Dwight Howard seemingly wants to throw in the towel on every single team not named the Brooklyn Nets, so I don't see how that route is viable either.
Thanks Z. I feel strongly about these guys (even before SL) and I'm not sold on either of the centers we're courting, but I understand and appreciate everyone's opinion.
Howard will then leave us and we have to start all over instead of giving someone like Lamb a chance. I'd rather start over now instead of delaying it another year.
And when do you think Dwight will be ready to play his first game this year?? Did to see any of the DM's ( cell phone messages )posted on the BBS just the other day? How he was saying that he can't even run yet and his rehab is going slow. And did you see the TMZ video where he says his surgeon with 25 plus years off cutting people up had never seem a disc as bad as his? He may not even play this season. zzpot
yea me too .. been watching the Rockets since the 70's and we have never had this much high upside young talent at once.The effect the lock out had on the draft was tremendous for us.Each of our 3 picks could have been top 10 in an average year,Lamb maybe top 5.We also could add 2 more high lottery picks next year.Combine those guys with Dmo,Parsons and Patterson and that's more talent than most teams add in 6-7-8 years
I say we tank/develop our rookies, hopefully we lose enough games to draft a franchise player and by this time next year our future will be looking very promising. On the other hand if we take Dwight and he leaves we will be the laughing stock of the NBA, personally I'd rather not go this route.
Drexler and Malone are outliers. They were also drafted 29 and 27 years ago respectively. It seems to me that the depth of incoming talent has dropped since the 80s. Since Clyde was drafted, the best players to come out of the #14 pick have been Tim Hardaway, Dan Majerle, and Peja Stojakovic. Not bad players but not franchise cornerstones either (Hardaway was a good player and an All Star, but was 2nd fiddle to Chris Mullen in Golden State and Alonzo Mourning in Miami). The point is that while these players may or may not be good, I wouldn't count on any of them becoming a star. Lamb might have the potential to become a low level all star, but not the kind of player that will make you a top seed or win you championships. With Dwight, you know you're getting a top NBA superstar. By shunning that in favor of sticking with rookies, you hoping they'll reach an equivalent level to a known commodity that you're already rejecting. That has virtually no chance of actually happening. I'll shed no tears for trading any of our rookies. Would it be nice to be able to make the trade and keep them? Of course, but they're hardly a deal breaker for me. Have you ever heard of the saying "the team that gets the best player wins the trade"? That's kind of what this is. If we get Dwight, we win. We've spent the last few seasons trying to get a star player and have been unable to do so. If we are capable of finally landing that star player, it'd be insane to reject it over rookies who will never reach the level of the player they're being traded for. Pretty much anybody on our roster is replaceable. Besides, I highly doubt we'd traded all 3 rookies. I think that's something Orlando has already wanted and Morey has rejected. We'll keep 1 or 2. Hopefully Lamb would be the one we'd keep but he probably won't be. Worst case scenario, we trade for Dwight, he bolts, we suck and actually end up drafting in a position where a rookie actually has a chance to become that franchise player we've been looking for, just like many here want to happen anyway. That's not a given, but it's a hell of a lot easier at the top of the draft rather than the middle or the bottom.
I'll say it again... He is still rehabbing from surgery and may not play this year plus there is no promise that he will resign. Now what? zzpot.
here is the TMZ video I'm talking about... I will find the cell phone posts latter. http://www.prosportsblogging.com/2012/05/04/dwight-howard-speaks-to-tmz-about-rehab-and-magic/ zzpot.
Agree, its nice to see young guys hustling... Parsons and Zoran were all over the floor that first SL game. Lamb reminds me of Rolando Blackman (Mavs guard in 1980s)...silky smooth. Zoran has a little Newlin in him.
Getting Dwight or not is fine with me as eitehr way there will be things to look forward to this season. But odds are highly against any of our rookies being equal to Dwight, and the odds of us drafting anyone as good as Dwight are also low even if we get a #1 overall pick in the next few years. For all the teams who have won championships with stars they drafted, there are even more stars who left the team they were drafted by to win it all with some one else. Morey has a great understanding of the cap and how it is going to be hamstringing teams in the future, and exactly who could pay to lure Dwight away. Dallas is really the only serious threat, and Dirk will be 35 by then, and Deron Williams turned them down for the Nets... The rookies are a nice consolation prize if we can't swing a Dwight deal, and certainly I wouldn't be looking to give up all of them. I trust Morey to play hard ball and not give up everything as so many people are worried about, and I also trust that if we do swing a deal for Howard that other moves will follow to try to add a second superstar asap. Dwight wants to team with another star, but there is no reason not to have that star come here, rather than have him go to the star, especially if it will cost Dwight $25 million. And stars will want to come to Houston if we have Dwight just like they did when we had Hakeem and Yao. If you can get a superstar then you do it, and I trust Morey knows that he has to keep enough assets to convince Dwight to stick around. It's his job on the line, but very worst case scenario is Dwight walks and we are forced to tank whether Les wants to or not, which is still better for the future than being stuck as a 9th seed team. As nice as the rookies have looked at times in summer league, it's just summer league and over half the players on the court won't be in the NBA or will be deep on the bench by the time the regular season starts. As for Dwight's injury, obviously there would be a physical before he is traded. Either way has it's risks though and I understand both sides of the arguement. I can't say absolutely one way or the other what I favor without knowing the exact details of who we would be trading away.
Why trade for a superstar who's going to bolt after the season? I guess it's just me but I want to keep our picks and the rookies we drafted instead of Howard.
If keep these guys, go through a few rough seasons in terms of wins and losses, and pull in some more talent in the draft we could be a contender in 2 - 4 years.
The game is now being replayed on the link below http://www.thefirstrow.eu/watch/128385/1/watch-nba-tv.html zzpot
