Oh, I know! it's on! Sky Pilot since we live so close to one another we can settle this on this basketball court, you can even wear your Mike Bibby jersey. hehe ------------------
Grummy, ya beat me to it. Athletes in general aren't the brightest of humans, but their agents are quite intelligent (well, most of them, anyway). Trust me, income tax considerations are something they tell their clients. If not by them, then by some financial advisor or somesuch assigned to them. BTW, it's not the lack of state income tax alone that makes places like Houston and Dallas a nice place, it's the incredibly low cost of living. How? A dollar in Houston is worth about $.50-$.75 in places such as New York and California. That's why making $75k-$100k in certain places in California and Manhattan is damn-near impoverished. LOL! We're one of the few places in the country that combine true large metropolitan areas with an incredibly low cost-of-living index. ------------------ ?
The agent makes the same whether or not the player plays in Texas or not so I don't know how often the cost of living actually comes up. ------------------
States lacking state income taxes : Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire and Tennessee have no state income tax, but do tax interest and dividends. The mere fact that income tax is non-existant doesn't mean that much. I'm willing to bet that we in Texas pay more in sales taxes than a lot of other places. For example, I don't believe Delaware pays any sales tax. Think about how many things you buy locally and how often you get charged a sales tax. Then there's also property taxes to consider. Basically, we all get screwed in different ways. ------------------ ?
It's true that Houston has a high sales tax, but keep in mind that when you make millions of dollars, a high sales tax is much more attractive than additional income taxes (I won't go into the economics lecture about how sales taxes are regressive ). ------------------
guys , check out this MOCK DRAFT by msnbc , they have us picking guess who at # 9 ? TEAM NAME POS. HT. WT. COLLEGE 1. New Jersey Kenyon Martin PF 6-8 230 Cincinnati Martin is the best player in the draft. He can score, rebound, block shots and play defense. He is energetic and tough-minded. He will be an enormous help to this struggling franchise, which can use tenacity on the front line and some excitement at the box office. 2. Vancouver Chris Mihm C 7-0 245 Texas His defensive ability is questionable. But Mihm is an accomplished offensive player who has tremendous growth potential. Mihm should be a great improvement over Bryant Reeves, who has been a major disappointment. 3. L.A. Clippers Marcus Fizer PF 6-8 240 Iowa State Next to Martin, Fizer is the next-best all-around player in the draft. He's a good character kid. He can score, rebound and play defense. His game is mature enough for him to make an immediate transition to the professional ranks. And best of all, he's positive enough to endure the torture of playing for this franchise. 4. Chicago Stromile Swift PF 6-9 235 LSU Of all the players in this draft, Swift has the most untapped potential. Already he is the most athletic big man in college. He just needs polish and coaching. If he commits himself to following the right path, he could become the star of this class and combine with Elton Brand for a spectacular pair of starting forwards. 5. Orlando Morris Peterson SG 6-6 210 Michigan State Like Fizer, Peterson's greatest strengths come in intangibles. He's a great citizen, a terrific team guy, a big-game player, and so well-coached he should have no problem coming in and contributing immediately. The Magic is getting a jolt of scoring in a classy package. 6. Atlanta Mike Miller SF 6-8 210 Florida Miller probably will need some time to make the adjustment to the NBA game. But he has extraordinary talent and a real head for the game. He can score at will, he's a great passer and he is a fearless competitor. The Hawks could use the addition of anyone with Miller's upside. 7. Chicago Quentin Richardson SG 6-5 215 DePaul The Bulls will earn some local brownie points by adding Richardson to their backcourt. But they'll get more than that. Richardson is a prolific scorer who can hit from the perimeter, thereby opening up the middle for Brand and whichever big man they take at No. 4. 8. Cleveland Courtney Alexander SG 6-5 200 Fresno State Alexander is a supremely talented player who has a ready-made NBA game. He can bring thrills as well as points to this disappointing club. The Cavs need a reliable scorer, and Alexander is the best one available here. 9. Houston Darius Miles SF 6-9 220 East St. Louis (Ill.) H.S. Every year there is a Kobe Bryant, a Tracy McGrady, a Jonathan Bender. Miles is the prep star gaining the most momentum in the 2000 draft. Although his game is said to be underdeveloped (big surprise), he has loads of talent. The Rockets probably could use a steadier, more mature hand here, but they won't pass on Miles. 10. Orlando Joel Przybilla C 7-0 250 Minnesota With three-first round picks, the Magic can afford to take a gamble on a project center like Przybilla, who has a lot of untapped talent. Going from the mess that was the Minnesota program to a class franchise with Doc Rivers at the helm will bring out the best in Przybilla. 11. Boston Desmond Mason SG 6-6 205 Oklahoma State The Celtics have one reliable scorer in Antoine Walker. They probably could use a big man, but aren't likely to take a risk on an iffy, underdeveloped kid. Mason will come in and provide immediate scoring off the bench. ------------------ It's all about marketing !
Either way it's better than the Goods and Services Tax (GST) they are introducing here in Australia. ------------------ CUT Tino Isn't it amazing how quickly everyone did a Cat Backflip!!!!!
That MSNBC mock draft is messed up. I would love to have Miles slip to us (which could happen) but some of the other picks are laughable. ------------------
Don't forget about golf. The other players always talk about coming here to play golf year round. Anybody who is a rocket fan should know that anything is possible. Think about some of our major trades in the RudyT coaching era. First, Otis Thorpe and a second round pick for Clyde Drexler and Tracy Murray. That deal is ridiculous. The fact that anybody can pull off a mid season trade giving up an above average role player, but not even an all star for a hall of famer still somewhat in his prime and change is ridiculous but it happened. The Barkley deal was fair for bothe sides but they pulled out the big deal. Remember when we had aquired Stoudamire(until Aldridge ruined that). At the time Stoudamire was an elite player, a future all star for years to come and possible future hall of famer. What were we trading away. The two best players in the deal were Kevin Willis and Mario Elie but Eliewas in the down side of his career. What about the Francis deal. Granted Vancouver got a good player in Dickerson he does flourish from the fact that they have no set offense. He improved himself very much over one season, he may become an all star a few times but Francis will be an all star every year. We traded away Dickerson, Othello, Price, and Carr. Lets face it. In that trade the Grizzlies got worked. Othello will be gone as soon as he can be. Price didn't like it up there, Carr doesn't like it there and has hinted at reitiring(may have already). Who knows how happy Dickerson would have been if he was not going back to play with his best friend. We traded Carlos Rogers and a 2nd round pick for Scottie Pippen. More for salary cap though. In free agency though Pippen was the impossible goal. Then Pippen is impossible to trade becuse of his huge salary. We seemed to do that. We didn't get a bad deal but we got rid of possibly the best role player of all time who couldn't lead a team. My point the Rockets have proved that absolutely nothing is impossible and I ain't one of those people who think it would just tak Drew, Cato, and #9, most people don't . Who's future looks brighter on paper? Well I look at it this way. We have been rebuilding for one year, vancouver for how many? Almost 10. We won more games and almost everybody but our core(Steve, Cuttino, and Shandon) was hurt at one time of the season. How many games were Vancouver's core of players injured. How long is it going to be before people start letting Vancouver off the hook. In 5 years are we gonna be saying the same thing when they make there annual 2 game improvement and win 30 games and are now competing for the last of the lottery picks. I think most would agree our future is bright most experts would agree our future is very bright. By the way Sky Pilot it ain't very smart to go around quoting people and saying what they think is ignorant. So what if you think there ignorant you shouldn't tell them, you don't see all of us going around quoting every comment you make. My point people just don't like when they are trying to make a point about something then you say they are ignorant. ------------------
I disagree about us "working" Vancouver. While they didn't get the best of the deal, they did get a quality #2, Harrington, who has a good trade value because of his contract, and a first round pick in the future. You are right about Harrington wanting out of Vancouver however I haven't heard anything about Price and I know Carr likes it up there from a recent quote I read. Dickerson is from up there and being paired with Bibby makes it an even better situation for him since he gets to play in front of friends and family and gets to play with his former backcourt mate. I said Vancouver has a better young core to build around then we do, which is true. However you a forgetting why Houston has a great chance of getting back on top; good drafting. Robert Horry, Sam Cassell, Othella Harrington, Michael Dickerson, Cuttino Mobley; this is some good drafting if you consider the number of games we have won. The only team I can think of that has won many games over the last 10 years and have drafted as well as us is Phoenix. If someone says something stupid, I will point it out. If you see me say anything ignorant, call me on it. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Sky Pilot (edited May 30, 2000).]
Stromile Swift... I think it's the general concensus that he'll make the Rockets a very good team for years to come, and he's our best possible pick... If you don't believe it, well, I guess you should be sacrificed to the basketball gods so we can have a better chance at acquiring him at the draft. I have a question, how does he compare to the other studs of the draft i.e. Moiso, Miles, or Johnson. Is he that good that we should let go of talents such as Cato, Thomas, and/or even Drew plus our draft pick. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty high on the talents of Cato and Thomas, I think they'd make very servicable players in the future for the Rockets' quest to win more championships. I'm also pretty optimistic on the talents of DeShawn Johnson and Jerome Moiso. I just want to hear your opinions on whether or not if it's really worth the talent we give up. Actually, I'm pretty high on Swift myself, if we are our to obtain him, I'll be a religious man the day after the draft... Peace Out... ------------------ Louisville Rockets my ass
Not to mention somebody earlier said that Swift's profile says his favorite teamis the Rockets. How else could you explain him coming to Houston and no one else for a workout. ------------------
Swift is the real deal however we couldn't package Drew, KT, Cato, and the pick to get him unless he were to slip, which I do not see happening. ------------------
Steve Francis was the only person having a problem playing in Vancouver. From the quotes I have read, Vancouver sounds like Kenyon Martin's first choice. You can't blame him with their great young core of players. I don't think Swift would have a problem with Vancouver or New Jersey, but the Clippers are a different story. Vancouver should easily win at least 30 games this season. Vancouver has on paper a brighter future than Houston. Heck, we owe them one of our picks shortly. ------------------
I actually think Vancouver and Houston are quite comparable in potential, though Houston has a the edge. Here are my reasons: #1, I don't think it is clear the nucleus of Bibby-MD-Abdur-Rahim will be better than Francis-Anderson-Mobley. You have to consider Francis looks like he has the most potential of all these players, perhaps by a wide margin. (I would call SA and MD a "draw" in overall play of starting 2's, I'll give you the nod for Rahim over any 3 we have though he doesn't seem to be progressing to MVP caliber like Garnett for instance). As Blazer's fans can attest from perhaps the last 2 decades of failures, it is better to have one unstoppable player and plus 3-4 oustanding players than a whole team of all-stars without a MVP caliber leader. #2, We have better young supporting players and commodities: Thomas and Cato have more potential than any Vancouver player outside the main three, while Walt and Drew are likewise better trade bait. #3 Better salary situation and track record. We are likely to be under the cap in 2001 that will allow us to add one more major piece (e.g., Webber) while Vancoucer is saddled with BC's contract. We also performed better this year (see record and draft position) with a even younger team and one more often carrying injuries. In sum, if you would ask me to trade the Rockets entire roster and team situation for the Gizzards based on potential alone, I would say no way. If the Gizzards add Fizer, Swift or Martin and he is delivering as expected while we aren't getting much from our #9 pick, then maybe it would be a closer call again as to this question. Right now there is little question our future is rosier and most any potential free agent or disgrunteled player trying to move teams would consider us first. ------------------
Sky Pilot, I think your opinions are well thought out and you bring up some somewhat valid points. On the other hand, you come across like an arrogant jack-ass. You should be working in the NBA front office you're so damn smart. If you want to call out something stupid then expect the same. Other than that, GREAT POSTS! ------------------
Man..... I missed a good one!! Sky Pilot: How many heads do you have, because the one other people are going after is not screwed in completely... Saying Vancouver has better core young talent is NOT an easy argument to win. Let's see... I think the Nets have more core talent than us: Marbury, Van Horn, Kittles, #1 I think the Clippers have more core talent than us too. Odom, Kandi, Derek Anderson, Mo and #3 Everybody has talent in this league...except for Orlando, I guess, and they played way better than Vancouver. You are the prototypical fantasy-bball head who thinks talent arguments mean crap. The ablity to see the court, make defenses adjust, execute a game plan, and not choke are much more important measure of winning. You totally dismiss the firepower of our well executed 3 guard offense, and I'm sure that starts with underestimating Mobley. You apparently assume any coach can pour a winning scheme ontop of any talent. Not to mention you are assuming we will not improve our core youth this summer as well. And don't say you only meant to talk about skill level...and backtrack like you agree with me that there is more to winning than talent. Because, if you did recognize talent is all over this league and doesn't mean much of a difference, you would never even force a talent argument this far to begin with. Plus, talent arguments mean nothing when talking about losing franchises.
heypartner- beautiful. Sky Pilot. You are articulate and verbose. You state simple and powerful points with brevity. Thank you for that. You are becoming more and more of a snob with each successive post. Your annoyance with the "let's get the #2 pick with Cato and bench scrubs" faction and the "Francis did nothing wrong" faction is hardening you to simple discussion. On one hand you bemoan those who disagree with you, using the ever-common "what, can't you handle an opinion other than yours" riposte while on the other hand deriding those who can't accept the simple "truth" as you see it. That's hypocritical. Your passionless "just the facts ma'am" posts (which only support Vancouver) are confusing. Do you care about the Rockets? Wouldn't it be amazing to have Stromile Swift on the team? Must you treat those of us who dream about it with disdain? Are Vancouver fans such poor hapless victims of our ignorance that you must champion their cause? If you're going to counter by saying you're trying to keep speculation reasonable in here, don't you have anything to contribute other than shooting other ideas down?
Well, I haven't posted in awhile, so I might as well jump in on this one. This thread was kind of long, and I didn't read it for awhile, and when I did read it, I started at the end and went backwards. I read a lot of posts directed at Sky Pilot and became curious as to what exactly he said to elicit these replies. There were several replies referring to his "ignorant" comments. That post was a response to some threatening post about "watch out what you say or you'll be nothing but a breeze". I don't even know what that means, but usually threats of any kind are probably inappropriate and tend to make a person say something they might not normally say. I visit this site several times a day because I am a Rockets fan, and I'm sure there is no doubt that I have been one longer than most of the people on this BBS. It doesn't bother me if anyone says something negative about the Rockets. You know, during the season, there were all kinds of posts about " Rudy sucks, Drew sucks, Hakeem doesn't try, Hakeem has no heart, CD doesn't care about this team or he would make a trade, why isn't Devin Grey playing, etc... Those are what I consider really negative posts, and I don't recall any threats about those posts. HP, as much as I enjoy your posts, your reply was off base, because Sky Pilot said he thought Vanc had a better base ON PAPER and you disregarded that qualification. I definately think the Rockets are the better organization for all the reasons you mentioned, HP, but on paper, he has an argument. I know I have now made myself a target, but I guess that doesn't bother me. In conclusion, I'd just like to say, Lighten Up. ------------------
