Should Leslie Alexander sell the team to get better ownership of the franchise?

Hmm...how did Les Alexander get all that money?

Still, I don't think Carroll Dawson has done that great of a job. He did get Steve Francis. And he screwed us up and got Eddie Griffin. Maybe that was his plan. Maybe he knew that he wanted us to screw up. And then we would get Yao Ming.

 

He was a huge success in the stock market.

There are some deals that the Rockets did that could be classified as mistakes, plain and simple:

Matt Maloney (contract)
Bryce Drew and Mirsad Turcksan over Rashard Lewis (draft)
Rodrick Rhodes (draft)
Brent Price (free agent)

Those are the glaring one's.

Eddie Griffin (trade)
Kelvin Cato (contract)
Maurice Taylor (contract)
Bostjan Nachbar (draft)

The jury is out on these. No one can label a 20-year-old a bust and have any reasonable degree of realistic accuracy. Cato is one of the best back-up centers in the league and a perfect compliment to Yao. If Taylor returns to pre-injury form, he is worth the money. No idea yet on Boki.

Charles Barkley (trade)
Scottie Pippen (trade)
Jason Collier (draft)
James Posey (trade)

Pick 'em. Barkley did his job getting us past Seattle but we lost to Utah. Pippen was a bust here but his trade helped us land Francis. Collier helped us get a pick that eventually turned into the Eddie Griffin deal. Posey has been a much more solid contributor than Thomas but will he stick around?

Steve Francis (trade)
Yao Ming (draft)
Mario Elie (trade)
Robert Horry (draft)
Sam Cassell (draft)
Cuttino Mobley (draft)
Othella Harrington (draft)
Clyde Drexler (trade)

Clearly, these were all deals that were worth making. Francis is an all-star with superstar potential. Ditto Yao. Elie was the missing piece in both championships. Horry was booed at the Summit yet he was a key piece to the two championships. Ditto Cassell. Mobley, despite his issues, is a tremendous pick for the second round. Harrington was a great addition as the last pick in the first round. The Drexler trade was one of the ballsiest and most effective moves ever by any team driving for a championship.

Overall, they have made some good moves, some bad moves and some that aren't really either. Basically, they are like most franchises, Clippers excluded.

 

I guess you don't realize that most teams put their games on PPV in the playoffs.

 

You don't realize that we play in the smallest arena in the NBA, that Les doesn't get any money from parking, and very little money from concessions, right?

You seem to be very unaware of Les, yet you go as far as bashing the guy.

You don't remember Charlie Thomas, I assume.

 

Uh, you do know that Les has final say with big trades like that, right? Especialyl when they entail bringing in big money earners. Point is that Les has not blocked his front office guys from making moves, which is all you can ask.

Quit your whining.

 

Let's see most teams' fan have to pay ppv for early playoff rounds. Guess what entertainment cost money, and so does the entertainers. He shouldn't use OUR money to pay for players, that's what I like to call free loading. As far as owners go, Les is a first class owner, it really pains me to see all these new "fans" bash everything about a team i've followed since the sixth grade.

In conclusion, this is the Rockets BBS, if u don't like the Rox, get F*CK out of here.

 

If the PPV issue bothers you so much, go to a sports bar, buy a beer or two, and spend like 3-5 bucks...

Or invite some friends over, and ask that they split the cost of the game.

 

I can't believe I read this.

I've lived every single one of my years in the Houston area. While I was growing up, I played every sport I could participate in, but I'd never follow Houston teams (for various reasons), I'd follow players. Michael Jordan was the reason I watched basketball in those days. But I followed the Rockets eagerly as they made their run to the championship. Yes, I rode the bandwagon to becoming a Rockets fan (I feel no remorse for the bandwagoning as I was all of 12 at the time). I was rewarded with the return of a hometown hero and another championship the next year. Since that time, Alexander has always tried to put a winning product on the floor, and has been a fantastic community guy as well, and he's not even a hometown guy. He's not afraid to make big, risky moves. To experience the highest of highs, I'll gladly trudge through the lowest lows - and we aren't anywhere near that.

He's been the best sports owner in Houston that I've seen to this point, and as far as I can see, one of the best owners in all of sports.

The only thing I feel sad about is the fact that Houston fans don't reward winning of any kind with butts in the seats.

Sorry if I seem rantish, but this kind of ignorance pisses me off like nothing else.

 

There are 2-3 other owners who are better than Les Alexander. But he's better than most. The Rockets don't lose players becauase he's cheap, and winning seems more important to him than cash. But he's not rich in the same way Paul Allen or Mark Cuban is... and I don't think it's fair to expect owners to shell out like that anyway.

So if Bill Gates or Michael Dell wants to buy the team... great. Otherwise, Alexander has done a great job.