He'll be a free agent though. I just don't see why a team would trade anything of significance for him knowing that he could leave after one year. I agree if he was singed to a contract of any length, he would be our best player for trades.
It's a team sport abc2007. Pistons years back won it all with no stars (at the time). Morey has done a superb job of putting together a group that above average or better at every position. This 'no star' team took the Lakers to 7 games and beat the Lakers in LA without Yao. By your logic this would be impossible for this team. The team now has quality redundant pieces at each position than I can remember at any time in the past. It seems to me that this team will contend. Incidentally the experts agree. Mathematical analysis of the team by Hollinger and others puts this team in the *TOP 5* teams in the NBA. What you have against math i have no idea.
The Rockets are a playoff team without Yao! Let me repeat the Rockets are a playoff team without Yao!!!!!!! This team Right now is better than the team that had the second toughest schedule based on competition at midseason and was 10 games above 500. Let me repeat this team is much better than that team that had the second toughest schedule based on competition at midseason and also had one of the toughest schedules based on road games and back to backs and still somehow managed to be 10 games above 500!!!! Oh and I mean without Yao back! The Rockets have added Martin over Tmac. Brooks is much beeter now than he was at the start of last season. Oh and did you not remember he was MIP last year. We have one of the best all around back courts in the league this year. With Lee and Martin and Lowry and Brooks team will have to pick their poison and we will decide is it lock down tonight or 50+ points from our guards tonight or both. Scola will be better a little more again. Finally Hayes can go back to his natural position and stop guarding Shaq. There he gives us one of the best defensive pf's in the league. And we have 2 young guys both desperate to contribute. One of them will shine. Or Small Forward is better by subtraction. Battier still was the better defender last year overall. Did you forget half of this board wanted Ariza's head for terrible shot selection and 3 pint shooting. Not to mention his on court tantrums. Yes Ariza did settle down the last quarter of the season but it turned out on this team he was really a 4th option at best. Ariza would never settle for that role on this team. he thought he was an all star and desrved 20 shots. That's about 15 too many IMO. So dumping Ariza helped us improve not so much because he didn't have the talent. Not saying he wasn't better athletically than both Bud and Bat. But he wasn't right for this team. He wasn't Tmac. he couldn't create on his own and he might have needed to be benched this upcoming season and he would have hated that and Morey avoided the problem completely by dumping him. Plus there is an added bonus of making it much more easier to upgrade the Small forward. I personally think Morey calls Philly every other day to see if we can work something out there. I believe Morey pulled this Ariza deal partly because he has high hopes we can upgrade. Whether that's Iggy, Granger, Melo or some other player. Either way dumping Ariza was a bonus that made this team better even we got nothing in return. But we did get something. Courtney lee give us one of the best backup 2's in the league! Oh and did I mention Yao Yet! We are getting one of the top five players in this league back. Yes a healthy Yao is one of the top 5 players in the league. Okay forget I said that. I know there is a chance he will get injured again. I hope that is not the case. But regardless we are better than that team that was 10 games above 500 at mid season last year after enduring the toughest schedule period when you consider level of competition and scheduling nightmares on the road with travel! So when I read reports how we are mediocre I have to believe you just are disappointed we are not Miami. We are easily a playoff team without Yao this year. We have the best 4 guard tandem in the league. We have an improving Scola and the best defensive PF. We have a legit backup center in Brad Miller. We have Bud and bat both eager to do what it takes to help us win. We have a couple of Young bigs desperate to learn and impress and play. We have jefferies another intangible guy, and a solid defender with length. And if we don't end up with Iggy jeffries will have moments of contribution. We have so many reasons to beelieve we will make the playoffs and return to a better team than that midseason above 500 team last year. We will win and we will win early and we will surprise even more than last year when Barkley had to eat his words when he said we were just turrible! Oh and did I mention if Yao come back healthy forget about it. Yeah I know his naysayers will shout he is threw. He will never play without injury and there is no evidence that he won't get injured again. There is always that possibility. But there is also the possibility he doesn't get injured again period! There is a good chance that he comes back to his top form when he started that 22 game win streak. There is the possibility that he is even better then. That he is better than the guy who got us out of the first round without "It's On me Maclady"! And if he does we are legitimate title contenders. We are better than that team that took LA to 7. With a healthy Yao we are much better. Yeah LA has improved too but nobody gets a 7'6" baskeball player back next year. No one So lock this thread. Dump all the naysayers and get ready for the parade! Yao will lead to greatness!
Rockets will start where they left off 2 years ago against the Lakers in Game 7. Last year was just a long training season for the bench. This year, they happen to play the Lakers first game of the season. I think the Rockets will go past 1st round again as long as Yao's healthy, imo.
I believe the word you're looking for it "mediocre," but even with the correct word you're mistaken. Don't mistake the lack of championship contention status with mediocre. The Rockets are a top 10 team, maybe better depending on how things break with the return of Yao and the evolution of Brooks and Martin. Also, with the exception of a couple of teams, (Lakers and the Heat are the obvious frontrunners) much of the competition is diluted this offseason. (the Jazz, the Suns, the Cavs all lost big pieces) San Antonio continues to age. Dallas and Denver will be solid again. Portland and Oklahoma City will continue to rise. The Rockets will be right there with them, and that's ignoring the fact that we're very much set up to be players in the deadline trading market. Don't lose hope; we're in very, very good shape.
No need to look at the roster and read tons of analysis, I know Rockets is a top competitive team right after I see more than three replies by DD under most threads.
moderate - somewhere 'tween "get ready for the parade!" and "the rockets should decide to rebuild. They try to get a top 3 pick to build around."
No, he is just saying that our team is more improved than last year. I didn't read that we will win a title.
I disagree. I think with a healthy Yao for the season and playoffs, coupled with top 5 defense [which we have achieved this with Yao before, we just lacked offense (and Yao later). For offense see Martin, improved Brooks, Scola (hopefully Yao) and top 5 bench in the NBA] we are contenders. That 2008-09 team stood a good chance of beating the world champs with Yao in the line up. Brooks is a leader and destroyed Fisher in games 4 & 6 and we won a couple of those playoff games because of him. I think if our defense and health is right, this team can be better than that one. You make a very good point. I like Tayshaun and think he would be great for this team. I think he is 30, but he might be a good rental like Artest was. I just wonder if he has a bad contract, or if we would have to give up too much to get him? If we can't get a true superstar by the deadline, I would have no problems adding Tayshaun, if we don't give up too much. EDIT: Did some research, I think he made 10 million last year. If we only give up something small like jeffries and a draft pick maybe. But with role players I like to see (and I think Morey does too) us focus on being youth oriented, not trade youth for age and big contracts. Still an interesting idea though.
actually, the thing that is so great about this rockets team is that there is no ONE leader, this team is going to have a different leader every night, the motivator is of course battier, and we have so many different angles to attack from, we have devistating 3 point shooters in brooks, martin, battier, and budinger. slashers well imo, in martin, lee, and budinger. we have an extremely talented yet young core in brooks, lowry, martin, lee, budinger, hill, and patterson. seriously, we are the deepest team in the west, how can people not see it. we went 42-40 last year, and people seem to forget that we spent more than half the season with tmac and cook in our lineups. we had to adjust and learn how to play with 2 new teammates in the middle of the season. thats not an easy task. now that the rockets had all summer to practice, make chemistry, and start working with their 3 new players this season, lee, miller and yao. HOW ARE THEY NOT THREAT?
2009-10 vs 2010-2011 PG: Brooks <= Brooks Lowry <= Lowry Conry = Smith SG: Martin(1/2) <<< Martin +Lee Taylor = Taylor SF: Battier => Battier Budinger < Budinger -Ariza (Glut at SF solved, more depth at SG): Ariza < Lee PF: Landry > Patterson Scola = Scola Hill (1/2) < Hill C: Yao => Yao (What if he's healthy for all of our playoff run?) Andersen << Miller Hayes = Hayes So how haven't we improved again?
i mean seriously guys, last year our pf and c were cook, Andersen, hayes, landry, scola, and at the end of the season, jeffries and i forgot who else. lol point is. we were 42-40 with those people. now look at the trade-ups from the beginning of last year. Andersen, landry, dorsey, ariza, mcgrady, this year lee, hill, patterson, martin, miller, yao, jeffries, doesnt that seem like a significant uprgrade?
EVERY wc teams except rox IS improving really? please entertain me as much as you can. i need the detail on what makes you think so team by team. i am not sure i would agree with you on ariza's defense. ariza is a gambler. he like to steal the ball instead doing fundamental defense. i don't believe rox defense is alot worse w/o ariza than with ariza. regarding to battier's defense, no one knows his defense decline is related to his injury or age or both. we'll see this season as we all assume he is healthy. another thing i would like to point out regarding to his defense is battier changed his defense approach alit bit. he spent a lot of his energy to help rox interior defense if watching all last season rox games. it's obvious to understand the change. w/ yao back and brad signing, battier should be able to focus on his best skill set, perimeter defense.
-_- they are getting better 1. lakers: added blake, ratliff, and barnes. Upgrade from farmar, mbenga, and walton. 2. thunder: everyone got better. 3. Mavericks: Chandler. uprgrade from that moron dampier. 4. Spurs: Splitter. How is that not an upgrade. Plus hill and Blair are only getting better. 5. Nuggets: Harrington. this, scares me, gives them more flexibility than ever. Harrington can play sf-c which is an extra offensive threat in that position. plus dont forget afflalo and lawson. 6. Suns: Warrick, Turkoglu, Childress. Imo, this was a great move by the suns, i think now they will move dragic, who i think will thrive in the sg position and have childress in and out of the pg and sg position. and turkoglu, man, this is going to be a fun team to watch with nash and him on the floor. and warrick, well, your going to see his scoring go up thanks to mr steve nash. 7. Memphis-Everyone got better imo. 8. new Orleans - believe it or not, ariza was an upgrade for them, run n gun this year for them. believe it. 9. Jazz- people consider it being an upgrade, i dont. so eh. there. the kings, and clippers did get better, but eh. but yes. we did get better as well.
@Rocketboi: Both teams are only getting older, the Spurs in particular as Duncan is pretty much no longer a top 10 player. Don't view them as much better. You're terrified of Al Harrington? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA. Harrington's trash. He shot himself out of New York, doesn't give a damn about defense given that he's played for two successive teams that haven't cared about such things, and won't help on Denver's greatest weakness, their general idiocy. With Billups declining, god knows what's going on with Melo and Karl, I would not be surprised to see this team implode and even fall out of the playoffs. Riiiiggghhhhhtttt. Completely ignore that their frontcourt is Robin Lopez and.......... Frye? Warrick? Even Nash can't make Warrick be even half of what Stat brought to that team. This team will fall off. Memphis and New Orleans are irrelevant.
