No free agent would be attracted to Houston unless the Rockets outbid the competitor. This is in stark contrast to prior years. Like it or not, the world of sports revolves arounds stats. Stats are used by many sports writers to justify Hall of Fame selections. Stats are seen on baseball cards. Stats are used to justify all-star selections. JVG kills stats.
The reality in sports is the free agents who aren't looking for stats are the over-the-hill players. Every player is cognizant of how his stats compare to his peers. It's part of the competitive spirit.
Almost every player under JVG has seen his production drop, none have won a championship under him, what does this mean for his theory? Everything. What does it mean when Francis/Cat/Cato go to another team and play better, their numbers go up, and have a BETTER record than us? You're right we shouldn't look at individual stats to judge our team, but that's how it's done. When individual player production is low, it has a direct correlation with how well your team plays. Like I said, a lot of players (scorers) have seen their production drop under JVG, none of them have won a championship under JVG, so what does that mean?
Correlation... very low. Scoring going up and down doesn't necessarily mean squat when winning championships or even making the playoffs. To show you how foolish this argument is, let's flip it. How many championships did Steve win when his stats were "better/higher" under Rudy? D'oh. How about looking at it another way? The Knicks under JVG went to the playoffs with Latrell Sprewell's stats going down. His stats went down, but his team was better. And... lastly, you guys isolate JVG and say things like "no one's ever won a championship under him". In the last 13 or so seasons, only 4 coaches have won championships - before last year, only 3. So, now I ask you - out of all those other coaches left, are you saying that their players' stats/scoring went down? Because if their stats went up and they still didn't win a championship, your argument is bunk and there is no correlation between points of players going up or down and championships.
In a sense you are right. However, this team isn't looking for players that are of the caliber to break the bank. We already have 2 that will break the bank. We have a couple of lame ones playing the PF position at the moment that are breaking the bank and that's hurting us. The players we need to surround the 2 big ticket guys don't need to be anywhere near big-ticket players. All players are going to want the maximum they can get - I just don't think the players we need are going to command a ransom. If they do, well, then existing contracts won't allow it anyway.
I largely agree. It's harder to make a sales speech of "come to win a ring with us but expect your stats to drop" than "come to win without sacrifice". If we don't talk about it, the opposing teams will if they're smart. The championship caliber role players don't necessarily want to sacrifice their performance or anything for a ring. If that's the case then we can offer only half the market value of a player and see how he responds. If he say yes, great, he's a winner. If he say no, great, he's a loser. I really wish this world is that simple! Nobody wants to sacrifice beforehand unless we've won rings, like Malone and Payton, the fact is we haven't.
I agree that the Rockets don't need players who are stars to complement Yao and TMac, but it doesn't mean that the YOUNG free agents won't take this stat-reducing factor into account. Let's compare the Rockets to the Suns. Would you want to play for the Rockets or the Suns now? How bout the Mavericks or the Sonics? Stats for young players are everything since it will dramatically impact how much they make in their next contract. Boki is a young player. This guy will get a minimum contract next season. Of course, the Rockets can get the over-the-hill players like Ward and Dikembe. As bad a contract as Mo got after playing a season with the Rockets, Mo still chose the Rockets for that 1 season over a bunch of other teams. Mo was young too. If you were Vladimir Radmanovic, who I think is a perfect SF for the Rockets, would you go to the Rockets for the full MLE if you had the exact same offer from Mavs, Nuggets, or Suns? There's no way this guy will choose the Rockets if his stats will get killed since he still has another contract left in his career.
Of all the teams to pick, I doubt I would've picked those 3. Dallas is so deep, why would anyone want to go there? Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker were part-time players there - once they left, they started lighting it up again. Eduardo Najera wanted more playing time there. Outside of the studs, the rest of their players get below-average minutes. Most FA's going there are going to be riding the pine. In my opinion what players fear the most is depth because it will cut into playing time. Denver is in a similar situation. Nene who? Backcourt has Miller and Boykins splitting duty a lot of nights - what up and coming PG wants to go there? SF? Play behind Carmelo's major minutes. As for the Suns - it's even worse because they're loaded. If you say they're going where the money is, I absolutely agree. If you're saying they're going where the minutes are, I absolutely agree. If you're saying they're going where they can showcase their talents, then you picked the wrong teams to defend your point. A PF coming here would be in the starting rotation within weeks if not days if he knew what he was doing. A good PG - same. A good SG/SF splitting time with TMac - same. The problem for the Rockets is paying these guys. If you're a 2nd fiddle player with the Rockets, you can have the opportunity you want because Yao and TMac are doubled and certainly are willing to give up the ball from everything I've seen.
