CD on 610am. Mike make less $$ but still choose Min.

I'm pretty sure the whole thing was based a lot on emotion. We'll never know, but I'm willing to bet he wouldn't have signed with the Rockets even if Minnesota didn't throw in the kicker. He used us and used us well...he even appeared on freakin local news stations for God's sake.

Not giving the trade kicker is the right call. If Mike James is good enough to get a trade kicker, imagine how many other players would want one to come here (or anywhere for that matter, way to go Mchale). There are probably only 5 or 10 players in the league worthy of that.

 

Easy with the personal attacks. This isnt espn boards.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head.

 

If you're going to include risky drafts, what about passing on Harold(the next MICHEAL JORDAN) Minor for Robert WHOorry. The natives were really restless after that one.

By the way, Jeff; you aren't the only one opposed to "no trade clauses" and "trade kickers".

 

Ya, you will be awarded something because you win more games in first round. I said Rockets is better, but not that much better. Got it? You must be too happy with the few games we won in the first round that you set your standard so low.

 

Make no mistake about it, a championship is all that really matters. But, there are steps you have to take to get there...winning a playoff game, winning a series, advancing to the conference finals, etc.

We are a team much better built for the playoffs than Memphis, as shown by Memphis bowing out quickly every year. Enough about Memphis though...they aren't even close to being the toughest competition on our way to a title.

 

I agree our front office takes risks. It is just except for the plainly obvious ones (e.g., Tmac and JaHo was a good deal for SF, CM and Cato) our front office has just flat out sucked. Alston for James was a risk, and it sucked (worse player for more long term money tied up). Sura and Ward were risks based on their age and injury history, and they won’t produce their contract’s value. Battier for Swift & Gay was a major risk, I don't like the looks of it, but we will see.

Meanwhile we have had relatively low risk moves and bungled them (not matching Posey for an MLE, or keeping KT if we wanted that, missing on James for an MLE because of our refusal of a 15% trade kicker another rival is willing to make--this after we could have had him for less by not trading him).

Unless we have had all aces (drafting Yao, trading for Tmac, getting James for two 2nds), we have just made a series of very poor decisions. We currently have one average NBA starter (beyond the big 2) to show for what 3 years effort since being practically gifted Yao and Tmac.

Seriously, it is hard to imagine a worse short term and long term prognosis (and we have little tradable assets) while at the same time having Yao and Tmac near their primes. A random selection of players around them would have done better, because at least then we are not getting owed by guys doing their homework like Jerry West (who admittedly has had to build a team without being gifted a Yao or Tmac—there are not many of them in the league). It is like the saying goes, all stock will eventually go to their rightful owners. Let's see how long we keep Yao and Tmac because the rest of our stock's value is gone, we will probably end up selling them low at some point.

On second that, isn’t Les a bond Wizard or something. He can’t be that dumb. Maybe I am overlooking the obvious (cheapness and profit margins).

 

Totally true... calling Yao the "safe" pick is revisionist history. Jay Williams was the "can't miss" prospect, while it turned out he couldn't miss the utility pole. Rockets fans seemingly have forgotten the days when Yao was hailed as the next Shawn Bradley.

 

MMMMM, Yes, Backstabber..

Trading MJ the first time isn't what contributed to this new reputation.. It is trading away our two FA signings of last offseason, DA and Stro(note: especially Stro) when they took less lucrative contracts for a chance to play with TMAC/YAO..
Rockets are a business so they did what they had to do, and MJ(along with many other potential targets) is a businessman so he did what he had to do.

BASICALLY all this is just BAD KARMA.

 

well if it makes anybody feel any better...........



mike james team lost at fonde last night to andre owens, and a bunch of no name players. we dont need that ***** mike james anyways. sign marcus banks for the MLE, and find a decent power forward. i know marcus banks dont look good on paper, but at least he is a decent back up point guard who can score some buckets. banks showed flashes that he can be decent in minny, so i know its going to work out. or the rockets can get fred jones. he is a pretty good player, and he can get plenty of minutes in houston. he showed that he has skills in limited minutes in indiana, and he could be a crowd favorite in houston. then the rockets should get reggie evans. he is a rebounding machine.

 

Hahahahahahahahahaaaaa!!

Nope.

 

On MJ side, trade kicker or so called "security" is reasonable, but these guys are making multimillion dollars every year, getting traded any time is just part of their life. The Raptors get nothing in return from him, can we say they are screwed and next time should ask "opt-out kicker" from the player? From his last second behavior, he may have sour feeling, if that, just let him go.

 

Yao was a safe pick in my opinion. The ones who called him the next Shawn Bradley had very little knowledge on his game, evidenced by all the false stereotypes such as "he's just a jump shooter" etc... The ones who scouted him knew he had game. He has passing, inside and outside offense, shot blocking, and rebounding in one package. There's no big holes in his game. Yao wasn't the concensus No.1 pick, but he wasn't a risky pick either.

 

Mike James got the last laugh and Pwned the Rockets.

 

So James took less money (state income tax), cost himself money (second housing arrangement) to move to the Cold North to play on a worse team while inconvenienceing his family in favor of a trade kicker that will probably never kick-in OR he will probably waive it if it ever comes into play. What a decision!

It strikes me as adolescent... do they have podiums in Minnesota?

 

Who says his wife wasn't part of the TURNING of the SCREW. When I was married I once got turned down for an advancement that I felt I truly deserved. And my wife at the time was the strongest advocate for me leaving them. Screw them was her response. And when I got a better offer she insisted I give them the least amount of notice and when they offered more money to stay she said, Screw them again. In retrospect I think she was more angry about me being passed over than me. The moral is there is nothing like the anger of a woman scorned. Oh and never trust anything that comes out of the mouth of BIll Duffy he is a slivering Python among snakes.

IMO between his wife and his agent, yes Bill Duffy is a snake, they had convinced Mike James to screw Houston and had a master plan in how to do it. Never have I seen a player claim such a strong desire to play for a team and then do a 180 so fast. It was definitely his Master Plan

Also for those who doubt Mike's agents evil part in this here or some excerpts from Cuban's blog...

 

From his his arse! I am tired of whiny ass athletes b****ing about being traded and whining about loyalty, but, in most cases, show little of it themselves when their contracts are up. Their biggest concern 95% of the time is who is going to pay them the most $$$ - period and anyone that believes otherwise is kidding themselves. Why would you want a player locked into a deal, that he thinks is a bad one, with an untradable contract? That is a dangerous situation. MJ said himself that he felt the MLE was a bad deal, so you have a guy that from day one wouldn't be happy with his contract, and now you cannot trade him if he becomes a problem.

Athletes get traded, it happens, grow up. If want stability get a different job, and good luck trying to remain in the same tax bracket.

 

AHHH. What did I tell you guys? The vengeful, two-faced son-of-a-gun played us.

So let me get this straight: CD actually offered him the player option he wanted. Then he waits until the last minute to demand a trade kicker, CD says "come on now, we've never done that before" and he says "screw you then, I'm going to Minnesota"? Despite the fact that he's moving to a tundra one thousand miles away from home and his pregnant wife to make LESS money?

Lesson to be learned here, my friends:

1. Bitterness is a horrible thing. Don't ever let it take you, because it will destroy you. Learn to forgive.

2. Don't think too highly of yourself. Eventually you'll end up screwing yourself as a result.

3. Carroll Dawson deserves a lot more credit than he gets around these parts.

4. Kevin McHale is still the second most incompetent GM in the league. (Although I have to give him props for drafting Randy Foye).

5. Probably the most important - Mike James just isn't worth it.

 

[OT]
Say what? The FIRST year Roger's deal wasn't about money. He's done everything possible the last two years to make up for the first year discount. In addition to the huge money, Roger doesn't travel if he doesn't pitch. He got his cake and gets to eat it too. It's ALL about the money with Clemens. Ridiculous money. I repeat: He gave the Astros a hometown discount ONE year.
[/OT]
On MJ, there is a reason he's bounced around the NBA. It's not the Rockets fault the Twolves will be his 7th team in 6 seasons. Maybe MJ himself has something to do with it. Ya think? He campaigns very hard to come here and then because we don't offer a trade kicker he goes to a downtrodden, demoralized franchise in Minny. How much you wanna bet he's somewhere else in season 7?
Being traded is part of life in the NBA (especially when you are a major flake), which allows young men to make huge sums of money in very short periods of time. Must be tough.

MJ should have mentioned the trade kicker in the beginning so the Rockets could have moved on early. He either had a major mood swing at the last minute (demanding the trade kicker) or he played them from the very beginning. While CD isn't the greatest GM by far, the lack of agreement reflects much more on MJ than it does the Rockets.

 

Could it be any clearer? If you demand to be part of the core of the team, not expendable, you're effectively restricting yourself to teams that don't have many players better than you. That means, if you're only as good as Mike James, you'll end up playing for a bad team. Guys who would rather win a championship use exactly the opposite criteria: They're willing to come off the bench, because that means the team they're playing for has many guys better than them.

For those of you blindly in love with James or enraged at the Rockets, take Houston out of the equation. Look at Dallas vs. Minnesota. The fact that James chose the Wolves over the Mavs tells you what he's all about.