Of course they want the same thing. But come down from reality now, Houston has far from "as good a shot as Dallas" at a championship. Dallas has actually played for a championship, this Rockets team has not made it out of the first round. And if my memory serves me correctly, Dallas absolutly obliterated a Houston team with a healthy Yao, McGrady and James. And If Mike James did sign with Dallas, he would likely start at the PG and Terry would slide over the the two.
Sorry to say that if MJ is the only offseason signing the Rockets make, he does have a better chance to win a Championship with Dallas. Let's not let our love for the Rockets cloud our perception of reality. Right now, Dallas is the better team.
I like the way he dominated towards the end of last season, but I would like to see that happen on a consistant basis throughout the year(s) before I say that is solely enought to get "this" Rockets roster over the hump. In my mind we don't have the horses, so to speak, to compete for a championship. Management has done a piss poor job assembling this team, that as it currently stands, has virtually no versatility or depth to speak of.
That was one game.... ya know... game 7? We got to that point, with just Yao ( back when he was 19ppg and 8rpg), T-mac and James... Other contributers: Sura, Barry, Bowen, Mutumbo... Padgett Wesley was done.. Some obliteration...
Totally agree- we watched the Pistons kill the Bulls until Jordan got better, then the Bulls swept them. We watched the Spurs get manhandled by the Lakers (remember that embarrassing 4-game sweep?) before they eventually knocked them out, etc. etc. etc. We DID NOT get blown out of that series- we got blown out of 1 game. Yao is better, James is better, we have a good defensive addition in Battier, Hayes and Head are better, we didn't have Juwan Howard for that series, etc. Some really need a good dose of reality. That would be like saying the Mavericks season was a failure because they lost in the Finals. Talk about short-sightedness. We're not as close as the Mavericks are, but we're also not as far off as people think. I would sell this to James this way- he's got a ring, so it's not like he's desperate for one. He has an excellent opportunity to build towards a championship with this team over the next couple of years. He's in Houston. We have something to cheer about!!
I don't like Mike meeting with Minnesota and especially Dallas. I wish we would have just got it DONE yesterday.
You can put it any way that you like to if it makes yourself feel better. I call getting manhandled by 40 points, Obliteration. It was one game, but that one game is the difference between having home court advantage and not. And until we have the depth and versatility to legitimatly compete for the Western Conference title, one game might just be the difference.
That kinda makes make feel a little uncomfortable as well. He had months to ponder where he could possibly land as a free agent. Everything looks very optimistic right now, but it can change in a blink of an eye. I'm tired of seeing the rockets get put on hold constantly in these free agent recruiting situations.
Patience, young Padawan. If we can entice Toronto into a sign-and-trade (future 1st rounder? V-Span's rights?) involving the Moochie TE (4 year contract) and keep the MLE intact, then we'll be sitting pretty. If we sign MJames for the MLE, we still can maneuver with the TE somehow.
I would bet my house and everything I own that Mike James does not sign with Minnesota. Nothing KG or McHale says is going to entice him to move up to Minnesota- when he has a choice, as opposed to being traded. It's definitely down to Dallas or Houston. If I was a player, I'd definitely see Dallas as the team with the best shot NOW of winning a championship, but I'd also see Houston as having a legit shot- and I'd be much more comfortable coming back to a system I'm familiar with, in which I would play a major role- as opposed to Dallas, where he would be behind Dirk, Howard, Terry, and Stackhouse in the pecking order. Houston is by no means a slam dunk, but all in all, even though it wouldn't shock me to see him go to Dallas, he'll probably choose Houston as long as the money is right. I'm confident we'll get this one done right.
Dallas is defenetly a better team but how is Mike james gonna make em better than Miami. The mismatch is still there and unless Dallas gets a big dominant center I dont see em going over Maimi unless Oneil's age doesent let him perform at a high level. On the other hand the Rockets get faster and a shooter that match up well against our rivals like Dallas's Terry. Yao is soon the best center if not already so Hopefully I am not dreaming here but my love for this team can have something to do with it.
Agree with you, but no way would I even consider giving Toronto a future 1st round pick for a 31 year old player, unless it was part of a trade for an allstar.
What about the game in 1997 or 1998 when the Bulls beat the Jazz by 40 points in a game? No one talked about the Jazz being obliterated in that series- even though they lost in 6 games as opposed to our 7-game series- they just mentioned how they had a bad game. The only reason there is the misperception we were killed in that series is that the worst game we had happened to be the last one. But, you know, that's fine- it's always going to come up in the media that way, "The last time these two met in the playoffs, Dallas obliterated the Rockets.." Media sensationalizes everything, anyways.
You can ponder about where you would like to be when you become a free agent, but till you get all the offers in you would be foolish to agree to a deal. We think nobody could top our offer but some GMs might scheme up a better offer. Their owner might decide to heck with the salary cap lets go for it. Who is Banks agent? Is he MJ agent or another one?
