Regardless of how you feel, the NBA just screwed up the Rockets free-agency plans

No, the same thing couldn't be said.

 

There is a pattern of the Rockets giving up "way too much" in trades?

Please cite these examples. Other than the time we traded DD's favorite player for some scrub named Scola, can you even think of a time that Morey gave up "way too much" in a trade?

 

I feel for Morey, his first big franchise move thrown out the window because Stern forgot to read the rule book.

 

You should probably elaborate .

If Lakers do acquire Chris Paul, it's impossible for them to acquire Dwight Howard as well because they do not have the pieces. Hollinger wrote a nice article about the situation and how the Rockets get screwed out of a good deal whereas the Lakers saved from a bad one.

 

Hollinger's view of the Lakers is entirely short sighted. This move for them isn't one to necessarily win immediately, though they'll certainly be in the discussion. A Laker team with CP3 for the next 7 years or so will absolutely attract great players to play alongside him.

 

This deal would have created a large trade exception for the Lakers and they would have lost no draft picks plus still had Bynum. They could have worked a deal for Howard if Dwight made it clear he wasn't going to sign anywhere else but LA.

That's how the NBA works right now. Superstars are not going to get traded places they don't want to go. Hell, they aren't even going to get traded to their second choice.

 

Dwight Howard wants to go to the Nets to play with Deron Williams, not the Lakers.

 

That may be true, but I'm speaking hypothetically. Wherever a player like a Dwight, a Melo, a Paul decides they are going to go is where they are going to go.

Melo should have taught us this.

 

Yeah and Dwight wanted the Nets.

I don't see how adding CPKnee to the Lakers and losing the best frontline and 6th man of the year makes the Lakers better. In the long and short term.

We made out like bandits in this trade if we were to sign Nene afterwards.

 

Because the got Chris Paul and saved a ton of money. The Lakers are not about to win the title. They were going to try to retool that team on the fly. Paul is the perfect way to do it.

Get your next star while you transition away from Kobe. The Lakers are never going to have a problem adding pieces.

 

An open letter to Stern

Dear Mr. Stern,

My family has been a huge supporter of the Houston Rockets and the NBA for about 20 years now. We watch games, vote for all-stars, and go to games when we can. We're not big-time spenders---we're average-income fans, the kind who make up the majority of the NBA's supporters.

As fans, we were disappointed by the lock-out this year. We understand that both players and owners had legitimate concerns about basketball related income and other issues, but, in the end, both sides ended up looking self-centered and uncooperative. In short, the lock-out tarnished the game for many fans, who were clearly not on the minds of those involved in the negotiations.

And now THIS: you have blocked a trade arranged by three teams, including the Rockets, Lakers, and Hornets. I admit that I'm not necessarily thrilled with the trade because, while I appreciate Pau Gasol's talent and character, I feel the Rockets weren't getting as much value as they were giving up in the deal. Looking at the talent they would have received, it seemed that the Hornets might have ended up with the best part of the deal.

But, regardless of my personal feelings about the proposed trade, your decision to block it reeks of conspiracy. Perhaps I'm wrong about this, but I have not read a single article mentioning that the trade was illegal in some manner. It appeared that the teams involved followed normal protocol and league rules in putting the trade together.

Instead, fans are to accept that the trade was blocked due to "basketball reasons."

After so much focus on everything EXCEPT basketball for so many months, your choice of reasons for blocking the trade is ironic.

In closing, I hope you'll note that, along with the lock-out, these kinds of decisions have the potential to ruin the game for fans. It's not unreasonable for fans of a particular team to feel that there is NOT a level playing field in the NBA. And who wants to be a fan of a sporting league in which your team doesn't have an equal chance and the league office itself is apparently biased in its decision-making? At a time when the league should be capitalizing on its successes and exciting players, this incident is yet another reason for fans to look for their entertainment elsewhere.

Sincerely,
The Lucas Family
Seabrook, TX

 

**** this league. Seriously I hated this deal from the start but it was pretty clear that Houston had a plan in motion once they got Gasol, they were already working on short time as it is with Chuck Hayes trying to force them to make a contract offer now. Now I have no clue what we're doing, we're stuck. I wouldn't blame Morey if he just said "**** it" and went home.

 

The Twill deal, a first rounder, seriously. Battier's last exit, essentially what did we get? A huge contract for a "bust" player. Just seems like we throw draft choices around like they are meaningless. I don't know, seems like we are stuck which is frustrating. Morey is smart but is he basketball smart?

 

@LScola4 Luis Scola
I´m on my way to the Toyota Center, this is going to be fun. The good thing is that the TC it´s on the way to the airport, just in case...

 

F@ck David Stern! He's distroying this league.

 

Yes the NBA screwed FA plans but just because of chemistry. I red that the Rockets offered also a 1st Rounder and that is way to much for Gasol. We know what we get from Scola every game but not from Gasol in our jersey. And I doubt that we would get Nene or Marc Gasol in FA.

 

Exactly this is like when they traded away a declining Shaq and built around Kobe, this is the same thing...trade away your declining stars for another one to build around.

Smart move.

DD

 

The thing that frustrates me about the Rockets is they seem to run in place. We watch other teams retool several times while we constantly shift assets but stay the same. We have "virtual" success defined by Les's PR machine, but we don't have real success. We are always standing on the outside looking in. I know we had "bad luck" with Francis, Yao, TMac, etc. But those were all marginal decisions. Was Francis ever really going to take us to the finals, no. Yao was a giant from another culture with predictable health risks. TMac had a long history of back and personality problems. Now we have a "genius" running things with similar results. I know, he needs more time. Well, it has been a long time since the 90's and getting longer every day.