Enough with the Tank talk

This trade deadline definitely has me in favor of "tank"ing, as in:

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If the draft class is widely regarded as mediocre or weak, with no sure fire superstar like LeBron, Howard, or Durant, then people aren't going to hand over their stars for that pick.

Effort is half of it. Luck is the other. You can do the best scouting job possible, and it will be meaningless if you get a low pick anyway in the lottery, or if some other team snatches your top guys before you.

"GM work" can't magically conjure up talent. For example, none of the top five draft picks of the most recent draft are nearly as good as the Rockets' best players.

Once you find the man? You mean IF you find the man. There are many bad teams in this league which have sucked for ages. Oddly, their draft picks rarely lift their franchises out of the depths. For every legit All-Star like Yao or LeBron, there are numerous high picks who are overhyped on athleticism or ill-defined "potential."

Yeah, those Clippers and Bobcats were so relevant all these years.

You think free agents would've been more attracted to Houston (which again, isn't LA or Boston) if Houston sucked hard all these years?

 

Cousins and Wall are better than any player the Rockets have right now.

Numbers may not say so, but If the Wizards or Kings said "Give us Martin and Scola for Wall/Cousins" respectively Morey would do that in a heartbeat.

 

really? Is Favors a surefire superstar after this half season? He got Nets DWilliams. Is Jeff Green a sure fire superstar before he did not even play a game? He got Celtics Ray Allen.
Potential sells. If there is a sure fire superstar, no one is going to trade the pick. Again, nothing is for sure. You need good GM to find them out.

That's why you tank, to get higher pick, better chance. Everything takes luck. You have to try to get the luck. Wait and see will always get you no luck. If tanking always gets you a sure thing, NBA is dead already. On the other hand, if you only go for a sure thing to do something, your life must be boring as Rockets.

but their potential sells. Wizard wont trade Wall for 3 Kevin Martins right now. Morey could not get Cousins from the Kings.

Did I mention good GM work? There are many bad teams in this league which have sucked for ages because they have horrible management.

Do Clippers and Bobcats have management as good as Rockets?
Blake Griffin certainly makes Clippers relevant even though they are losing big.
If Morey and Adelman had worked for the Clippers, I bet they are pretty relevant right now.

What free agents have Rockets got exactly without sucking?

You only need to attract free agent once you settle down. Free agent signing, if not someone with all star potential, will only hurt your rebuilding process, see Miller signing and Ariza signing.

 

You mean Favors, two future picks, and Devin Harris got Deron Williams. Harris was the biggest piece of that deal.

Although the Sonics were dumb and overrated Green (who has been a subpar player in every season so far, only with a measure of fame for playing alongside Durant), you have a point here. Teams do ovverate "potential" occasionally.

Morey doesn't rely on blind luck. He makes calculated moves supported by statistical evidence. I think he and his staff has done a better job scouting the incoming draft classes than you and me. Again, there have been numerous horrible teams that have stayed horrible for years if not decades.

The alternative to tanking is not necessarily "wait and see." I seriously doubt that Morey is content to sit around and do nothing right now. The Rockets have already accumulated talent through trades in the last several seasons. Neither Scola nor Artest were drafted by this team after tanking.

And Morey isn't one of those guys. Morey's not tanking right now, is he? That's because he knows that this team has a lot of pieces. A lot of pieces without having THE piece (a superstar) is far from the worst situation. This team can still pursue trades for a star player in the near future, someone who will do well when surrounded by all of this team's current talent. Trades that can be made with some of the pieces from the Rockets' deep roster.

Blake Griffin is hardly a good argument for the relevancy of the Clippers, given that they have six seasons over 0.500 in the last FORTY years. That organization is garbage. They're still an awful team with Griffin, who's only makes them "relevant" in that he gets Sports Center highlights.

Griffin, who has already missed an entire season, might be a nasty injury away from being Greg Oden. If he stays healthy but plays with the same loser teammates, there's a very good chance that he might end up like Elton Brand. The Clippers are still crap, and one draft pick for one guy like Griffin doesn't change that.

Morey obviously doesn't believe in garbage rosters led by one guy who the team might be lucky enough to draft. He has created a deep and flexible roster that withstood the loss of Yao, which has enough resources to provide future flexibility.

 

The Nets didn't find anybody in the 2010 draft to make them relevant either. They drafted Favors who has basically sucked. Only guess what? He just became the key piece to the deal that brought them a player who will instantly make them relevant.

Sign me up for the lousy draftee who doesn't make us relevant.