He's saying they needed their pick to get a deal done this Summer for Dwight. If they would have made the playoffs they wouldn't have their pick to trade away. This is completely ridiculous by the way. Go back and read Some of Bima's postings on why he would rather make the playoffs this year to get the pick obligation out of the way this year rather than next. Its been well known that the Rockets were working on a deal with Dwight at the deadline, but no team would be closing in on any deals now until the end of the season when teams know exactly what they have to offer as far as draft picks and their respective positioning are. There's no way any deal discussed at this time would be riding on whether Houston has that one pick this summer or doesn't. In the Summer, it could help their offer, but right now there is no way to tell exactly what Orlando's demands will be.
My Impressions: 1) If there was a sudden reason/motivation to tank, it happened after that 4 game road stretch where we won them all and was holding the #6 seed at that point. 2) Perhaps both Lowry and Martin being playoff unavailable has some bearing on intentionally missing the playoffs. 3) Those arguing against Realists theory saying we should have tanked it from seasons beginning are missing the facts the 1) at seasons beginning, there was no inkling that Lowry and Martin both would be out of the playoff picture and 2) The Howard talks didnt develop until mid season. 4) I am not sold completely on the idea, if true, that Howard is the only reason we would tank late. There could be other objectives. 5) I am on the fence to whether we really did tank (intentionally) at all. There are good arguments both ways. 6) If we did tank, then I am not sure if it wishful thinking, or blind faith to hope there is a plan behind it. 7) I agree that Howard is a great idea however it works out. We either upgrade significantly (if he stays), or we get to really rebuild properly if he walks. Either gets us out of the perpetual 9th seed mediocrity.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=6795226#post6795226 I previously wrote about something not being right.. this is plausible, but how much will 2-3 moves towards a better pick help at all?
The notion that the Rockets suddenly decided to tank--at a point when the best pick they could get was #13--is preposterous. Which pick do you think would carry more value in a trade this summer?: The #13 pick in the 2012 Draft or The Rockets' top-5 protected pick in 2013 I can almost guarantee you that the vast majority of NBA teams would prefer the latter. Well, by making the playoffs, the Rockets could have offered that latter pick. By missing the playoffs, they are (largely) precluded from trading that latter pick. The "late tanking" theory makes no sense. It's not like a light bulb suddenly went off for management and the coaching staff. And as others have pointed out, no mega-trade would be secretly finalized at this point in the season. The Rockets simply choked at the least opportune time. We'll get over it as fans, and we have that #13 or #14 pick this year as a (not-that-enthralling) consolation prize. Stop trying to read any more into this situation.
