Sorry, but that's a ridiculously huge jump. You see a future contender in a team who has lost 25+ games on the road? Also, Nick Young and McGee were guys who were drafted 16th and 18th (lower than Patterson and Jordan Hill). It's beyond premature to call either of them part of the core of a contending team. McGee is tall and Nick Young can get hot and score some points (less efficiently than Kevin Martin). Just because a team is young doesn't mean they have a great future.
You're putting words into my mouth. I never said they were a future contender, I said they had a much better chance at it than being the Rockets because. 1.) They have a player that so far looks to be a franchise type of guy. 2.) They have young players that are very trade-able because of potential. You're right they weren't drafted higher than Patterson or Hill, still doesn't mean much though because McGee has shown he can be a great presence out there and Young has shown he can score in bunches. Thing is, if Dwight Howard suddenly became available the Wiz will have multiple young players to give up (Plust their likely top pick this year...) and sell to Howard that he's playing with a great up and coming PG and fellow #1 pick. While the Rockets can sell to him that he can come here and play with a bunch of role players. I said the Wiz have a better shot at being a contender in the next 5 years than the Rockets. The losing streak sucks, but oh well. There was a point when the Thunder were a horrible team with Durant and Westbrook too...you gotta take your bumps...
Thats my point The Rockets have those assets right now, they dont need to go through years of suckiness Its up to Morey to make it happen right now. Thats the whole point of stacking talent last and this season.
Franchise players don't grow on trees first of all. Second of all thus is still a business. Les is not in this for the OP's personal gratification. He is in it to get paid. Tanking is bad for profits. Especially in Houston. I damn sure won't buy season tickets next year if I know we gave a 20% chance of winning. And who the F word is going to drop $50k on a suite much less? Finally about the clippers, I copy and paste my post from the other thread disguised as a "let's tank" thread: The Clippers have been in the lottery just about every single year (28) I have been a basketball fan. Hell I remember when they drafter Lamar Odom, Darius Miles, Quinten Richardson, hell Danny Manning. In the past 20 years, the Clippers have had 10 top 5 picks! 10! Of those, 6 (YES 6) we either #1 or #2. THEY STILL SUCK!!! So, just how many years do you plan for us to "TANK"?
watching the heat, lakers, celtics and spurs when those teams play one another shows me how far behind we really are..lol
Dude you must be a young'n They tanked the year Malone left and Sampsons first year Its a well known fact. I witnessed those two seasons and they werent trying to win Not the least bit They knew they had a decent shot at getting Dream The fact that they tanked changed the whole process and its the reason we have a lottery Everytime you see Stern with an envelope at every draft you can thank the early 80's Rockets for their big time tank jobs You must not have been born or too young to remember
Both of those teams had an All-Star (Boston)/ Superstar (Miami) player for the incoming high caliber free agents to team up with. Who do we have on this roster? Our All-Star get hurt if somebody coughs on him. Who wants to be on the same team as a guy like that?
And there's also a chance that we could win that first-round series and others. But that's not likely, and neither is getting a superstar in the draft. I guess I'm opposed to tanking in general, but especially this year, given that the draft class looks so weak compared to previous years. I'd certainly rather see my team compete than be absolutely pathetic like Cleveland, Washington, Sacramento, etc... Let's see what happens by February 24, and if we still have no chance after that and after the relatively easy 10 game stretch we have coming up. A big trade and a 9-1 record in those games could easily put us right back in contention (at least to win a series or two). If we're still out of it at that point, I suppose there's nothing wrong with developing our young players and our veterans coming down with some questionable "injuries" to try to improve our draft stock.
Another wasted season, without a decent lottery pick to show for it and, yet some people still refuse to see the utter futility of the current approach. It's suppose to be called Money Ball not Mediocrity Ball.
There isn't even a 5 percent chance we get past the Spurs. Sure you can say the Warriors did it a few years back but they actually beat the Mavs in their regular season matchup 3 times, there was signs pointing to that. Unless the Spurs suffer a major injury there is just no way, and even if they did then we'll be seeing the Thunder, Mavs, or Lakers after that most likely and our chances aren't any better at getting past those guys. There is a much better chance at getting lucky through 14 picks and drafting the next big thing, I also don't know why everyone is down on this draft with the likes of Irving and Barnes in it. Barnes also has a type of "Gotta be the absolute best' attitude that star players are made of but meh. I agree lets see what happens at the trade deadline but i'm not too ecstatic. What we have and will be lucky to get a Iguodala or Granger or Nene. MAYBE just MAYBE either of these guys will be the right fit to being a Pistons like team. Even still, that team was the exception and not the rule and I have a feeling either of these guys will just keep us in mediocre land longer.
The Clippers suck because of a combination of dumb drafts, poor roster-building, a cheap owner, and terrible luck with injuries. The fact that bad organizations have mismanaged these picks doesn't in any way detract from their tremendous value.
In hind Sight, I still think the Clippers drafted the consensus best available players with their pics for the most part. I refer to the Clippers draft history to show that there is NOT a franchise type player in every draft, and especially not this one. There is no LBJ, or Wade or Durant available every single year. I could see if it were 2005 and that monster draft class was coming out, but that was a once in a lifetime draft class. We tank and get a borderline all star, then what? Keep tanking til that franchise player enters the draft? Do we scout guys in 7th grade to best predict when we should tank?
Blake Griffin wasn't the first pick in last year's draft. He missed his first season due to kneecap injury
Yeah, I really should use all my imagination ability to imagine that Rockets can get Blake Griffin in the first round of 10 NBA Draft after Clippers selected him first overall back in 09
Irving, Barnes, etc. haven't declared for the draft yet. Therefore they aren't in this year's draft. With the CBA situation & the probability of a lock out, what college underclassman would want to risk being out of organized basketball for a year or more? Only the graduating college seniors can be said to be in this years draft. Which of them are worth a top 5 pick? That is why we are down on this year's draft!
Hmmm... Sounds like winning a championship is easy. Let's break it down if number 1 picks translate to championships: Year Name Team 2008 Derrick Rose Chicago -- Too early to tell 2007 Greg Oden Portland -- Hah! 2006 Andrea Bargnani Toronto -- He might get a ring, but he'll not carry the team 2005 Andrew Bogut Milwaukee -- Cannot carry a team to a championship 2004 Dwight Howard Orlando -- Too early to tell 2003 LeBron James Cleveland -- Future champion... ON A TEAM THAT DIDN'T DRAFT HIM (But I hope he doesn't get a ring) 2002 Yao Ming Houston -- Could've been 2001 Kwame Brown Washington -- Another HAH! 2000 Kenyon Martin New Jersey Nets -- Cannot carry a team 1999 Elton Brand Chicago Bulls -- Cannot carry a team 1998 Michael Olowokandi Los Angeles Clippers -- Another bust 1997 Tim Duncan San Antonio -- Carried team to championships 1996 Allen Iverson Philadelphia -- Almost 1995 Joe Smith Golden State -- No championships 1994 Glenn Robinson Milwaukee -- Got a ring, but as a role player, on another team that DIDN'T DRAFT HIM 1993 Chris Webber Orlando -- No championship 1992 Shaquille O'Neal Orlando -- Carried a team to championships, 4x, on a team that DIDN'T DRAFT HIM 1991 Larry Johnson Charlotte -- No championships 1990 Derrick Coleman New Jersey -- No championships 1989 Pervis Ellison Sacramento -- I don't know him 1988 Danny Manning L.A. Clippers -- No championships 1987 David Robinson San Antonio -- Got a ring, but not until another #1 pick 1986 Brad Daugherty Cleveland -- No championships 1985 Patrick Ewing New York -- No championships 1984 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston -- I'm glad he was on our side 1983 Ralph Sampson Houston -- No championships 1982 James Worthy L.A. Lakers -- Got rings For simplicity, let's consider the players that got at least one ring, on the team that drafted them: Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, James Worthy. That's 4 out of 27 that I've mentioned above. If we get the no. 1 draft pick, there's only a 15% chance that we could win a championship. If we tank, get a high pick, and still fail, then we get another shot at a high pick, then fail... and so on, we'll be just like the Clippers. Now THAT'S MEDIOCRE. I'm not even sure if Griffin will go Melodrama or Lequeen James after his contract with the Clips. I'm aware that there are no Kobes, Jordans or Melos on the list above because they are not #1 picks. But I'm sure the percentage is pretty much the same. (Who the heck is Armen Gilliam?! :grin: ) I say, Rockets fight until there is a legit chance that we can make the no. 8 seed. If there are absolutely no more chances to get to no. 8, then that's the time to tank, and we'll go from there. Oh, and BTW, Kobe is no. 13 on the draft, so we got a legit chance of getting a Kobe. :grin: JK. Seriously, it's about spotting the right player to play for us... regardless of the draft ladder, IMHO.
