It shouldn't be too much of a problem in the locker room. Any professional athlete who doesn't think he could be traded at any moment is delusional. I'm sure the guys in the Rockets locker room aren't dummies.
Ford's making it sound like all our assets are trash. I know there's a factual component to every point on there, but there's also a charged connotation to everything he's saying, and each one happens to be negative against the Rockets. Thankfully we have a GM who won't cave into such attempts at misperception of the value of what we've got down here. If you leave this team alone and make no further additions, I still believe we have a shot at homecourt in the playoffs. Just gotta stop the smear campaign being waged by rabblerousers like Ford.
I wonder how much Daryl values chemistry. He seems to be lacking in the understanding that these are not (as some posters are apt to consider them) "chips", but rather (1) people who can be affected by hearing from their GM that they could be moved at a moments notice, and (2) players that flourish out of familiarity with their teammates. Scola's comments last year were telling. Brooks' up and down play this year, pre-injury, might be somewhat attributed to not knowing his future win the organization, as well. For te record, I'm not saying he should sign him immediately, but a well placed public statement that "we would like him to be part of this team's future and will be working to secure just that" might go along way to soothe some of Aaron's concerns. Maybe he has done that, and I just missed it, but I do know that those things do weigh heavily on a player's mind. Player acquisition should be closely watched on this front, as well. While Martin is certainly a valuable player, he does have a history of being in and out of the lineup with injuries. It is certainly a part of the game, league wide, but one must be careful when constructing a team to have its lead dogs be less dog and more horse. Scola is a horse. You can pencil him in for 75-80 games every year. Yao and TMac? Not so much, and that is the number one reason I am elated to be moving past that era. I hope Daryl saw how dysfunctional the team could become, bordering on Jekyl and Hyde, when key components were in one game, out the next, in for limited minutes in the next, then out of the next back to back game. Consistency breeds chemistry breeds trust breeds success.
so how has Cuban's wheeling and dealing ways hurt Dallas' chemistry? Much like the rockets they have made it know they would be willing to rent Carmelo. If you are anyone but Dirk, you know that could mean you heading out. Have they played pensive because of this?
Martin: 23.4 PPG, 44.9% FG, 43.6% 3PT, 3.2 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.74 SPG, 0.19 BPG, 2.26 TOPG, FT 239-266 89.8% Granger: 21.1 PPG, 41.1% FG, 35.8% 3PT, 5.5 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.34 SPG, 1.07 BPG, 2.76 TOPG, FT 126-149 84.6% Anthony: 24 PPG, 44.2% FG, 28.3% 3PT, 8.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 0.96 SPG, 0.67 BPG, 2.83 TOPG, FT 161-199 80.9% not proving a point, just thought it would be helpful to do a side by side comparison. is it worth it to give up the the FG and 3PT shooting % and trips to the line (getting other teams in foul trouble/in the penalty) for the better all around game ? maybe, as Martin doesn't seem to be able to get this type of production in the 4th quarter when it matters (not sure if his %'s are down but his FG attempts and trips to the line certainly are). would love to see martin's 4th quarter stats compared to his overall stats this year. my point is, you probably swap them out if you could but of course Indiana wouldn't do a straight up. Denver will want a king's random. so how much are you willing to give up to get the better all around player ? Granger's not on the table, just threw him in because he was mentioned.
Yeah, you're right. But, there is another thing to consider. If you keep Martin you must get a superstar to be a championship contender. Granger could be a piece to a "piston-like" team as he plays both ends of the court. And, of course, Melo is a proven closer.
If we trade Lowry, we better be getting Chris Paul back or another upgrade at point guard like Nash, because it makes no sense in downgrading from one position and just upgrading a little bit for another.
Unless we are getting a center, I would however prefer to trade some of our wings....we have too many of them....for a good center. You can read my sig for a good one that is young, very athletic, and behind another very good young center..... So probably very attainable. DD
Hassan is good, but he's not right up there 100% in the noggin. I would rather get an established big and hope a team like the Cavs or Blazers fall deep out of the playoff picture and have a firesale. Marcus Camby or Andy Varejao anyone? :grin:
I think players know they can be traded at any time unless they're the face of the franchise, producing, and winning. If not, then they're incredibly naive, but i dont tihnk that's the case. Just because it got leaked out doesn't mean Morey put it out there on purpose. I'm sure he's not the only one on the rockets side that knows about the phone calls and who knows how many people know on the other end. Yeah, it sucks to hear as a player, but it's one of the thing you have to deal with and overcome as an NBA player. For millions a year, i'll let them tell me i suck and throw pies in my face as well, where do i sign up?
Trade 1: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=33o6cbk Kevin Martin Brad Miller Kyle Lowry/or extended Aaron Brooks Jared Jeffries for Chris Paul Emeka Okafor Trade 2: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=29ypj8f Yao Ming Jordan Hill Shane Battier for Carmelo Anthony (extended) Al Harrington Chris Andersen Depth Chart PG: Chris Paul | Kyle lowry | Ishmael Smith SG: Courtney Lee | Chase Budinger SF: Carmelo Anthony | Terrence Williams PF: Luis Scola | Al Harrington | Patrick Patterson C: Emeka Okafor | Chuck Hayes | Chris Andersen
Apparently no one watches the Rockets enough to appreciate the true value of Scola, Martin, Lowry, Hayes etc. Its like everyone on this roster is underrated. Just because our guys isn't flashy doesn't mean they're not good. Apparently today in the NBA, hard working players are often overlooked for athletic players that shows up in highlight reels. Scola has always been underrated even if his post game is one of the best in the league. A guy like Chuck Hayes is one of the best post defenders in the Nba but no one other than Rockets fans see that because he doesn't play above the rim. So anyone saying Lowry, Scola or Martin is overpaid are delusional. They stated their opinions base on the stat sheet and highlight reels. Hard-working players that plays with heart are overlooked nowadays for players that plays to make the highlight reel. There are some sites that put guys like Reshard Lewis and Anthony Randolph over Scola. That's why I try not to pay attention to the media anymore.
It's not coming from the Rockets, but when they talk about trades with other teams, than other teams leak the info to other people. That's how it gets out. No way to really keep it quiet. How can you discuss trades and stop the other team's personal from leaking info to the press?
I swear we had this same article last year by Chad Ford word for word. Or I just had a nasty case of Deja Vu.
During the CD years, we found out about the McGrady deal from someone who overheard it being discussed in a shopping mall as I recall. So much for closed doors. IMO there is a lot more crap out there because everyone in sports journalism now tweets all the stuff that is not yet fit to print. Newspapers and magazines have attribution standards, twitter has no soul.
