Most NBA teams go through a rebuilding process, why is Les Alexander so against this?

Agree. I'm all for playing the youngsters. Thabeet-Hill, Patterson-Morris, Budinger-T-Will, Lee-T-Will and Lowry-Dragic. You have a good teaching type of coach in McHale, so why not build for the future. You never know when an opportunity opens up (like the Gasol trade) where the rockets could be in a position to improve faster.

 

Which I'm glad about; take a look at the Wizards, they traded their assests for peanuts. If the balls bounced differently, they'd be in terrible spot, because they got jack **** for their stuff.

I'm all for moving towards a new direction, but you shouldn't trade guys for the sake of trading them.

 

EXACTLY!!! If there was ever a time to tank this is it. Its a strike-shortned season so the pain of losing won't be as prolonged. The upcoming draft should be one of the best in a decade. You have multiple picks in said draft. The "win now" moves you attempted fell through and you have cap space to add veterns to your top draft picks after the one single season of tanking is over - basicly making this rebuilding process ONE SEASON ONLY (as opposed to 2-3 for multiple players).

 

U all should be thankful that we have an owner that consistently tries to deliver the best product that he can - even if at times that product leaves much to be desired....
As opposed to a Donald Sterling who put a crap team on the floor for decade(s) and is just now getting lucky that a couple (mainly one) draft choice(s) that are hitting big....
I am so sick of all this tanking talk! Look people, winning is a mindset - a mentality... if you want players that dont care about winning, that mentality will exist beyond your desired timeframe! Personally, I appreciate the Rockets, becuse even when faced with injuris or whatever else, they kept fighting! THAT'S what I want from my team! If we go into the season with our present team, I have no doubt that they will hustle and work hard... if that keeps us out of the lottery - GOOD! I'd rather have a team that tries and falls short, than one that tanks and looks for a savior from the draft!

 

We don't even get to see D-Mo this year.

 

Good luck in finding young good players to trade for with other teams that would want Scola and Martin's contract. Essentially, only contending teams with similar players like Scola/Martin with similar contracts would be willing trade partners. You really think a team like the Timberwolves would trade Kevin Love for Scola?

And we've had draft picks on the lower lottery part and beyond, we just can't get into the upper part of the lottery. We can get solid role players with those lower picks and still be in the same predicament we're in right now. And it's not guaranteed that a franchise type of player will be available with a high lottery pick anyways, you might get a Shane Battier instead of a Dwyane Wade in that draft.

To give a short answer to what you want, it's easier said than done.

 

I think they are going to go rebuild Mode. Morey has said over and over again that they will make a move with the "future" in mind. If it doesn't make sense to add Dalembert (or any free agent for that matter) to a team that has no business in the playoffs, then what's the point of adding that contract for the next 1-2 years.? I think that after this latest debacle with Stern that Les realizes this as well. Publicly he could never come out and say "I think what's best for our organization is that we go full rebuild". However, if that's how this season plays out then it just plays out that way.

Maybe by the trade deadline there are some clubs that could use KMart or Scola. We still haven't used the amnesty yet. Continue to put ourselves in a better cap position. At this point I think that they may understand that the best move is no move. See exactly what we have and what we don't have. It's not from lack of trying on their part. Maybe we get the next Dwight Howard or Tim Duncan or Kevin Durant or Derrick Rose so that we can start to put together a new Dynasty. Maybe there is a Robin on this team and we just need to take a shot in the draft the next two years.

Anyone remember when Francis first got here? That team didn't go anywhere but it was exciting getting to see that new youth and talent. Hopefully we can go the way of OKC, and if not maybe we are atleast the Jazz with an influx of young and upcoming talent. Portland before Roy and Oden's injuries. Is it a risk? Sure it is, but then again so is signing any free agent to a multi year guranteed contract. One injury and there goes your plan. The thing with rebuilding is at least it finally gives you direction. And hopefully better than that, it maybe gives you a player you can actually build around. One that other players want to come play with.

 

The answer.

 

I disagree with either tanking or saving cap space as the quickest route for the Rockets to the top in today's NBA. Tanking requires being extraordinarily lucky or good to get the top, i.e. Oklahoma City, and years of pain. The cap space method (i.e. Miami / New York model) requires your team / city to be a destination, which Houston is not. It also requires luck in that you are under the cap when 2-3 superstar players are free agents. It didn't work (yet) for New Jersey.

The only other option, then, is the Dallas model. Take bad contracts to get good players and a deep team. Don't worry about the tax. If we want a high pick in the 2012 draft, then trade expiring contracts for a bad contract and the team's draft pick. The team we trade with gets worse by trading away talent, making the pick we receive more valuable.

 

They were a playoff team for most of the 2000's, i think they missed the playoffs the year before they left Seattle and maybe like 3 years after that, the position they are in now... i'd say it was worth it

 

The Zombies had 6 losing seasons in the aughts, and more importantly, lost their ******* team! Honestly, saying that tanking worked for them is like saying that Bud Adams is the model franchise owner in the NFL when the Titans made the Super Bowl.

 

The Cavs had vets and were still bad last season. The Rockets can keep this team and still get that high pick. If the Rockets are lucky they get a player who takes this team to the playoffs in his rookie season.

 

Funny you should mention the Pacers, a team that has picked, going backwards over the past few years: #10 (George), #13 (Hansbrough), #13 (Rush), #17 (Hibbert), #17 (Williams), #17 (Granger). Not to mention that they traded for a #26 (Hill), a #21 (Collison) and signed a free agent #18 (West).

So somehow, without the benefit of a single top 9 pick, they've somehow created a team with upside, recovered from the World Peace Melee in Detroit, managed their cap beautifully, and will go as far as Paul George takes them. They missed the playoffs for only 4 seasons, missing it by a single game one year. Aren't they the poster child for rebuilding with smart low draft picks?

 

Exactly. I would love a top 5 pick, but I'd rather not sit through 2-3 20 win seasons hoping a few ping pong balls fall the right way.

 

I am at least thinking: if Morey can do that with a 2nd round pick (or even with a 14 pick), then imagine what he can do with a top 8 pick in the 2012 draft. See: the logic works both ways.

This is my position. The timing just seems right. This draft might end up being the worst in NBA history, but at this moment the top looks fantastic. I trust Rockets management enough to Beleive they can better achieve their goals with one of those top picks which have been involved in the acquisition of most star players (as in draft or trade). Even Morey crunched the numbers and agrees with the strategy.

 

Its all about the $$$ just like it was for uncle "Drayton". Even if its for one season Les doesn't want what happened to the Astros last year when people are barely comingto the games after they went all in in the rebuilding mode. I wish they would but they are so stubburn.

 

This post should be required reading for anybody who's against tanking, because it's spot on. The Pacers have been very,very clever. They've drafted well. They've managed their cap to perfection. They've made good value signings in free agency and pulled off smart trades. They've done everything a well-run team outside the destination cities can do to be good without getting bad. And they're still not contenders, nor will they be in the foreseeable future.

George, Hibbert, and Collison will probably continue to develop and get better. Granger, Rush and Hansbrough are what they're going to be. In a year or two, the young guys will get contracts worthy of their skills, and will no longer be underpaid. Some they'll keep, some will have to get let go like Hayes because they cost too much.

They're a playoff team. They've got enough talent that they might even end up as a 4 seed someday, but they will not be serious contenders. They just don't have the firepower to beat the Heat, Bulls, or Knicks, and no combination of assets on their team is attractive enough to net them the superstars that put them in that conversation.

That's us, guys. The Pacers are almost a 1-1 corollary to us - a smart, well-run team that has no way of acquiring the transcendent talents we need to become contenders. Maybe Morey can pull off some truly dazzling moves that will defy all odds and bring us the superstars we need, but it's much more likely that we join the Pacers, the Hawks, the Jazz, the Blazers, and any number of other pretty good teams that never had a chance.

 

Interesting, I was actually trying to point out that it's eminently possible to build a contender without high draft picks. To me, the Pacers are the very definition of being 1 player away from being a legitimate championship contender. That team tops out as a 3 or 4 seed right now, but imagine adding Pau Gasol to that team. Add Zach Randolph. Add Tyson Chandler. Sure, the odds might not be great, but I'd put it at about the same as getting a generational superstar in the lottery.

What the Grizzlies did last year should make everyone a believer in not tanking, because honestly, for all the lottery picks the Grizzlies collected, they weren't the reason why that team could have easily made the NBA finals last year. It was a little known 2nd rounder from Spain, a player who had been cast off by 3 separate franchises, and a just below the mid-level role player. One lottery pick would have been traded for Josh Freakin' McRoberts if the paperwork had been done properly, and the other two are potential amnesty cut guys in 2 or 3 years.

Luck happens, both good and bad. Some may choose to believe in the luck of the lottery. Some may choose to believe in the luck of making a risky big move.

I will state that it is IMPOSSIBLE to be average forever. At some point, the wheels come off by injury or a few ill-timed moves and the team will fall to the bottom of the standings. Or, if a GM continually makes smart moves, there will come a time when they get lucky with one big acquisition or draft sleeper and starts moving up. The NBA is a static league when it comes to contenders, but is fluid everywhere else. Everyone that is fretting about being average, realize it is a transitional stage of every franchise except the Lakers. Go along for the ride, and realize that the Rockets were 2 moves away from being one of the top 8 teams in the league, and are about 2 injuries away from being one of the 8 worst. Something will happen that pushes the team to contendership or collapse, and you have no control over it.

 

Bottom line: $

Les lost a cash cow in Yao and basically any chance of a winning season in one punch. We still need butts in the seats to operate, but we also need losses and high draft picks to improve. Morey has been given the impossible task of trying to do both at the same time. It can't be done. Either the Rockets have a mediocre season (to be fair, this roster is pretty awesome, if only we had a star... same crap every year) and we get nothing in the draft, or we lose a lot of games and Morey get's fired. Les could cite the vetoed NBA trade, the lack of prep of possibly losing Yao, and an overall decline in performance as reasons to let Morey go. At the end of the day, the only thing that is for certain is that the Rockets won't be contenders any time soon...

 

Actually, most NBA teams go between being terrible and being anywhere between mediocre and good but not quite championship caliber. Most "rebuilding" efforts either nets you high lotto pick that are (a) busts, which keep you horrible (anywhere between Kwame Brown and Andrea Bargnani), (b) good but not quite star players (Andrew Bogut), or (c) star players that make your team kind of good, thus depriving your team of future lotto picks, making your management scramble for complementary talent that hurt your cap situation, and then leave town in 7 years (Lebron, Melo, CP, maybe Dwight is next).

Very few "rebuilding by tanking" efforts actually ends up with a championship.

Question: Who is the latest-drafted #1 overall pick to win an NBA championship for the team that drafted him?

Tim Duncan.