We owe Nj a 1st rd pick, if the pick is in the top 14 we keep the pick if it is 15 or higher we give it up. We also get NY pick as long as it is not in the top 5 right? So why in the hell are we trying to get into the Playoffs when we cant win it all ( I dont care how good we are playing we wont beat the Clips or the Heat) With the upcoming draft being LOADDDDED with Talent why the hell are we trying to give Picks away? I am a die hard Rocket fan and I hate us Loosing but come on am I not thinking right and we should pull a Sna Antonio? please help me figure this out????
It sounds well and good in a bubble. But imagine all 20+ teams who also can't win it all thinking the same way. The NBA would be unwatchable. Bottom line? Spoiler <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IMk5sMHj58I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> (As for the Spurs, their best players the Duncan draft year were Avery Johnson and a 37 year old 'Nique. Do you really think they could have won 35 games if they tried?)
The Rox want to develop the assets they have. The better the assets develop, the better the win/loss record. The working assumption is that the route to landing elite players is more likely through trades rather than through the draft. The Rox need to develop their younger assets assets in order to have the players to make the big trade.
Because a) Tanking is unethical and those owners/GMs who do it intentionally should have terrible, terrible things happen to them. b) Tanking hurts the trade value of our players and makes Houston a less desirable destination for free agents.
Essentially this organization is just spinning their tires and not going anywhere. I understand wanting to win AND rebuild at the same time but that's not happening here. The winning is barely happening and the rebuilding is nonexistent. Aside from Lowry, what foundation for the future is there!? If you take the guys that are actually playing then this is not a young, promising team. It's a mediocre, already reached potential type of team. The guy with the most potential was sent to the D-League to experience the first injury of his professional career.
it is like watching the Astros all over again lets trade for big named guys watch walk and then have nothing to rebuild with. I don't want to tank but in order to get a Durant a Rose hell even a Howard you have a better chance at drafting them than buying them. Lets look at the upcoming talent , Barnes, Lamb, Drummond, Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Jones, Rivers,P Jones and Leonard. This upcomming draft is going to be loaded and if we had two 1st in the top 14 we could package them and get a top talent.
I'm glad the 95 Rockets didn't have the mentality that's been spreading around here lately. From Wikipedia: Yes, there are big differences between these two teams...Canyon sized gaps. The 95 team had 2 superstars and was coming off of a championship the previous year. But they went into the playoffs as a 6th seed, as underdogs without a chance of winning it all. They had to win playoff series against four 50-win teams to win that championship, as a regular season 47-35 team. Do you think they thought to themselves, "Hey, we're only 6th seed. We only won 47 games. We don't have home-court advantage against any of our opponents. We don't have a chance of beating 4 great teams to win a championship this year, so why are we even trying? If only we had a top 5 pick, we could be drafting Kevin Garnett this summer." Teams compete in the NBA for the chance to win a championship. You can't do that if you don't make the playoffs. But once you get there, anything can happen. It's a part of the magic of winning it all. I understand the odds of winning a championship are largely diminished without a superstar player, but the Houston Rockets Front Office probably disagrees with your way of getting that star. You, and others like you, want to tank to have your own top-5 draft pick and draft a "guaranteed superstar". That way within 3-5 years from now, we'd have a good chance of getting to the Finals and winning a championship. But the FO thinks there are other ways of getting that superstar. So they fill their team with young prospects, keep them competitive by getting to the playoffs every year possible, building their confidence, giving them playoff intensity experience, and growing both their perceived values and their actual values by winning games. They keep drafting well and developing players that show actual potential and signs of progress, and then trade them to upgrade. They keep this process of upgrading and developing of young players until they catch a break, like the one we almost had in the off-season. The Rockets front office believes that failing to make the playoffs this year because you want a #10 pick in the draft this off-season costs more by deteriorating player values and experience than the expected return of having that top-10 player. The Rockets are trying to win and upgrade at the same time. You're trying to lose and upgrade at the same time. Two different approaches to the same end result. Going the tanking route takes about 3-5 years to "rebuild". This is the first season DM has had a chance to execute his plan for rebuilding considering major player injuries and retirement. So don't you think it's a bit unfair to not give his plan 3-5 years to make us contenders again, considering you are willing to sacrifice 3-5 years to make us contenders by tanking? You don't have to agree with their approach. But unless you wish to sit there and pout all season long about how the Rockets are managing their team, you might want to consider accepting it.
Another Pro Tanking Thread.... really.... -Agree with CH -Go ask all of the 15 players on the roster to go kick the ball out of bounds instead of trying to make buckets when you know clear and well that each and every one of those players have millions of dollars to be made in their future in the NBA. Each one of those men have their familys to think about, their legacy in the NBA, and their teamates to play for. I have a homework assignment for YOU. -Today, go to 24 hr fitness, or LA fitness, YMCA, wherever and get in a 5 on 5 basketball game. Get in the game and kick the ball out of bounds, pass it out of bounds, let your man blow by you on defense, etc. See how happens to you if you openly do that in a meaningless pickup game at the YMCA. Now picture the highest level of basketball.... the NBA, doing the same thing with Millions of dollars on the line for each and every other player and coach.... You really think thats even an option genious????? The Players and coaches will NEVER openly try to loose. So get over it. -In the West, there are really only 3 or 4 playoff locks. there are about 6 to 8 other teams, Rockets included, that will be fighting for those spots. If the Rockets get a good spot and matchup in the playoffs, they could be this year's Memphis Grizzlies. You think Memphis REGRETS going into the second round of the playoffs last year and creating a buzz to build upon that franchise's future????
I'd rather make the playoffs and lose a 15-20 draft pick than not make the playoffs and keep a 13-14 draft pick. But that's just me, I guess. I don't like losing.
I agree. I was thinking the same thing yesterday.<p>What is the use of having a 14th pick that will end up riding the pine, sent to the d-league or playing overseas. I would rather have the enjoyment of watching a couple of playoff games, because I'm getting tired of seeing all our teams missing the playoffs (even though Texans had a great year and made it this year). Unless we are getting top 3 pick, no thanks to tanking.
All this arguing that won't stop for the entire season with probably result in the 14th or 13th pick. I hope all you people will be happy riding scola and Kmart to that 3 years in a row. I can barely watch a full game at this point. If available I watch the Knicks/heat lose or thunder win.
Not all that glitters is gold. IOW, and there have been many cases to prove this, not all top draft picks pan out and some low draft picks are actually better. We have a couple of those ourselves. However, if given the choice between picking 14 (again...harrumph) and picking in the top 5, well that's a no-brainer.
