[Hou Chron] Rockets, Morey forced to hurry up and wait

I am guessing what Morey is hoping for, barring a big trade, is for the current group to stay competitive largely on the strength of the defensive talent, so that the Rockets players trade value will increase or he can make the pitch that "Hey Bron/Wade/Chris/JoeJohnson/Von Wafer, come to Houston because we got guys who can win 40 games without your or Yao while making a combined $35 million. Imagine how good we can get with you."

 

This year is pretty much set to be a down year, so might as well be patient and see what is out there. I dont think it would be smart to make a spalsh move just for the sake of making something happen, we need to be patient and let things unfold. If something happens great, if not, 2010 is where i think the rockets will be back for sure..

 

Tread water. Play hard. Make the playoffs.

Yao and/or Tracy come back late season to give a playoff boost.

Believe.

 

Yao fits it fine, ala 52 year old Kareem...

Yao improves our defense and fastbreaking significantly. It was Ron and Tracy AND Shane that really killed our fastbreaks. Trevor will help, Rudy would be even better. IMO, You do not need a mobile C to be a fast paced team...

 

Seems to me Morey's pushing for one last hurrah with Yao at the focus in 2010. And that he's just accumulating assets right now to make that happen.

 

I don't know if this is a fair similarity, but to me, Morey is like Columbo. We are are underestimating Mr. Morey once again.

I want to believe that he's telling the media, knowing it will spread, that the team's intentions are to assume that Yao will be back and fully capable to rely upon and build around.

Saying that makes little sense to many and, as stated, is highly risky. No one can predict the future and truly say how Yao will be playing and when he does return (That said, Daryl Morey is about the only person on this earth that I would be confident in saying he can predict the future).

It's fair to say that this team (with Adelman as coach) will be very competitive, but it's beyond a stretch to say this team is a contender. And in this climate of the highly competitive Western Conference, what's the point in setting the goals for making the playoffs (again, though, you wouldn't ever hear an owner, GM, or any other team representative say "We have no shot so we're going to throw in the towel")?

The ball's in Morey's hands and I'm fine with that, though if a trade is made soon for the short term, I may be a bit skeptical.

 

AB and Scola will play like ALL Stars before TMac is back.

 

I think the players aside from AB and Scola to make an impact this season, will be Landry and Lowry. They will form the scoring punch of the second unit and provide much needed relief to the starters. Its the play of the bench that would basically dictate where the Rockets would be seeded.

 

My read on this is that Morey's not blowing up the team, and that's a relief. But I also get the sense that he's really looking to upgrade through a trade, and that one is likely. He has been patient. Who knows what deals he has turned down. But he's waiting for the right deal. Sounds pretty likely that it's going to happen.

 

If I were trying to organize trades this off season I'd be looking at these 2.

Shane for Rudy Fernandez

T-Mac and Landry (maybe cook?) for Amare and Richardson.

It would assist the Rockets in becoming more of a running team. It would be HELLA fun to watch. Wouldn't win a championship but you'd make a run into the playoffs. Add Yao in 2010 and that looks like a special team and even if Yao got injured again, we'd still be competitive.

 

I don't think he quite belongs in that pack

 

There is no point of trading Tmac. All we will get back for him is probably bad contracts and decent players. Why not ride him out until his contract expires so we will have a big cap room other than having some bad contracts from the trade.

I really don't understand why we still trying to build around Yao. Anyone that beleive so, please explain to me why it is a good idea to still build around Yao. But this is my reason why it is a bad idea to continuing to build around Yao.

1. He was never dominant so he wouldnt be dominant when he comes back.
2. This guy is very injury prone. His body is falling apart and now it is a ticking time bomb before it completely collapse.
3. He is tall and very talented for his size. But in todays game, he brings so much weakness to an offense and defense.
4. Very predictable in his offense, a defender can easily read him.
5. We have never had any success with Yao Ming since he was a rookie so what are the chances of him giving us success now that he is older, weaker, and more fragile?

I mean I may be wrong about Yao. But if anyone believe that I am wrong, feel free to let me know because if someone other than me truely believes that Yao is still somewhat of a franchise player, I need you to convince me again because right now, I am not convinced with Yao.

 

I know many would probably bash me instead but I would like to hear others opinion about what they think about Yao's and the Rockets trying to rebuild around him again.

 

This should put to rest the talk about getting under the cap and signing a max free agent next summer.

 

Why? All they have to do is trade Battier at the deadline for an expiring contract, which is very doable. Yao, Ariza, Landry, Brooks, Anderson and Dorsey can return and the Rockets will still be in the running for a marquee FA. It's not the cap space that will be an issue, it's the availability of FA's ready to leave their home team.

You can speculate all you want but Morey did not "give away" any information other than they are going to be patient and see where the season takes them.

 

I agree it should - but you and I both know it won't.

 

Here is my opinion:

Morey is trying to build a solid team for a chance in playoff, which if this team can make it to the playoffs, then imagine the same team with Yao in it. we are building this team for the future.

We are simply not going to let Tmac contract expires with no return value. How often do you get a star like Tmac cabiler? letting him go for free just to free up space cap? no way, morey is smarter than that! However, that doesn't mean we are dumping tmac for anything. we have a year to waste so why not wait for the best case senario?

Trade is coming but don't expect blockbuster deal and it could take til the end of the trading deadline to get it done.

 

You make some good points; however, I do not think it is fair to argue that Yao when healthy, I know that's a big if, isn't a dominant player. He is not dominant explosive athlete, but his size and skill set make him a dominant offensive player. He completely changes the opponents defensive scheme. He forces them out of their comfort zone. All teams would prefer not to double or front the post. Nobody doubles or fronts as their base D because both are somewhat unsound and vulnerable if the ball is worked correctly. Teams have to front or double against Yao as Portland found out in the first half of game 1 or Orlando and Dwight Howard find out every time the Rockets play them. The problem is the Rockets do not have tons of offensive fire-power around Yao, and sometimes the offense sputters when he is neutralized.

I see your overall point. I am not sure there is much reason to be optimistic about an eventual Yao return. I would like to be, but I just know.

Is keeping all our eggs in the Yao basket the right play? None of us no the answer to this question, but Yao is a dominant offensive force when he is on the court.

 

The fact that Morey is being such a hard a$$ on trades, especially for TMac makes me think that maybe Tracy is in a much better place than everyone believes. He seems to be going along like Tracy isn't even a factor(keeping his cards close). If Morey thought that Tracy was going to come back and show his a$$ to everyone, and he will never be the same player, I think Morey would dump him now. The people saying that letting Tmac go as just an expiring are correct, that's just crazy. Tracy must be looking pretty good IMO, then again Morey may just be a good poker player too.

I had kinda written TMac off as never going to play for us again but now... I'm not so sure.