlHerrera.

I don't have time to argue with another rabid pro-tanker, but I have to ask my usual question: Where has the joy in being a fan gone? We're pissed about making the playoffs? What?

Why sit here and wish we were the Wizards? I don't want to get rid of Martin and Scola to have Gerald Green and James White play more minutes. Only on Clutchfans would that be a very popular strategy. Pro-tanking logic is getting warped by repetition.

 

lol my mental faculties are just fine. I'd be willing to bet that if you asked NBA executives and other NBA minds around the league and media whether or not the Rockets should have battled for the 7th or 8th seed most would say we shouldn't have. Honestly I think if Les wasn't telling Morey he had to Morey would have went the younger player route. We have four young players on our roster that are just going to expire and we will likely end up getting nothing for a single one of them. You really think it would have been a terrible move to move our older guys and let them play in the hope that they develop into players that have value? Especially in a shortened season where we lose our pick if we make the playoffs. We are just letting these guys go to waste from a Rockets standpoint.

 

Young players who are good enough will get their minutes even with older players on the roster. It happened with Carl Landry (earned minutes with Scola and Hayes on the roster). It happened with Brooks (earned minutes though he was drafted in a year when the Rockets had Rafer Alston on the roster and added both Mike James and Steve Francis). It happened with Patrick Patterson (getting minutes with Scola, Chuck and Hill on the roster). It happened with Budinger (getting minutes with Battier and Ariza). It is happening now with Parsons (getting minutes over Budinger and Terrence Williams).

If a young players is worth playing, he'll show it without you clearing the roster to give him minutes. He'll earn minutes and show in those minutes what he can do. Then, you can ship out the veteran (like the Rockets did with Rafer in 2009).

 

The man who CREATED THIS SITE is pro tank. Get out of here with your high and mighty if you don't want your team to win in the short term you are a bad fan.

Also I wish we had the Wizards roster not that we were them.

 

You know I actually agree with this logic in most situations but not with how the Rockets are currently built. Younger to me was the smart route to go because you have nothing to lose. Back when we had Yao and TMac what you are talking about is definitely the way to do things. I think you and I are arguing about two different scenarios unless you think there is always only one way to go about when to play young players.

 

My bad wrong word. He did sub-par. He helped the team get few wins. He did good defensively and got better each game. Also timberwolves were worse during that time and love wasn't as dominant. He did good with what he was given.

Btw rubio is shooting 37-38 percent with a better team and better k.love.

 

Great thoughts. It just speaks volumes about the fan base here. There are alot of Bill Ingrams that follow Houston sports and claim to be "fans". They just dont really know what they want, they would be unhappy either way, and talk about the Hakeem years and how much better things were.

However, back in 92 these are the same people who would have been begging the Rockets to trade Hakeem for draft picks. Not comparing Scola and Martin to Hakeem but you get my point.

You ca look at the fans of the Denver Nuggets for inspiration here. Their is a belief amongst their fans that they believe in Gallinari and Lawson enough to take on the best of the best in the NBA despite being outmatched almost every night in talent.

Maybe it isnt just Morey's reputation of being a "gunslinger" GM that creates negative buzz in the NBA amongst the players and agents. Maybe its the fact that the Fans in Houston dont necessarily have the greatest reputation in the world.

 

So 3% higher than Lowry's ?



DD

 

Way too many serious responses for an obvious troll.

 

Who was trolling?