Les Alexander is not a dumb person. He made his money as a bond trader on Wall Street so he must be very adept at knowing not only when a profit is possible, but more importantly, how to get it. A few years ago, Les came to New York University's business school (Les is an alumi of NYU), to give a talk about the business of sports. There were only about 10 of us in the room so the conversation was more interactive and personal. A few observations I have about Les: 1) He is not one to be pushed around 2) He says what is on his mind and doesn't care what people think 3) Isn't the most personable guy, is a bit cocky, and has this auora of invincibility about him the minute he walks in the door 4) If he wants something, he will find a way to get it. 5) I got the feeling that Les feels as if he is the smartest guy in the world and everyone else is just stupid. It seems that he feels as if he is doing you a favor just by talking to you. 6) Les is a very serious man when it comes to business. He is not one to joke around or act all goofy like Mark Cuban. With all of this talk about Steve/Cat wanting Odom or whoever and not wanting Ming (assuming this is all true). I think that at the end of day, Les has the final say. After all, this is his team. He might consider what Francis and Mobley feel, but only for about 2 seconds. After all, he is the boss. Les knows that bringing Ming onto this team will enhance the value and the exposure of the Rockets considerably. Even with Odom or Butler or whoever, the Rockets will not be able to compete with the Houston Texans this fall for ticket money and the arena will most likely be half empty. However, this all changes with Ming. I worked in Asia for a few years and the NBA is the most popular American sport over there. There are at least 3 games on every week, with one or two of them being broadcast live. The market in Asia will consist of not only China, but also of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc... The overall Asian market for the NBA could become much greater than that of the United States, and with Ming as the centerpiece. While I was living in Asia, EVERY SINGLE Seattle Mariners game was broadcasted because of Ichiro. I assume that the same thing could happen with every Rockets game being shown in Asia (not only in China, but all of Asia) because of Ming. So even if Yao Mania eventually cools off in the U.S., Les' bet on Ming is hedged because of this enormous marketing potential in all of Asia. Saying all this and based on my observations of Les, he won't care what Steve or Cat or anyone has say about Ming. Les will find a way to get Ming to Houston. Its all about seeking out a profit and Les knows how to do this. He is a prudent business man at first, basketball fan second. Furthermore, Les realizes that taking Ming will most likely improve the Rockets record, so its not like he is just taking some random guy for the sole purpose of turning a quick buck. This is where everything could fall apart.... If Ming comes to the Rockets, I see considerable chemistry problems. All of a sudden people will start talking about the Ming Dynasty and no longer about the Franchise. I don't know if Franchise is willing to play second fiddle (in terms of popularity)and with all of Steve's cronies on this team, I can forsee the Rockets blowing up internally. Ming seems like the type of guy who is willing to learn the game and play team basketball. This style certainly doesn't fit in with the current state of the Rockets and with Rudy as the coach, I don't see the attitude of this team changing. At the end, I can see Franchise getting traded if the distractions become too great (ala Jason Kidd in Dallas, Marbury in Minnesota) or maybe even Rudy getting the boot. Ming will bring in more money and exposure to the Rockets than Francis ever will and if the Rockets can trade Franchise for a true point guard such as Andre Miller or Baron Davis, the Rockets may actually become a better team. All of this probably assumes that Ming is not a complete bust. He may not become a Shaq but I doubt he will be a complete flop. Hell, even Jerry West likes him so he can't be THAT bad. Thus the fall of the empire, or maybe it could be the begining.....
The way I see it, if Francis is going to throw a tantrum over not getting all the attention, he doesn't belong on the Rockets. He is a crybaby loser at that point and let him go on his merry way along with Scottie Pippen, the poster boy crybaby losers. Look, I don't know what Francis thinks about himself, but I'm looking at him a lot like Stephon Marbury at this point. Everyone knows Marbury can flat out play, but he has done absolutely NOTHING on the big stage yet. Until you get to the big stage (the playoffs) and prove that you can do something, you should just keep your mouth shut. P.S. The last guy Francis threw a tantrum over, <b>Mike Bibby</b>, is now one win away from the NBA Finals. And he doesn't give a rat's ass whether he is "The Man" or not. He's just playing ball and kicking butt. 'Nuff said.
how exactly did steve francis throw a tantrum over mike bibby? he said he didn't want to play there because bibby had the position he wanted to play locked up, simple as that. he gave his props to mike and moved on, only his critics and the media keep bringing it up. so much BLIND steve hating. i wouldn't blame him if he left, i'm sure he wants to play in front of fans.
I agree, the Francis bashing is unjustified. He brings playoff credibility to our team and not a lot of players can do that. Ne ways... given the situation that Bubba put out, Les won't pull the gun unless he is forced to. I doubt he'd make some hasty trade in light of moving into a new building and needing some stars to light it up with. Ming brings a circuslike atmosphere, but with people saying that he won't be ready for another year or three, who's gonna sell the second half of the season when the playoff race is beginning to heat up?
I don't know if Axeman is blind or not, but I DO think he made a good point. Steve doesn't run the team. He should worry more about getting his extension and taking care of his health problems. When we've gone deep in the playoffs with him, THEN he can throw his weight around a little.
does anyone here actually know if steve is running this team? what do we know, that he probably had a little to do with bringing in tmo? maybe so but we complete ignore the fact that rudy t loved tmo's skills a year ago and might have even taken him had he come out. anyways, if steve ever starts whining about control then i'm with axeman and whoever in that he should be sent out like pippen. my point is, he gets trashed so much based on nothing. like what does bibby playing well in the playoffs have anything to do with steve leaving vancouver?
bubbamc, awesome post. Makes tremendous sense why Les should take Yao. Gives me faith that he will. As you say, this is a no brainer from a marketing point of view. Liked your point about the limited risk since Yao will make the Rockets at least somewhat better from a bb point ov view, with the sky the potential limit for Yao. The whole thing with Yao reminds me of the Shaq, Kobe controversy. No championship till the perimeter star(s) learns to share with the front court star(s). Steve and Cuttino need to use their heads. Yao will never really upstage them with US audiences. With championships or Western Conference Finals there will be more than enough attention for everyone. Don't Shaq and Kobe both get enough publicity? Look at the publicity even Horry and Fox get.
If there not enough room on this team for 2+ superstars??? I mean, the key word here is TEAM! If one more person can add another ingredient to the playoff/championship stew, what difference should it make?
Once Ming starts rebounding all of Cat and Francis' missed shots and passes them back out for another, all will be well in Rocket land. If not, then maybe we should break up the dynamic duo. DaDakota
Can you please explain this statement. Francis has been in the league 3 years now and has zero playoff appearances. I can think of a lot of players who can do that. Also, how is Les going to make this boat load of cash on Ming because of the Asian markets? Les cannot market to Asia, that's an NBA function. Les will get exactly the same amount of money from anything Asia related whether Ming is a Rocket or a Bull or a Clipper. The value of the Rockets franchise will only increase if Ming is a player and even that might not be the case if we don't win. TV revenues are shared league wide, merchandising is shared league wide, etc. Houston has a track record of only selling out when we win, regardless of who is on the team so it's doubtful in my eyes that Ming will somehow start selling out games. I don't see this profitting from Asian markets angle, exposure certainly but show me the profit please.
Timing, I mean disrespect, Steve DOES bring playoff credibility to our team. We had the best record EVER to not make the playoffs, Had the western conference been less crowded we would have made the playoffs that year, Francis is still Young, it took Dream a few yrs. lmao to make the playoffs, and win a championship, lets try and be patient. Also I will say this about Ming, and Odom and all the things going on..... The Rockets are at a "Crossroads" All major things that happen in life and business happen at the "Crossroads" businesses are built and crubble at the "Crossroads" Marriarges are born and die at the "Crossroads" Its 50/50 it could go either way here! THANK YOU
sofine, Your post proved nothing about playoff credibility.. in order for a player to bring playoff cred, he needs to have been IN the playoffs. Francis has not. Timing, doe the Rox get additional monies from increased TV appearances? I think that just having the Asian sensation on our team will (at least at first) bring us increased national TV appearances. Your thoughts on this?
The best record ever not to make the playoffs still gets you zero playoff games and the only reason we had this record was because the East was so patheitc that we went like 14-0 against one of the divisions in the East. Dream went to the playoffs his first year I believe, second year at worst. I'm certain he never went through a stretch of missing the playoffs 3 years in a row. EVER! There is a difference between having patience and being gullible. It's laughable to hear the way these guys talk in the past about how they're fighting for a certain playoff seeding when they can't even get IN the playoffs.
I think we'll definitely be on TV more but I don't think teams get more money for being televised nationally or else some teams (Chicago, NY, LA) would always have a monetary advantage through league revenue over Charlotte, Indiana, San Antonio. The NBA would probably get big TV dollars in China but every team would get an equal share from that.
First of all its plain rude to call someone Gullible and laughable....I said I didnt mean ANY disrespect at all, then you came disrespecting on me, You guys think because they put a Senior in front of your member that your crap dont stink. Well some of us on this board are FANS we love our team, and I will tell you they Should have made the playoffs that year and maybe it doesnt equal playoff experience but they looked pretty good that year, and when they do make the playoffs you fair weather fans will be all crammed up Steve, Ming, and Cat's butt! Well I may have made ememies by saying that but I dont care Im tired of Fairweather fans frontin like real fans! Thank You
Actually this is your exact quote. I didn't really care if you meant disrespect or not, I wasn't getting personal with you so it was a puzzler to read that. A lot of Rockets fans, including myself, have been gullible about how good this team really is. Again not in any way getting personal or disrespectful. It's just the nature of being a fan. My laughable statement was referring to the players, Steve, Cat, Cato, talking about what playoff seed they were trying to get when they can't even make the playoffs. Any way you slice it that's laughable and pretty much exemplifies how full of themselves our supposed stars are. I'm definitely not a guy on this board that's elitist about post counts, cliques, and such, chill man...
Im very sorry Timing, its just that i have been reading this board for a few years now, and I have seen some JERK heads on here. Our team has a shot at greatness there have been few teams that have been as lucky (in terms of picks and trades) as the Rockets. With the proper descions and management we have a golden Opp. We could be good for years to come, if egos and bad deals dont throw a wet blanket on our distent fire of hope and dreams. But I have to remind myself that even though the rockets were in the playoffs BEFORE, this is a new group that has to fight its own battles and prove its own worth. The question is, is do they have the "Heart of a Champion"?
I hope our team stays together, with whatever additions made this draft. I don't think Cat's statements last night makes any difference. I think management would still take Yao if they feel he is worth it, or trade it if he isn't. I don't think that if they trade the pick it would be because of steve or cuttino. This isn't a second rounder its the #1 overall. As for Cuttino's opinion on what the Rockets should do. I can understand as "veteran" players, they want immediate help. He probably shouldn't have talked about it on tv, but he was just saying what he would want happen. I think his comments show a little desire to win now. In the end, whatever the Rockets do, I feel our star players will still come to play. They might make dumb mistakes, but i don't remember seeing Francis and Mobley not playing hard. If Yao comes to town, he would atleast have something to prove to his teamates, and hopefully he will rise to the challenge.
i think sofine's point with the playoff credibility is that with steve we have a legit shot at the playoffs and furthur, without him we are absolutely horrible. i think most people agree with that.
