I read: When Mike James turned down the Rockets on Tuesday, Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson began formulating a free-agent Plan B. "But we just started," he said. "Plan B started yesterday. "We'll go on down the road. We'll find the next guy. We'll get our share here." And I thought to myself: WTF?????? I mean dam! you've got an office and a telephone, you make a salary so you should be putting in 40 hours a week, what the hell have you been doing, playin Tetris? MANAGEMENT means you are supposed to be involved with strategic planning, with alternatives and contingencies. Could you not see that Mike James, a player YOU traded to TORONTO might be a little pissed off at you, might be playing you to get what he wants from someone else. If the Rockets management hasn't had talks with and preliminary understandings with 5 top free agents and trade targets they are just incompetent. What did I want them to say in public? Something like " nothing is ever a sure thing in this business, we know Mike had other options he was looking at. He chose not to come to the Houston Rockets so we will move on with our plan to surround Tracy and Yao with players that can help us win a championship." Not "uh, I guess we will have to start looking at what else we can do." Stoopid is as stoopid looks. I've always tried to be supportive of the Rockets and their front office but that statement just looked stupid.
Sure is easy when all you have to do is look at a column of statistics to determine how any given player affects you team chemistry. It takes all of the guesswork out of it.
Ok, Juwan Howard for: Stephen Jackson or Marko Jaric. Howard's contract is shorter (his plus). Contracts match. Rockets have needs in the backcourt, Pacers and Wolves wouldn't mind moving those players for a shorter contract. Discuss.
Point taken, but we have a history we can base our judgements on, and if you want to win the NBA finals, a big payroll helps your chances because that means you are stockpiling depth. You gotta pay to play. The Glen Rice trade tells me all we need to know. Giving up a 1st rounder just to trim payroll for one year.
Good post. Playing D was a foreign concept for Kenny, (although he certainly waved his arms around a lot, and hopped up and down, as well!), but it's foreign to many of today's players making near max salaries. Kenny was no scrub. Rob wasn't, either.
Where does it state that Plan B has to be an FA? Stephen A (for -------) syas Nugs are desperate to dump Miller. 75% of his salary is Howard. They are laden with bigs and 75% of Najera is Sura. Salary and talent dump for Nugs? Why can't that or something similar pursued? GS still wants to dump salary. Junior is available for a song. Start singing? Just examples that FA is only one way. But there is no way without a Plan B. And C, D, and E. Forget F, that's this off season's grade, to date (with apologies to #31).
That's entirely my point though. Plan B could be a trade in the works. Trades take considerably more time than desperately throwing MLE at players. If we can manage to pull of a good trade with 3 or 4 teams while getting rid of Howard, I would be extremely pleased with CD cause we'd still have MLE which will give us more versatility in signing players after we reset our core. I mean I know alot of this is wishful thinking, but if my primary FA target is gone, I would evaluate a trade first as a means to reset the core. And it'll be alot easier to fill holes with the MLE than if we did it the other way around.
Dam, this offseason has been terrible. We didn't pick up any significant point guard help and we didin't pick up a bruiser to go along side Yao for board help. Maybe something will happen soon. I am excited about Battier, it does no good to worry about the trade now, it is over. Novak seems like he is bringing a much needed dead eye shooter to the team as well.
LOL@Hemp...i was rescently that the mavs were willing to sign him but they werent a something something exception just before the playoffs. plus rescently gorge karl( former coach) worked himout in denver and was impressed by howmuch ke,p's game is still there. there inviting for training camp again. they seemed very positive on him.
During our great hay day's(early 90's to late 90's) we had a bunch of dead eye dicks put around olajuwon to make life easier for him. the likes of Kenny Smith, tracy murray,Mario ellie and later on Eddie jhonson provided that outside game which helped olajuwon's inside game more. lets hope the likes of Novak and battier and head can Replicate those guys just as well to make yao's life alot easier to.
u cant compare the nba now to the nba back then, yes the rockets back then won, and so did the lakers, but today it seems like every single team is stacked, with all this young talent most teams are good now, seriosuly, just look at the hornets, how good they were last year now add peja, bjax, and the guy they drafted plus chandler, it seems like every team is doing something and getting better, getting more talent....except for us
I don't see anything wrong with that. CD said that Plan B started after the failture of getting MJ. It doesnot mean he didn't make Plan B before that time.
The exact quote from the article is.... 'When Mike James turned down the Rockets on Tuesday, Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson began formulating a free agent Plan B. He had plenty of help." I don't know how semantics works in your world, but where I learned English "began formulating free agent Plan B" means they started after James' rejection.
Plan B or no plan B, it doesnt really matter...this season is a lost cause...ur not gonna win anything when juwan howard and rafer alston r ur go to guys when tmac and yao arent in the game
Thanks Gater for pointing out that not so subtle difference between "following" Plan B and "Beginning to formulate" Plan B!! I'm sick and tired of being told by others on this board to "ease up" or "get over it." We were told to wait and see when MJ was traded to Toronto... see how that worked out... We were told to "get over it" when we traded a likely future All Star and our depth at PF for Battier... And now we're told to "get over it" when our Mgmt is so completely clueless that they allow a dumb-ass thing like a trade exception to prevent them from sigining the ONE GUY that would make the Battier deal more palatable... For those of you who want us to "stop whining" and "get over it" - I suggest you "get over" the resentment we're going to continue to feel and express until the ROX do something we can actually cheer for!!!
neither of those teams had an offensively r****ded coach. and those teams raised their defensive intensity as well in the playoffs.
sigh coulda had a fun year watching rudy gay develop alongside tmac and yao and hoping stro would bounce back from a sh**acular year but now we get to watch half of a team play against the league, no tickets for me this year
the best realistic comparison could be the '99 Spurs with a second year Duncan and a rapidly declining Robinson or even the '03 Spurs with a second year Parker and second year Ginobili but an MVP Duncan and retiring Robinson. and of course the '06 Heat, although they are much deeper.
