I don't care who is a support of anyone. I just want to see the Rockets in the playoffs. My feeling is that a failure to reach the playoffs this year would go down as one of the biggest negative events in franchise history. The Rocket management is right now on the extreme end of the totem pole as far as making moves. The other side would be the Suns. The Suns made the playoffs last year, but they dumped Marbury because they made up their mind that he wasn't going to lead them to a championship. If they pulled the trigger too fast, they'll at least find out within the next couple of years while they rebuild another foundation. Where are the Rockets in all this? They certainly aren't a championship-caliber team. They aren't even close, but they could make the playoffs. Anyone who thinks they should keep this team together if they don't make the playoffs is drinking too much kool-aid.
Sam- "Marbury may not be the most reliable guy, but at least he actually was under contract and not incarcerated...You think suns fans were happy about that deal? They didn't get value, they got cap room...which is only value if you're able to use it. Ask Jerry Krause to see if that's a foolproof plan. Ironic that you mention Abdur Rahim-- he is the Real GM jockey's second most desired player after Brand...grass grege." -SF (is that Steve Francis or Sam Fisher?) I am not a "Real GM jockey", nor have I ever used that program. I am not proposing any particular deal to be made for Steve, and I believe I even said I never felt we have to trade him. My point is, the only reason people seem reluctant to trade him is that he is too good to give up, too important to our team, etc... My question to those people is this: What exactly is he such an important piece of? The team is not that good, hasn't been since he or Mobley have been here, and I want to know how long the core of a team should be kept together before it can be deemed a failure? I repeat, this is not a trade thread, but more of a philosophical question about forgetting excuses and looking at results. In the past 5 years, the starting backcourt of Francis and Mobley have produced great numbers every year, yet absolutely nothing remotely close to playoff success. Now, you can twist that a hundred different ways and blame Yao, Rudy, CD, or even Les, but the fact remains, the two best players on our team for the past half-decade have exactly as many playoff wins as the Clippers, Grizz, Hawks, and every other lottery team. Come on, look at our division alone: the Grizz have beat us twice and are right behind us overall, the rebuilding Jazz have beat us and are also right there in the standings, and we still haven't proven we can beat the Spurs, Kings, healthy Lakers, or Mavs consistently. Are we that much better than the Nuggets, Jazz, or Grizzlies? What about the Sonics, Blazers, or Suns? I don't think so, yet while those teams are constantly looking to retool to join the elite teams, we sit idly by, watching year after year because we can't come to the realization that maybe changes are indeed needed. What those changes are, I'm not sure, because I am not an NBA GM. But neither are you, so I don't see how that makes my view any less valid. As a fan, and not an executive on the Rockets, I can say that I expected much more from Steve, and I am honestly disappointed and disinterested until I see something tangible as improvement. Obviously, judging by attendance at our BRAND NEW arena, a large portion of Houston agrees with me. You can get all the new clothes and arenas you want, but the team hasn't become any more relevant anywhere outside of China. So my question isn't who we can get for him, but how much longer should we accept his unquestioned desire to win instead of actual, meaningful results? ...And as far as Phoenix goes, they may not have done well this year, but they were in the playoffs last year, with Marbury, while Steve was busy helping to set franchise lows for points scored during the final two weeks of the season when the games really mattered. Maybe Colangelo was a bit hasty with all the changes he has made, but at least he's not going to settle for mediocrity. If I'm a Phoenix fan, just the thought of having a chance to get Kobe makes giving up Marbury worthwhile. And besides, Phoenix is not Chicago: NBA players LOVE living and playing there. With all that money, they will have no problem finding takers.
You're right Milos, since we have already missed the playoffs this year and are in an obvious tailspin...let's blow it up, phoenix style, the chance to get Kobe is worth it. Of course, as stated, Francis is a base year player making him almost untradeable till after the season anyway....at which time the "no playoffs" rationale of the trademongers will, in all likelihood, be invalid.... By the way, I don't know how you could possibly write that we "sit idly by" not making any changes year after year. The Rockets 1. changed their coach and have a completely different philosophy (and happened to become the best defensive team in the league, or at least one of the best) and 2. brought in 7+ new players... they changed over 55% of their roster...only Cato, Steve, Cat, Mo, Yao & Nachbar remain from last season All in the span of one offseason. Currently, they are in the 7th playoff spot, a half game back of Denver by virtue of having played fewer games (though with one fewer loss, which is important) and 1.5 games behind Dallas for the 5th spot...and I think we can agree that they haven't even played their best basketball yet. Patience. Look at Phoenix, they change their nucleus every two years...what has it gotten them? 1 more win than the Rockets last year and a first round exit...and then chaos this year. BTW, you are kidding yourself if you think Phoenix fans were happy about torpedoing their season just for the "chance" to sign Kobe; check the phoenix message boards out yourself from when it happened.
