My vote, same as the real one: Dream - duh Horry - I think it's sometimes lost how critical he was in the 94-95 championship run. Regular or postseason, he was never as amazing as he was during those playoffs. Elie - Kiss of Death, and invaluable as a swingman stopper Drexler - Breathed a second life into the team. He had another year or two in him when he left. Kenny - Perfect blue collar PG for 6 years and 2 rings Thorpe - very difficult to not include him on the list. 354 games as a Rocket in the 90s. Cassell - his best years as a player were after Houston. For as much as I loved him in the two Championship years, immaturity led to his trade. Barkley - loved him too, but I do still lightly pin the '97 Western Finals on him. The arrogance that bit him in Clutch City 1+2 showed up after an early lead on the Sonics, his hypocritical griping about Dream and Drexler not playing hard enough, and that notorious failure on the switch to cover Stockton all haunt me. That team was too talented to go out before the Bulls. Vernon - as electric as he was, I still can't forgive him for quitting on us the way he did, why he did, and when he did.
the 90s the good ol days. when there was no such thing as assets and moreyballin, you just traded players and on the day of the trade you would let them know. Robert, Mario,clyde and sam would be my four other selections. Sorry Jet.
If going to the Western Conference Finals and losing in game 6 is the worst thing that happened to the Rockets, then I'll take the worst thing with no problem Barkley could probably out rebound half the Rockets team now. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lw6dCKwKvRA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I felt like Hakeem, Clyde, and Mario were all certainties to me Vernon gets the next nod The last spot is tough, I can't say for sure any one guy deserves it over the other, but I will go with Kenny
Sigh. Yes, you got me. Clyde played fewer games (a fact which despite what my post said I did know). I'm not sure why you felt the need to point it out. Does it really matter all that much in this opinion thread? Meanwhile, thanks for being the obnoxious fact check guy that spoils conversation/interaction. Similar to obnoxious spell check/grammar guy who does the same thing. I would rather you just disagree and tell me why my picks were wrong to start good conversation. But thats just me. No wonder so many of the good posters lurk these days.
Not down with the anti-Barkley crowd. Whether he was in shape or not, he played his butt off here. When the big 3 was healthy, they had the 1st or 2nd best record in the league. The mistake wasn't adding Barkley and leveraging the future, it was grasping at straws again in 1999 thinking Pippen would be the answer. Barkley wasn't there for any of the championships. I get that. But he gets my vote.
Your picks are fine, I won't disagree with any of your choices, all these guys were heroes. I don't know why you said what you did without checking the stats, maybe since Clyde has been a commentator for the Rockets for so long you just assumed he's played more games than Thorpe or Maxwell. Facts matter. How many times do we have to tell people Jordan DID play in 95?
Back in the day, the anti-Barkley crowd were people who thought Horry and Cassell were too much to give up cause they ended up being successful everywhere they went. Nowadays, the anti-Barkley crowd is just people who don't like his opinion of the Rockets on TNT. However, if they actually watch, he's said nothing but good things about McHale and Lowry this season.
I'm not anti-Barkley but I am still mad we gave up our future for that fat ass, however, that is not the point. The point is he didn't do anything except give us one season whereas OT gave us 5 and a half years !! For those who do not know Thorpe and think Barkley 'deserves it', here's some facts about Otis Thorpe: - All-star in 1992, should've been in for at least one more (90-91) - He was part of the 92-93 winning streaks + 93-94 start 15-0, 22-1, first championship run and owned Barkley, Oakley & Malone in the process. - Carried the Rockets during Olajuwon's absence in 90-91 with crazy scoring - Played over 500 games straight! - Was a hell of a defender and hard worker - Gave us many fast break points - A humble person and did all the dirty work
Same here. This 90s team deserves a sixth man! I felt bad leaving out Mad Max to the point of even considering not voting for Clyde! Everyone's favorite color commentator is obviously the best player on the list, but I guess I still see him as having built his legacy in Portland... Then again, we wouldn't have won that second championship without him, so nevermind!
what's your reasoning? a. the old school reason, cause horry/cassell turned out to be good. cassell=really elite pg horry=clutchest player ever b. tnt if it's b, then you're missing the point. it's about what he did in the 90s for the Rockets, not what he says on TNT.
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1993_1150656 Patterson chronology 1976-1983 -- Begins Rockets career as part-time worker in ticket sales and other areas. 1984 -- After earning a law degree from the University of Texas, joins his father, Rockets president and general manager Ray Patterson, in the front office as counsel to the president and marketing director. 1986 -- Takes control of the team's business operations, installing a computer system to handle ticketing, accounting and player personnel operations. Feb. 12, 1989 -- After accepting Houston's bid coordinated by Patterson, NBA holds its All-Star Game at The Summit. Sept. 11, 1989 -- Named at age 32 as the Rockets' general manager, succeeding his father in that role and becoming the youngest GM in the NBA. Sept. 27, 1990 -- Acquires point guard Kenny Smith from Atlanta along with Roy Marble for Tim McCormick and John Lucas. Feb. 21, 1990 -- Acquires starting guard Vernon Maxwell from San Antonio Spurs for an undisclosed amount of cash. June 27, 1990 -- Trades the rights to Alec Kessler to Miami for the rights to Dave Jamerson and Carl Herrera. July 2, 1990 -- Signs guard Sleepy Floyd to four-year contract; Floyd is released after the 1992-93 season. Sept. 3, 1991 -- Negotiates three-year contract with top draft choice John Turner, who fails to stick with the Rockets. Oct. 23, 1991 -- Signs Kenny Smith to five-year contract. Feb. 18, 1992 -- Fires Rockets coach Don Chaney and names Rudy Tomjanovich as interim head coach. March 23, 1992 -- Suspends center Hakeem Olajuwon without pay, claiming he has failed to play when physically able to do so. Olajuwon claims he is suffering from a hamstring injury and is unable to play, and suggests he is unsure if he wants to play for the Rockets if Patterson remains as general manager. May 20, 1992 -- Names Tomjanovich as head coach. June 24, 1992 -- Despite a chorus of boos from The Summit fans, makes the decision to draft forward Robert Horry, who goes on to become a productive forward in his rookie season. March 15, 1993 -- Olajuwon signs a four-year extension with the Rockets worth $25.4 million that places him under contract with the team through 1999. July 30, 1993 -- Rockets owner Charlie Thomas completes the sale of the team to businessman Les Alexander. Aug. 30, 1993 -- Alexander fires Patterson as Rockets general manager.
Everything turned sour after Leslie came here, I don't know why people credit him for the championships. Why did he fire the best GM we ever had, he personally made that 94 clutch city happen !! Kenny, Vernon, Horry, Herrera...
