We have some confusion if we're going to tank again this year or we're going to compete. In the press conference they mentioned we had uniquely bad luck with injuries this year otherwise it seems they believe we'd be in the mix for playoffs. As the tweet mentioned, they are hoping to rebuild with others picks not our own. its been a tough year, but I think the majority of people are understanding to tank at the current situation. Next year we have our draft pick without protections or stress and a very good class coming in. let alone next summer Wall, EG become expirings so we can work with them a bit more. Where does CF stand for this current year
I don't think we can keep acting like we were bad on purpose this year. We were just bad because our players were young/old/bad/injured the whole season. It's not like we intentionally sat our "stars" to lose games, we have no stars, and when they did play we lost everything too. We might just suck again next year no matter what, and it's a good thing we have our pick this time around.
They will try to do option 1 (compete) first half, but due to same set of reasons this year, by mid season, team's record may not be good, and they'll have no choice but go to option 2 (tank another year). tl;dr version: we're bad, but not by choice.
The Rockets are going to suck next year and be one of the worst teams in the league again. Calling it a tank to be polite doesn't matter. They won't win many games just like this past year Most of the folks that are still trying to latch on defining the rockets as tanking are the same ones who think the rockets are a good team, when in reality they are not
This. Anyone who thinks we were actually trying to tank is crazy. We had the worst record in the league because we were by far the worst team.* * Thanks, Tilman!
I vote compete! Plenty of teams have tanked - and not come away with squat! You can look up any draft... there are plenty of busts at the top - and typically at least a few gems towards the end of the first round - just draft smart... As long as our guys are out there working hard and giving their all - regardless of whether we win or lose - thats all i ask for. I realize the allure of tanking... but really with the way the lottery has been changed up - its a crapshoot... I'd rather watch a mediocre team play hard and try to get lucky drafting a Kawhi... then watch us tank all season - just to get screwed in the lottery - or worse yet, get a high pick and get our next 'cornerstone' player - only to realize 2 or 3 years down the road (or sooner) that he's a bust - and then we gotta unload that contract... maybe trade him to Murray - he always liked lotto busts on the cheap... lol! I'd rather take my chances building a culture - than relying on the luck of a lottery and some 18 or 19 year old kid being our messiah... jus my opinion though... i'm sure plenty will disagree... lol
Deliberately trying to lose is just a trash approach to any sport. If they suck because they suck, cool, but don't actively try to suck for a draft pick, if that worked then there wouldn't have been so many teams who've been trash for decades.
We will try and compete next season but still end up at the bottom lotto bound tier. I don’t see how Silas can turn this around with the talent we currently have.
Similar to this season, they won't need to truly tank. This is not a good basketball team. Wall makes $40M-plus to be a net negative on the floor, half their key players can't stay healthy and the young guys most of us are excited about are more role players than stars. If they're not among the 5-7 worst teams next year, I'll be shocked. It will mean they drafted extremely well, some existing players had massive leaps in their second years here and they probably added a key free agent or two. If they somehow end up anywhere close to .500, it will be no small miracle. The goal shouldn't be to compete right now, though. It should be developing their young core, figuring out what that core looks like and figuring out systems that work for that group of personnel. If by the end of the season, we know what the core group is and they're playing competitive basketball and actually staying on the floor consistently together, that'd be a win.
The Spurs won essentially twice as many games as the Rockets to sneak in as the 10th seed. This is nowhere near a play-in quality team right now.
If he runs out the same roster, we should lose. It's literally a group of misfits with almost no potential. And I am fine with that for one more year. Then we need to get serious.
So much depends on getting that top 4 pick in terms of timing of the rebuild. However Cade or no Cade you definitely tank next year. Gordon needs to be traded and hopefully Wall as well. Keep accumulating picks and give Wood, KPJ, KMJ, etc all the minutes they can handle. When another star inevitably wants out you can package picks and the KMJ, KPJ, Tate types on this team to snag him. Their numbers will look good enough for that trade playing heavy minutes. A top 4 pick now and next year plus a trade for a disgruntled star plus all those Brooklyn FRPs = long term contender. Play the long game and punt next year.
I think we'll suck whether we want to or not so we might as well tank another year. I think we need top picks in at least the next two drafts.
Spot on I would add trading Wood to this list. If the Rockets get really lucky and get Cade this year and Chet next year, then trade KPJ, Wood etc... for a star level player like Beal then this will be a very fast rebuild. Plus they should have draft assets to add even more talent.
OKC is adding picks and talent. I don't how much cap space they have, but they seem to be on the right track. @Nook
Beal isn't Harden. It will be a major mistake to do this. It will be nearly impossible to acquire Jason Tatum for a healthy Wood and KPJ but we need him instead of Beal.
