GATER, the scariest part of your post was seeing Morey say that Luis Scola could play the SF position.
While it's great to consider what players will be on your team longterm, shouldn't Morey think about what players he won't be able to get (I'm sure he does, but maybe he should place a higher value in it). Because of scarcity, it's often easier to get a better player through trade than a player with size.
No kidding. Luis is a terrific power forward, considering his contract, and he can and does play some center, but at the 3? Maybe if they're slow.
Pretty sure Morey could afford to give up an inch here and there back when we still had that 7'6 guy in the middle. There has been no epiphany(besides for those not paying attention). Yao is just officially done now.
I am going to hold on to hope. I wanna see a comeback. Not going to give upon Yao until he says he's done.
It is fine for us to hope. In fact every Rocket fan should WANT a comeback. But as far as team planning and personnel moves going forward for management, they should treat it like there is no hope.
We should acquire a seven foot center and a 6'10+ PF/C. If Yao comes back, it's all good. If he doesn't we still got bigs.
The best course of action would be to prepare as if Yao never comes back, which means getting a legitimate 7footer who can act as a defensive anchor and play major minutes. If Yao then comes back, we are stacked...
Let me see if I understand your point Let's sacrifice height because we have a 7'6" guy who surely won't fall to the court in agony for a season-ending 3rd time. It's lunacy to drop your drawers that far. And never pull them up as you assemble perimeter players because (instead of position) you're always taking best $Ball player available. The assumption is that you can convert them to "bigs". We're all still waiting.
The 7'6 guy turns out to be our ONLY shot at even coming close to contending, which means that even if it was a long shot after an injury history, our BEST shot was still to bank on(what little chance) of him holding up. Because the alternative, no matter how neatly you fill your positions, is irrelevance. Now that we have taken that shot(better to have taken and missed than not taken at all), we can move on and enjoy the long road to rebuilding/reloading. Again, this is only some epiphany for those not paying close enough attention. It really is THAT simple of a point.
Recent rockets history is analagous to John Bobbitt of severed penis fame. we once had size and slength (yao and deke), but through very unfortunate injuries lost it. However, despite our injured member(s), we continued to perform strongly. Just as John bobbitt beat the odds and became a p*rn star with his severed penis, the rox exceeded all expectations and after losing deke and yao, went deep into the playoff series vs the lakers.
I give. I'm bludgeoned into submission. There are a huge portion of you all who have logic resembling Yao and Grady only beginning to get injured this season. And both for the first time. If that's the length of your memory and expectation, you have my best wishes for the coming struggles.
You win. I'm pummeled into defeat. There is a huge portion of you all who clearly did not read when I wrote "what little chance" of Yao holding up. It was a small chance because I am clearly factoring in his injury history given it is not his first injury. However, even though it was a small chance it was still a chance worth taking given the alternative of not contending at all, no matter how perfectly you draft/trade to fit every position. Oh wait, I am repeating myself. If that's the length of your reading comprehension, then I need to stop responding as I am wasting my breath. Best wishes.
I was one of those who held hope for Yao's return, foolishly, as it turns out. What we should have done at least a couple of years ago, however, and I don't think it falls under "Well, if we knew what was going to happen in the future, of course we should have!" is get a young, long, athletic center to have both as Yao insurance, and to groom for the future. That's a major blunder on Morey's part, proving, if we had thought so previously, that he is not perfect. Yeah, the image of Morey, the Wise Buddha, needs a few dents and scratches.
