I'm depressed with all those trades. It's a fair reaction, it is what it is. But I don't like a strategy at all Every Rockets fan finally had an opportunity to realize that our assets are not as high as many of you really expected. Morey pushed hard, but teams were not interested at all when he inquired about star players. He tried to make this team a playoff lock and pushed for Camby and Wallace at the same time (That would make our starting lineup look like this: Lowry, Martin, Wallace, Scola, Camby - pretty good to be much better defensively and pretty balanced offensively at the same time), but Blazers were smart enough and didn't want to give a chance to another chasers for a playoff spot. So, as expected, he tried to get some prospects and picks. He made a trade for Thabeet and Dragic. African child is extremely raw, Dragic was considered as a ''future Steve Nash" but wasn't able to deliver. Expectations were too high. He's injured, as same as Brooks, so they traded him in a heartbeat. Despite all the hate for AB and his awful game after his return from injury. he's way better than Dragic. Aaron has a huge problems with ankles, as same as Ginobili had couple of years before, and he already said that he's not healthy at all. He's a shooter with excellent quickness. He shoots a lot of the dribble too. If his legs are in a bad shape, his game transformed into a crap. But when he's healthy, he still is a 20 ppg scorer. Legs is the most important part of the body for shooters (it's all about moving, release and mechanics at consistent level) and if you don't trust in that, just take a look on Arenas or ask Doc Rivers. He already said that Ray Allen is shooting so well this season because his legs and overall body are in the best shape he ever seen from him and he is in better shape than anybody on Celtics roster, even Rondo or Garnett, despite his return to a high level So, when Brooks would bounce back, Suns would have the same AB that we had last year. Can Dragic become a player of those level? No. Aaron is not T-Mac, his injury story is pretty short, so no doubt, that he could be healthy again and he would be a 100% in the february 2012, the year after the trade. But why do we need a lot of picks in a weak draft and questionable young talent, such as African Child, Dragic, Budinger or Hill? Because Morey would try to do this again. He would try to use all of this stuff in draft day trades to acquire a star. But we already know, that it's very hard and it wouldn't work. We have average assets yesterday. And we wouldn't have enough firepower tomorrow. Thabeet wouldn't draw any attention as a servicable defensive center, Dragic is worse than Brooks, we couldn't trade Williams, cause we doesn't have a defensive forward anymore in Battier, that could play alongside Kevin Martin and T-Will became almost untouchable if we won't going to trade K-Mart. So it's not over yet. Morey would still try to make this team better. But we already know that it would be a miracle. And we should realize, that our assets would be even worse in draft day. That's make this strategy almost look like a mess. And our chances are in huge decline...
And also AB would be as healthy as he can during his career in Phoenix, because they already have one of the best medical stuffs in the league They played uptempo game, his game, so we definitely get underpayed for him. It's really bad to hear, but it's true.
It's not that teams were not interested. I'm sure Morey could have made a package better than New York for Melo, but what's the point if he's not gonna resign? And what other "stars" have really been available for trade? I think it's not so much that our assets aren't worth anything, but more that Morey is not going to unload them until a "real star" comes along that we can acquire.
The trades tell me Morey will go after a veteran center (Howard) and will draft Terrence Jones to fill out the SF/PF role. So full of win is Jones and the Rockets.
The depressing part is the reality in all this. First, the talent we acquire in the draft will most likely always be trade bait for "bigger game". Every player Morey has drafted is gone or irrelevant. We buy and sell rather quickly. Generally speaking, it seems like players don't want to come here. The players we pick up in free agency are often traded a year or less later and that doesn't help either. The collection of "assets" strategy has been failing as well. This team since day one has been pure potential, the actualization of that potential however has not played a significant role in a while. The teams we have aren't stable, and each and every year there is a boat load of trade talk and players pointed out as cancers. This year it was AB, last year it was Ariza, Tmac... The list goes on. What perplexes me in all this is, what really will change in our favor in the future. OP, you do a damn fine job of pointing all this out. I'm obliged to agree with you, it will take a lot, a borderline miracle to get us back to where we want to be.
The title of the thread and the body of the passage are totally different.. I came in thinking I need a pick me up and walked away more depressed... LOL
As Charles just said. 'If your team stinks, you should be getting draft picks and cap space. Not trying to get the 7th 8th seed and get swept!'
Houston fans are so damn negative all the time, how can anyone be mad at these traded, Houston sports fans really suck sometimes
Worst case scenario, nobody wants our picks. We get late 1st round draftees in a relatively weak draft before a potential NBA lockout season, what does that do for us? Thabeet? The guy hasn't amounted to much in the two years he's been in the league. He was the #2 draft pick who rode the bench and we sent away a player who last year proved he was up to the task of starting pg. Heck, the clips wouldn't even give Kaman up for Thabeet. THE CLIPS! Yes, the last time we got a high draft choice from the Griz it worked out ok, but I don't see this guy pulling a Steve Francis anytime soon... Dragic is ok at best. One game against San Antonio made him known... What is there to be positive about in these trades? Does the composition of these weak players with our already weak roster do much? Heck, this trade would make a lot more sense to me if we were buying Thabeet for spare parts, then maybe we could give Yao Thebeet's foot and all would be well...
How is the upcoming draft a weak draft? Thabeet has barely played at all to really judge him. Getting Favors would be the same thing and everyone wants him. Yeah he might be a bust, but dude might turn it around. This HAS to be his dream destination, like Melo and his obsession of going to NYC. Houston has to be Thabeet's dream destination and if he's going to turn his one year career around it has to be with us. Lets wait before we call him a complete bust. No. Dragic got most of his rep in international play and the playoffs of last year he was huge for them. The positive is that the Rockets did not get Gerald Wallace who would help the Rockets get the 8th seed then get swept by the Spurs. Rockets would remain in mediocre land until they move Wallace. They have freed up some mins to play young guys with potential. Good move for a now rebuilding team.
Agreed 100% I heard all week about how much people wanted Aaron Brooks gone, and how the Rockets should be looking to stocking up on picks, blah blah blah. Now Morey ends up moving Aaron Brooks and everyone is crying about it. Did you guys not watch the guy play the past month or so? Have you been watching the team at all? I mean, since the middle of January, the guy has had a whopping 2 games where he shot 40+% from the floor. When Courtney Lee is shooting well, Aaron Brooks doesn't even care and continues to take terrible shots. Last year, those shots were going in and we all loved him for it. They aren't going in this year, though, and it's time to move past it. I mean, seriously, this is like Trevor Ariza all over again. Everyone complained about how bad he was when he was actually here, then the Rockets give him up and all of a sudden he's the missing piece to this team being in the middle of the playoffs...
I never wanted to move Brooks for a role player or youngster with questionable potential. Only in a part of a trade for a star or for high-level prospect, such as Favors, Cousins etc I'd rather re-sign him this offseason than trade him for Dragic, especially when his price is low and he wouldn't sign a huge deal this offseason
Why is Favors such a high-level prospect over Thabeet? I don't understand. They both have looked extremely raw.
Favors needed just a couple of years to become dominant player He's smart athlete with excelent rebounding, good hands, nice defensive awareness. He's hard worker although and he's very young and clever person also. He would be a 6'11 athletic center with midrange shot, good rebounding skills and pretty good defense and high IQ He would be the first overall pick in 11 if he decided to stay in College, but because of a lockout possibility, he made himself eligible and every in 10' draft knew that he needs just a couple of years to be extremely good Thabeet is bad rebounder, has bad hands, low b-ball IQ, and he is 24 already. He has just a two-three years to develop and he's extremely raw for a 24 Y O player.
Any trade that DM could have possibly completed, someone will whine about it. Unless we acquired DHoward (which is impossible), then everybody here should be happy.
Man this is what they say for ALL raw prospects. "In a couple of years..." Man in a couple of years Randolph and Yi and Kwame Brown going to really be something! Just watch! When Thabeet came into the NBA it was said pretty much that in a couple of years he would at least be a good shot-blocker in the NBA.
It's all about his maturation as a player Nets or any team in the league could use a Favors as their main weapon right now, but quality bigs would destroyed him in a heartbeat because of a rookie type of mistakes. He really needs a consistent minutes against bench players to adapt his game in NBA speed, size and skill Thabeet was owned by 6'6 Blair in his last season in College, where everyone had an opportunity to see, that he's not smart enough and can't use his body. Favors or Cousins, really talented bigs, all know how to use it. Favors is good defender now. He is good rebounder now. Already. But Jazz, Nets, Rockets or anybody else really really want him to be great on that category. And you can do it just step by step. Take a look on rookie Howard. You'll see what it means
