Les the poorest boss in NBA -- is that the important reason our role players suck?

What's confusing is you put Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Scotty Quitten, Steve Francis, Eddie Griffin, Stromile Swift under one BIG AQUISITION.

 

This may not be a coherent reply as I do NOT have your entire reply in front of me ( that is the way this editor works!)

My reference to Philly- was simply the way they went after Dalembert and others. They took a big chance with Weber ( after his injury). Atleast they are trying.

NExt year without additions we will be at 54 -56 Million ( that is definitely about 12-13 million below the threshold for Luxury tax). ALL I am asking for is ONE Player who can be an offensive force ( should Tmac or Yao disappear). My guess is this kind of talent would needs 8-10 Mill for a 4 -5 year deal. How we do it is a totally different question. IF we can get this done via SnT thenw e have the MLE for a Shooting Guard ( I do not want more experiments)

NO one- should have been fooled with DA's health. To think it is a surprise is ridiculous!

Stro definitely got offers that were worth more. And by NO means was he instant results! I do agree, Stro should be given time, but I am not sure he has much left. JVG more or less is set against him. Playing Juwan ahead of Stro - not just in term of minutes- is really pathetic. You are just reducing his trade value .

THe very fact that we did NOT have a PG that can pass makes Rafer looks like a demi-god. My reason for even including him in a trade is that besides Stro we do not have any one else to trade! I can't believe that we turned down offers for David Wesley ( that was 4.5 Million!)- even if we got a late first round pick, I think we would have been better off.

Slightly off topic- but consider this.Detroit traded Arroyo and Milicic to Orlando for Cato ( who is not going to see to much action and Detroit wanted a PG)- sure Orlado gave up a First rounder_ but I would have given up moochie and Wesley for Milicic and Arroyo + 2007 first round pick. Arroyo is an understimated PG. That guy really brings a lot of energy. I still Think Millicic is a good piece to hold ( if not for trade bait of 5 million). If we got Milicic and Stro- in the worst case we can get a solid PF or an offensive third option.

What we now have are OLD guys with untradeable contracts, and young studs with little game and little contract values.

If we dont do things right ( or luck out with the draft) Trading Tmac is no longer taboo. And I would really hate that- this is not T Mac's fault. We were smug with Yao and Tmac and did not worry about the rest of the pieces

 

Uh...no I didn't. I used the plural version of aquisition.

Even if I hadn't, I'm sure with a little bit of context, you could have figured it out without the use of a .

 

Hint1: It's not about Grammar.
Hint2: How do we get each of those names, at what price?

 

...and look where it got them. Houston is "trying" too. Didn't we just trade for TMac? I call that "trying." How many other trades have we made since then? We are definately "trying" but it just didn't work out this season ...as it hasn't for Philly... and we aren't over the luxery cap for it.

 

Dude Dont make this personal. I will defintely rebut your points.
Regarding Rafer- The only reasont that trade happened was that we wanted a pass first Point Guard. IF we let Mike James go- then we still needed the Pass first point guard ( a future obligation)- So your choice was Sign Mike James for a Higher amount for Get Rafer who had a longer contract.

Tell me how many people in the League claim to be an Elite team and pay their Starting PG 3+ million.? That is why I say Rafer was a financial decision.

I dont think we disagree on Not Going Public with Stro's lack of effort or whatever you want to call that.

I just dont buy the fact that We put our best efforts for Ron Ron. Even on this very message board a ton of people were against him because that would affect Chemistry??? ( Little did they realise they would not ahve too much of a team to whine about chemistry)

Indiana Wanted AL harrington- but Atlanta did not want Artest ( because of Money)- if we stepped in and made sure we gave up 2 first round picks for 2006 and 2007 - are you telling me Ron artest would not have been a rocket?

Let us not kid around and say we went all out.

IT is Les's money, He can do whatever the heck he wants. But there is no denying the fact that he was under the impression that- get Yao and Tmac and you dont have to do anything more. That is why Juwan will hurt the team ( not because he does not have some skills or he is a bad person)- we are stuck with his contract till after 2007. And we will not play stro- so basically that is 12 Million dollars for the PF spot! ANd it is precisely because of having to take this contract ( to get TMAC) we need to go slightly over the luxury tax till Juwan's goes off the books.

I would not want to trade Rafer- but then we dont have a choice. I think Speedy Claxton is not a bad PG nor is Sam Casell ( in a back up role). IF it results in a Stud PF I WILL Trade Rafer and Stro. Finding a solid PF is a lot more difficult ( and More money) than find a PG ( anyway we will never get to Kidd/Bibby caibre PG) or a SG. THis is why we need to consider going over the Luxury tax threshold.

The other solution is to get lucky with the Draft and Get a stud who can be our starting PF. ( Shelden Williams/Splitter)- but that is hoping for a lot. We need talent on board badly- and more often than not that means paying people the money other teams will be willing to pay.

The opertaing Profit for the rockets is 25 Million a year. They are making a killing when compared to others ( which is not a bad thing). All I am saying is spend some of this money for the NEXT 2 years. Even if we get to the COnference Finals we will more than recoup the extra cost- rather than flame out in the first round or not make it at all. ( our competition, ie Dallas, San Antonio and Phoenix ( and god forbid NOK)- will not get weaker in the next 2 years)

 

sounds like a basketball reason to me....

...and now you just contradict yourself in the next sentence? I don't understand.

If by not making our best efforts - if you think trading Yao or McGrady for Artest was a good idea - then yes, we didn't make our best efforts. Otherwise, I'm sure everybody else in red was available for Indiana for Artest.

No he wouldn't have been a rocket, because in the NBA you can't trade draft picks in consecutive years like that under NBA rules.

Yup, Yao and T-mac were off the table - so not all out.

....with the exception of the 10-12 new rotation palyers we added since then.

blah blah, you hate Juwan - that's why we went out and got Swift. it didn't work out.

blah blah - if you pay them, you'll be good - just ask Isiah.

I didn't see you rebutting the fact taht the Rockets had the 7th highest payroll in the NBA, or that the 5th richest man in the world maintains a lower payroll than the Rockets, or that the worst team in the league has the highest payroll in the league.

 

Paul Allen lost 10 Billion the last decade. He will be the last guy you can even call cheap!

The reason the blazers have a lower payroll ( and by the way by 4 Million dollars) this year- is they have a bunch of rookie contracts. Once they decide on Pryzbilla they will no longer be at the lower amount.

The money you spend on a team is not because of vanity- it is because you can win a championship. Blazers dont have a Ming or TmAc ( and theya re not even a playoff bound team). And If you are in business -loses are always carried forward- so stop looking at this simplistically.

I did not think this needed rebutting- if you knew the facts, anyway now you have the explanation

 

AND FYI THe top 4 slaries for Blazers average 10 Million a year!

 

Not sure if this has been covered, but Yetti asked about TV revenue in China.

The Rockets receive the same amount from tv revenue in China as EVERY OTHER NBA TEAM. Any broadcast beyond a thirty-mile radius from the home arena (Toyota Center in our case) is completely controlled by the NBA. Any money made in China was made by the league, not the Rockets. The Rockets share that revenue with every other team.

Same goes for merchandising.

 

Thanks for making my point.

Like I said - all over the map.

 

I have no earthly idea what your point is. Initially, you questioned me with nothing more than a face and now you are giving me 2 hints. Apparently I'm not smart enough so please help me out.

For clarification my points is that Les Alexander has approved some big acquisitions that are worthy of the "SPLASH" mantra we always joke around with. Each of these guys had high $ checks. What part of that do you find objectionable?

Note: Stro is technically the cheapest of the bunch but we paid him the maximum amount that the NBA allowed. In that respect, he wasn't exactly cheap. His price was opportunity cost of the entire FA market willing to sign =< MLE.

 

Sorry man. If you go through as I suggested, name by name, how we aquired them, and at what price, and relate that to "the willingness of the owner shells out money", hopefully you'll have better understanding. I'm too lazy to explain. However, that's no big deal. Let's not dwell on that.

In stead, Let me add some actual contribution to the discussion here.
(1) Les may worth "only" 80 mil net, but as a former wall steet security trader, the word "leverage" should not be strange to him. He can still effectively run Rockets.
(2) On the other hand, if you think money isn't/shouldn't be objection, or won't affect the way Rockets approach things, you are also mistaken.
(3) What's probabily more important than net worth is the cash flow. I don't know how les's assets distribute, but I'm guessing he isn't putting too much of his own cash flow into the Rockets. NBA is an extreme cash flow business.
(4) However, net worth does come into play. For example, low net-worth hinders your ability to sustain negative cash flow (even though profitable in the long run), and your ability to finance the cash flow. See Knick for opposite example.

lastly, a random point in reading the thread: Portland did have highest payroll in one time they smelled chance of championship.

 

continue with the points:
(5) It's not easy to discern owner's willingness to pay, just because of the nature of NBA and the way it sets up. E.g. it's very difficult to point at some trades and say " this owner is cheap".

The best place to look for evidence, IMO, is FA (including FA to be on your own team) market and the use(or lack there of) of trade exceptions.

 

Did anyone ever tell you guys not to belive everything you hear?

It is so easy to cover up funds and only release a percentage of what you actually own. In addition to the Rockets and his liquid cash lets call it 80 million in his own name I am sure if you dig a little deeper you will find hundreds of millions in his daughters name (for tax reasons when he dies) he also owns millions of millions of dollars worth of real estate in florida.

I wonder some times about people.

Why do you think he is activly looking to buy an NHL franchise?

A: because he has a lot more than 80 million in the bank.

 

I think really this thread's premise is really flawed, but let's recap:

1. The correlation between having a huge payroll and having a good team is not very strong (see e.g.: Knicks, Magic, Suns, Pistons)

2. The correlation between being super-rich and having a high payroll is also not that strong (see e.g., Paul Allen ($20b) is many times richer than Les Alexander, yet has a smaller payroll; same with Mickey Arison ($4.4b, Heat owner); Glen Taylor (1.9b, t-wolves owner) is richer than Mark Cuban (1.3b), yet has a payroll half the size)

3. The Rockets have one of the highest payrolls in the NBA

4. The Rockets have historically been very active in acquiring players in trades and free agency during LA's ownership

....so this thread's premise is DOA, in my opinion.

 

Wrong. You can only sign a FA if you have capspace or you are using an exception. The owner's willingness to pay has virtually nothing to do with the Rockets situation.

As such, the primary means most teams acquire new talent is via the lottery or via trades. As I have demonstrated already, the Rockets are very willing to take risks via trades if the right trade comes along.

 

I like this owner- he has more than enough to get us a winner on the floor. He sure beats Charlie Thomas.

By the way - I think Les lives pretty good. Good for Les he has worked hard-there is no tougher job than bond trader. He earned his.

 

Geez, you are don't understand others yet assume yourself right? Rockets has had trade exception multiple times recently.