Come on now. I love Francis as much as anybody on here. He will be our best player, not Ming or Eddie. But the man is a freakin dimwit! We got his boy Terrence Morris over here and that worke out real well. Now he is going to back up Kelvin Purple and Pink Navigator Cato over Ming. The Rockets should not have to be forced to listen to every single one of his childish demands. He can make those demands after he at least leads us into the playoffs.
i agree with you, but what you said earlier just seems like you pinned the 3 unsuccessful years totally on francis. well i don't wanna w**** up HP's thread hehe so i'll stop.
Yes. Not all of their decisions have been right, but a good proportion have been. We have significant talent at the 1, 2, 4, and 5, with a very nice 3 prospect and a good bench. Not bad for a team that so recently was decrepit.
so, I realized I phrased the question differently in the body versus the title. Most of the "Yes" here were anwering the body versioin. The "no" were answering the title version. d'oh kissofdeath, his agent said that Francis wants to discuss the "direction" of the team. It is no real big deal, but he did use that word. So, I want to know who questions the "directions" as well. My guess is that your answer is tied to your personal take on Ming.
I feel that the ROCKETS have made very good progress toward improving the team but still feel that it is at least one more player away from having a team that will make it to the finals. Have no doubt that we will make the playoffs this year! CD, RUDY and LES have done the right things. LES was right in being worried about taking RICE for Shanndon. Maybe RUDY and CD made a mistake on that one, and DAN L.
Yes, management is going in the right direction. It's not their fault to be stuck in the West; but, even then, we will have a great team very soon (barring injuries).
The Management made a huge mistake by sending Steve Francis to the 2002 Lottery! This has given him an air of importance which no player realy has!He should shut up,get well, get fit,be a leader and lead the Rox back into contention! He has to repair his reputation to many loyal fans, he can only do this on the Basketball Court by playing like a true team leader. He must not be afraid of Griffin and Yao as he will be known as their leader/playmaker.As the Team leader he should show that he is worthy of this position by truly taking on the role and welcoming Yao Ming to the Brotherhood of Rocket Guys. IMHO
hp -- iiight then -- i'll clarify my stand at the very least love managements' direction of the team -- however, I'm torn on Ming. It is hard for me to have a solid take on a player I have not seen play. I've mentioned on this board before the draft that if the right deal came around, I would deal Ming. That is mainly because I have not seen him play. I would have said the same if I hadn't seen Jason Williams play. I have a ton of trust in management and think they are some of the best in the business. We've acquired Mobley, Francis, Griffin, Taylor, Thomas and Ming in the last 4-5 years -- I'd say, even given Rice, Collier, and Langhi, that is a helluva rebuild job........
What do you mean by direction, exactly? Maybe you mean 1) focus no longer being on Francis as the centerpoint of the team, and 2) commitment to going to the playoffs not this year, but hopefully by next. I agree to it. Their focus used to be on Francis as the centerpoint, but I think that changed with the opportunity to get Griffin, and, this year to get Ming. Also, the reality that they need much more than just Francis, Cat, MoT, Kenny (and change). When their focus from Francis as Olajuwon-reborn-as-a-spunky-young-guard changed, then the goal of getting to the playoffs as soon as possible, still desirable, became secondary to developing a winning attitude and developing the young nucleus of Griffin, Ming, and, of course, Francis.
Overall Yes - Ming, Boki, Eddie, Cat, Kenny, trading for Steve. Some dud move obviously in contract wise that is - Mo, Cato, Mooch and maybe Steve's contract negotiations (there is no way he should get the opportunity to corner management or hold out to scout Yao in world champs) Although they would be completely CLUELESS if you believe the talk from the allegedly highly esteemed posters that they are going to just let our starting PF just leave for nothing when his contract expires!!!!!!
Think it's pretty obvious I agree with the direction management's headed with this team. I can't remember the last time I thought our team was better as is than with a change of some sort. I'll take that defensive backup two, but the summer's not over and that is a small issue, easily fixed. As for the questionable moves made, the only one I strongly disagreed with at the time was the Rice acquisition. And even then I appreciated that they kept their word with Shandon. The day Cato was signed, the move was cheered by armchair GM's and talk radio alike. Management wasn't alone in falling for those preseason games. Mo and Moochie are slightly overpaid and Cat's slightly underpaid. It's a wash. And I would be very sad to see any of our top seven players go. That speaks well of management, I think.
I definitely laud what management is doing they are trying to fill in the pieces of the team the right way. We now have a PG-Steve, SG-Cat, SF-Boki, PF-EG, MoT, and Centers-Cato, Ming. How can you not applaud them. People only need patience. Did anyone believe in the Mavs when Nash was an unknown from Phoenix, Dirk sucked it up as a rook, and Finley was their only real player. That is how they started, doesn't that seem bleek? Well we have alot more that that and they are all young no key pieces in 30s. Why the negativity? Just wait this will blossom into something nice.
At least we are not going to have the LONG rebuilding process that teams like the Pistons and Celtics have had to endure. I think the Rockest managment have done a GREAT job of rebuilding on the fly. DD
Kissofdeath:- Your comments about trading Yao indicates your lack of experience and do not have enough info. to make a conclusion one way or the other. The Rox Management have seen him play in person and on video. I saw him play at the Olympics and I back the Management on their choice and their direction ( Except Roce).Yet I say dont expect too much in his first season, its a learning process.
HeyP I think management has been working in the right direction for the past 3 years and I like most of the choices that they have made. No one is perfect. But, what has started to bother me the last couple of years is I felt our talent was much better than our record. Yes, we had some injures but, last year KT was as good as Mo T would have been and Glenn Rice wasn't showing anything went he went down. I hate to say it because I have always loved Rudy but, I am not sure that we best utilize the talent we have. For a young run and gun team we seem to have very little motion to our offense in the half court. We shall see how this year's record turns out. With our talent we should be 4 or 5 in the West this year and not have to fight for the 8th spot.
Cat, Francis and KT, Eddie, Ming and Nachbar. That's a pretty good 6-men team picked up in 5 drafts. IMO, only the Clippers have picked up more talents in the past five drafts. But unlike the Clipps, the Rocktet management won't waste their talents. We didn't even need free agency to rebuild our team. Not all the contracts were done right. But who do? Overall, the Rockets are a class organization. Kudos to the management.
yetti -- I don't know what your point is......I basically said that I, like many others on this board, haven't seen Yao play and will reserve judgement until I do......that's not a lack of experience..... I trust management.....and if they like what they see, that's good enough for me
I would like to voice major support for the Rockets Management and their direction for the team. And I believe they have as much of a will to win as any team in the league. Actually, I think the Rockets have displayed more tenacity in pursuing excellence on the court than virtually all of the other teams in the league expect maybe the Lakers. L.A. has more savvy on when to sign long term deals and when not to. There are lots more teams where I can question their direction than that of our beloved local team.
