You are very right. Everyone wanted a person like Ward on this team and i was one of them that did want Ward on this team to help with his leadership and less turnovers. I still think he is doing a decent job for the Rockets. He is hurt right now so we have to wait and see. The rest of players are what i am more concerned with.
I wanted Ward and Kurt Thomas for Mo T. I was also ready to deal Cato for that package. Ward became instantly less attractive when he wasn't an expiring contract. No way he should have got more than a single year at the vet minimum. I would have only given JJ 1 year when we picked him up, too. No one else wanted him. Somehow, we're always ready to give extra years. Cato Mo T Shandon Maloney Moochie Ward JJ These guys all got more money and more years than the market required. Posey, EG - less money, chances, whatever- offered than market Whether that's CD, coach's orders to CD, or Les, it's not a good record. Then we DIDN'T sign some good free agents, and we DID draft a series of busts, and failed to find talent with late picks like the Sonics, Spurs, and Phoenix have. We HAVEN"T made good trades when other teams were interested (EG for Shard) but we have had some lucky breaks. I'd rather have Rick Sund and Nate Mc Millan.
We're not talking about Denver, we're talking about the rocket's problem. He's better than Ward, Bowen, or Padgett.
I wanted this guy and said so before the season, even started a thread about it. The problem with the Rockets is they are afraid to take that risky move. Demarr, Eddie Griffin etc..etc.. Jay Williams is out there REALLY cheaply right now and signing him to a 3 year deal like Wards OR FOR FAR LESS would be a very low risk potential high reward scenario. JAY WILLIAMS CD !!!!! Get him while you still can... DD
I think its an interesting topic. hindsight is 20/20 thats the most overused cliche on this board. You would assume CD would have some foresight but to be honest I dont think he's the one that makes decisions. I think CD only carries out orders and directives. Its hard to pin blame on a GM it usually takes many years or losing combined with horrible contracts and then a decade of coach carousel's to pin some blame on the GM. dont you know coaches are the first scapegoat?!? CD is mediocre true but there doesnt seem to be that many awesome GM's in the league anyways.. being a GM seems to be 80% luck / 20 % art. who to choose with the #1 pick seems to be a no brainer every year. But the GM's who can go out and get the right pieces, while negotiating a reasonable salary are whom I admire. Everyone's enamored w/ JWest and lately Kiki (Denver) ummm.. how long have their teams been losing? people who win year in and year out and make good personnel decisions are the GM's for the Spurs/Lakers they were blessed with having a cornerstone to build around but they found the right pieces. interesting. the main problem I have with CD is he seems shortsighted. We need a PG we tries to get us a PG.. we need a PF he is making calls to find us a PF but he doesnt have that long term vision or business sense that some players we might not need but are tradeable assets that we might as well acquire anyways. J J
But our true point guard that has been productive is Sura. Everytime Ward would run the offense, he looks lost. Sura has run very well with the offense coming off the IL.
The Bulls had some 'mediocre' players around 36. But I guess we should have ALL ALL-STARS, even on the bench. And I really like the use of hindsight as WRT Eddie (although his story may not be over yet).
but Sura is a SG.. he lacks the courtvision and outside shot we were looking for in a our protype PG. He would be better suited backing up Tmac/JJ than playing PG for us. J
Room, What Sura are you watching? His court vision is fantastic.....his lateral quickness is not great, and his outside shot is questionable, but his passing is fantastic. It is no coincidence that the turnaround happened after Sura got comfortable in the starting PG spot. DD
this is nuts... We'll see where CD is in a couple of years and where each of us are in a couple of years. From where I'm sitting he's looking pretty good. You don't get Tracy McGrady at his age and not give up something. It takes sacrifice to be great and right now we are sacrificing. All of the free agents in the off season provided mediocrity or a little better for a high price. Not only did we not have the money to spend, we were not willing to sacrifice the future of many championships for a long shot at a championship this year. We are not absolutely terrible right now. And all signs are for drastic improvement over the next couple of years and then possibly greatness for quite a while. You can criticize all you want, but everyone makes mistakes and there are no guarantees. CD didn't make EG a failure. **** happens. All the best, Brock
CD's problem is that he overcommitted way too much on role players in the past. All the Maloney's, the Eddie Griffin's, the Pippen's, the MoT's and the Cato's have burnt his a$$ full of marks. So he now goes to another extreme, bringing in low cost fringe players and wish they play bigger than their contracts. So he was afraid to over commit on James Posey and Kenny Thomas. So now we get Ward, Bowen, Padgett, Oakley and the likes instead. On the other hand he is not afraid to pull triggers on blockbuster deals. The Pippen, Francis, and T-Mac trades are as big as they can get. CD comes with pros and cons. Unfortunately now with the big stage established, his pros of pulling big trades aren't the most needed but his cons runs into the Rockets' need of finding the capable players at the right cost. So yeah, this season will be a real test to see if CD has what is takes to get the role players. If he can't do it well, see ya.
I said a few years ago CD is not getting the job done. The reasons have been pointed out on this thread many times already.....the decisions that make no sense at all.... The problem is that we lose more then we gain. How many great free agents, big rumoured trades or draft picks have not worked out for us? Sure thats true of every team at some point, but its not like the Rockets are a team no one wants to play for.
he was actually at one of my games...i told him to call the rockets when he is ready to come back. he said that would be a dream.
Originally posted by Panda ... ... So he now goes to another extreme, bringing in low cost fringe players and wish they play bigger than their contracts. So he was afraid to over commit on James Posey and Kenny Thomas. So now we get Ward, Bowen, Padgett, Oakley and the likes instead. On the other hand he is not afraid to pull triggers on blockbuster deals. The Pippen, Francis, and T-Mac trades are as big as they can get. CD comes with pros and cons. Unfortunately now with the big stage established, his pros of pulling big trades aren't the most needed but his cons runs into the Rockets' need of finding the capable players at the right cost. So yeah, this season will be a real test to see if CD has what is takes to get the role players. If he can't do it well, see ya. The thing about big trades: you often don't end up with a perfect supporting cast, and certainly not in the year after the trade. How many fans would be elated to have TMac and Yao, yet all many of ya'll can do is b**** and whine about the imperfections. Things take time. Every other team out there wants Yao and TMac; we have them. I'm looking forward to how CD rounds-out the supporting cast over the next year or two. I feel for all of those teams still looking for ONE Yao/TMac calibre player to join their team.
Agree with you on Sura, DD. And he said it would take a while to get to full speed, so maybe his lateral quickness will improve.
