Loyalty by players, but not by fans?

Sura and Wesley were both good players, however in the offseason every team in always looking to improve. Thus, certain players become targeted and in effect certain players become expendable.

I really liked their games, but for us to win a championship...the rockets backcourt has to be at the level of a Parker/Ginobili or a Billups/Hamilton. Sura/Wesley dont make that cut and are no where near it either.

Fans would not be upset to have these two guys back, but the main goal this offseason is to get more athletic and younger; thus Wesley and Sura who are both old are the ones who are shown the door first by the fans.

 

Well, it's all about Improving the team. if it means trading Wesley will land us a legit PG, you gotta do it. you can be loyal upo a point. end of the day it's a multi million Dollar BUSINESS!!!

 

Well Said!

 

There is still love for Sura, Wesley, Mike James, and Juwan, but they all need to be replaced eventually or have their minutes reduced.

Wesley is old and at times it really shows. He is a decent regular season stopgap, but in the playoffs he was and will be exposed on d.

Sura is great when healthy, but can we ever count on him for a healthy season? It's been a pretty long time since he's had one, and even though he's a good player, it would be nice to have as many long range shooters out there as possible, and Sura is no shooter.

Mike James has stated he wants to opt out next year and go to the highest bidder. That's the only reason I'd want to move him if a good deal for him came up. Little too shoot happy for me to want him as anything other than a backup.

Juwan is getting older, still has a long contract, and is a sieve on d. But his o is good and he is a decent rebounder. Good backup, but another guy I wouldn't mind moving if it was a good deal.

If opening day comes and these guys are all still on the team I'll root my heart out for them w/o a doubt, but that doesn't mean I don't want the team to improve if possible, and these guys all have their fair share of warts.

 

Nice post Beenz, I think he did a good job of summing things up. Most of us like Sura and Wesley and what they were able to provide us in such a short time. But the offseason is a time to improve and players have to be moved in order to do so most of the time.

 

Just because a handful of people on this board are pretty vocal about wanting to get rid of this player or that player doesn't mean the whole fanbase has lost its love for the players.


I'm typically saddened to see any of our boys get traded away. I wish they could ALL contribute to our next championship. General rule of thumb: always root for players who get traded from the team (guys like Stevie who wanted to stay, but management had another directon for the team) and always boo players who leave via free agency to chase $$ (or single handedly destroy our playoff chances and then blame it on your teammates ala Scottie Pippen).

 

I agree with you roxgirl. If someone needs to be moved, it shouldnt be Wesley or Sura. Wesley's height was never an issue until he played Stackhouse, and even then, Stackhouse was just making ridiculous fallaway shots. Wesley was the one who always took the toughest assignment so tmac wouldnt ... wesley would hold down wade, iverson and even lebron. Yeah his shooting is streaky and his size isn't what you'd like it to be. He probably isnt best suited as a starter, but for people who just want to throw him out so quicky should read this article:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/rox/3033072

 

Very Mcahiavellian, roxgirl, isn't it? That's just the nature of the beast.

 

I don't really want to see Sura or Wesley (mainly Sura) go, and I don't think the Rockets are planning on getting rid of them, either. I think they're targeting Stoudamire for the LLE and could be convinced to part with one of these guys if the perfect deal came along. If Damon can't be wooed for the LLE, I see the Rox standing pat with what they've got to start the season and addressing any dire needs that pop up at the trade deadline.

 

Actually that is B as in Billions

 

When a player signs here for less than market value (like Mo Taylor 1st contract with us) or demands to be traded here (like T-Mac), there should be enormous loyalty for him. And there usually is. For example, MoT was rewarded with a fat 2nd contract even though he blew out his ankle that offseason.

But when a player has been drafted here, acquired in a trade that he never asked for, or simply signs here for top dollar, then less loyalty is warranted. Those are players who are just under contract and who haven't personally invested themselves in the team or the city.

I'm not saying that a player needs to make that kind of investment for me to root for him. Most players aren't in a position to do that anyway.

But my feeling is that a player needs to do something extra, beyond just playing well, to earn loyalty.

I think that Yao and T-Mac fall into the special category that demands loyalty. Yao is a very special case who could've named his terms when the Rockets were negotiating to get him out of China - he could've easily forced the Rockets to trade his rights if he wasn't interested in Houston. T-Mac pretty much ordered the Magic to send him here.

As for Swift, if he really could've gotten more from the Hawks or the Hornets, but instead chose to come here and win, then he deserves our loyalty as well.

 

True!!. the crazy amount of dollars that the NBA make is Stagaring to say the very Least..... hence loyalty comes second to Success!

 

It is all about performance: if a player plays at a high level and helps the team win, they are a fan favorite. If they don't, their not. Really simple, and at the salaries they are making how else could it be.

For me, Wesley was a disappointment. He played decent defense, but his offense was streaky, and at times that really hurt, like the playoffs. Sura was one of my favorites, but his health is such an issue. He has great heart, but he often is just dragging his body around.

If you can't play, you can't stay. It is the nature of the beast. If it were an issue of loyalty, Hakeem would still be playing here and Jordan would still be in Chicago.

 

ya teams are trying to win and that means making difficult decisions. Sura laid it out on the line last year. and he got 10 million dollars for it. If he nets us a better player then great. I'm loyal to the rockets organization which has had a host of players since i have beeen a fan which has been most my life 20+ years. As much as i love T-mac if a better trade cam around i'd be the first to help him pack.

 

there is still much love for Sura on this board... he is the X Factor - so don't let the haters bring you down

Wesley was a nice player, but other than saying "We'll be waiting for you!" on the commercials, I really won't miss him & would love to get a real shooting guard

 

The only player i'll even consider trading tracy for are, Duncan or maybe LBJ. otherwise, i see no better offer in the in the very near Future.

 

In my heart, RG, I tend to agree. In my head, though- the needs of the group superscedes the needs of the few.

I would be sad to see Sura, Wesley, and Barry go, and to a lesser extent, James, etc. I was immensely sad to see Francis and Cat go last summer. I was and still am a big fan of these guys. But it made our team so much better. We should have won the first round, and even though we didn't, we did better than we did in the previous year's playoffs.

Bottom line is that it's no shame to upgrade your team. It's sad, but it's like that cliche' that you hear from players who get traded: 'It's a business'

J

 

There are three guys I really want back; Sura, Barry, and Deke. I'd be interested in having Ward back just because he's supposedly a good influence on young guys, and would be good mentor for Head (just to show him how to be a professional).

James, Spoon, Mooch, Baker, Wesley... None of those guys were really essential to our chemistry last year (Moochie was a nice cheerleader, but what does that mean if you never play?), and if we can find upgrades at their positions, we should make them.

But Sura, Barry, and Dikembe make for a very nice bench, and they're great chemistry guys. ESPECIALLY Sura. He's still our only real mean, tough guy. And he can play.

 

You know, I totally agree about loyalty. I understand the nature of the business and I have no problem making trades if they improve the team, but it does seem quite often like fans get pissed when a player looks elsewhere for money or other reasons, but they are willing to kick him to the curb if it means making the team better.

Pretty hypocritical.