This! What else is there to look forward to? This year's draft is weak and I'm sure dm aquired ht with the idea that, had ht come out in this years draft, he would have been the first pick overall. Its easy to doubt the ht aquisition at this point, but much harder to get over the negavity left behind by way of the resentment most fans have towards the lack of a center since yaos injury. It is hard to aquire competent length in this league -- dm is just doing his diligence.
The 2013 pick we're receiving from Memphis will be lottery protected and likely in the low 20's, and for that reason I think Morey values Thabeet as a prospect.
People are underestimating this guy's talent and CD's ability to evaluate/ develop bigmen. We also have Dream here who will continue to work with him....not only on the court but off it. Memphis didn't have the resources, the time, or the inclination to bring him along like we can. The move to Houston will do Thabeet wonders. The Rockets pick up #23, a nice chip in Morey's more than capable hands. Packaging it in a deal to move up/or for another player is one possibility. Then again DM has shown a knack for plucking value down there. And reiterating what has already been mentioned, he's an expiring contract before the deadline.....providing even more flexibility to rebuild or even make a strong move at the deadline shortening our timeframe with a star. Hey, for the most part this isn't about next year. We ARE rebuilding and I just don't see the downside risk. In fact, when looking to the future it's another good play by a stellar GM. I actually wanted to see us get Thabeet, but figured it would cost us too much. So, seeing as we picked him and #23 up for Battier and his expiring ...color me content with the deal. Combine the talent that he displayed in the Big East, the lack of development by the Grizz who are about keeping their core, and the insulated nature of this deal, I don't see how so many have a problem with it. Answering the OP .....This deal cuts both ways.....development of Thabeet with plenty of room for acquiring new talent.....I'll say it again, FLEXIBILITY.
The 23rd came with Dragic. All Memphis gave was a very conditioned lottery protected first round pick that thankfully and with good fortune we'll get to cash next year. At the moment the news broke I thought to myself that Memphis didn't have much to offer but then I was Mayo for who?? and wondered why didn't we get in there at least to flip him somewhere else. With all the build up expectations we had at the deadline I definitely was not satisfied, the good thing is that HT is at worst an expiring contract in the second round of the big free-agency bash.
First of all, the Rockets do NOT get Memphis's pick next year. The Grizzlies are conveying their 2011 first rounder to Minnesota (via Utah), meaning that they CANNOT trade their 2012 first rounder. The pick will be conveyed in 2013 AT THE EARLIEST. (The "fortunate" part is that, because Memphis made the playoffs this season, their conveyance to Minnesota wasn't put off another year, which would have bumped the pick owed to the Rockets to 2014 or later.) Second, it is LOTTERY-PROTECTED, meaning that the Grizzlies actually have to make the playoffs in a year OTHER THAN NEXT SEASON in order for the Rockets to ever receive that first round pick. If the Grizzlies make the playoffs next year (or not) and then never again for the next several years, the Rockets will end up with no more than a 2017 second rounder and cash (a good chunk of cash, but cash nonetheless). THIS is why it is obvious that the Rockets traded FOR Thabeet and were not "forced" to take him. Even though the trade saved the Rockets a little money at the time, they could have BOUGHT a mid-first round pick in 2013 (or 2012, for that matter) for less than the total net cost of taking on Thabeet's salary. There is literally no rational reason to think the Rockets were forced to take on Thabeet. Like others have said, it's simply a calculated risk by Morey. It may not pay off, but honestly, what the hell does this team have to lose?
Agree. I like the fact that Morey finally rolled the dice on a 7'3 athletic natural shotblocker, it was about time. I'm not going to fade what Jerry West and Carrol Dawson have said about Thabeet, they know more about basketball than I do.
C-Daw does have a good track record as a big man coach, but isn't he the GM who handed K-Cat hsi big contract? Also, C-Daw is a company man and would not say negative things about H-Tha since he is a Rocket.
J-Weesy and D-Money have also said good things about him. Not that I think he is that great. In fact from the little I've seen him he was anything but. Obviously that is the reason we were able to get him while giving up so little in the first place. With the team's glaring need in mind, he's worth the bet, as long as the coaching staff is on board. Not necessarily a great bet if the coach's first thoughts were "What am I supposed to do with this guy???"
My bad. I had the other thread about our backcourt on my mind. Thanks gah and Bima for the correction. Yeah, I would have liked to picked up Mayo too(whether we kept or moved him), but I'm OK with this as I was a lot higher on Thabeet than most.
I wish people would just understand that Thabeet is still 2-3 years away from being a solid player. He has such an excellent basketball body, and I am glad that he is with our development team.
It frustrates me to see all the HT hate. I mean, he hasn't even been in the league a full 2 seasons yet! (Drafted in 2009 NBA Draft) He won't be dominant center, all he has to do is block/alter some shots and average 9 or 10 rebounds! If he does that, we will be much better defensively with having an athletic 7'3 center in the paint until we get a franchise like center (crossing fingers for DH but I know it will NEVER happen )
For some bogus reason I thought it was going to be next year's if everything went well. Liked the way you took that to answer the OP's question. although I don't know who would think we took Thabeet as the price we had to pay for that kind of pick. EDIT: Shame on you iconoclastic.
Exactly. I just cannot imagine throwing in the towel on a guy that is not even in his 3rd year. esp a Big Man. Rocket River
I don't want to jinx Thabeet here, but let's give the young big man a break. For YEARS, everyone was complaining that Morey never took a gamble on a raw athletic big man. Well this guy is BIG, he is certainly raw, and if you actually pay attention this young man can jump out of the gym. Stop criticizing him for his lack of timing, that's something you get as you become more experienced in the game. The reality of the situation is, Hasheem Thabeet is a former #2 draft pick that everyone is now declaring a bust, but if he were a SINGLE bit more promising, even demonstrating a sliver more of ability, the Rockets would not have been able to trade for him. It was a perfect storm that sank his value just low enough for us to be able to a gamble on him. And he's only 23. I know comparing him to anyone is stupid after he pulled down a 4.9 PER this year. Is he going to be Hakeem? He's got about a 0% chance of that. But let's look at another comparison that people have brought up before. Dikembe Mutombo was 25 his rookie year in the NBA. 25. Granted he put up a 16.5 PER his first year. But is it completely out of the question that Thabeet puts up a 16.5 PER two years from now? I don't think so. Landry did it his rookie year when he was 24. Patterson's already done it at age 22. 16.5 is nothing to brag about, but in Thabeet's case if we can turn him into a serviceable big man in the next two years then we've got an NBA quality big that we could keep with us for over a decade. When were Hakeem's MVP-quality years? At the age of 30-33. Dikembe? The same age, 30-33. To those that say "just watch the film, Thabeet is the worst NBA player in history," I would respond that you need to go back and watch his UConn tape. The dude was and never will be an offensive force, but he was a blocking MACHINE. He had a real knack for it, and seemed to enjoy the defensive side of basketball. In the NBA he's sort of not been able to keep up with the speed of things, but that's something he can adjust to in time. I still have hopes, albeit not expectations, that Thabeet can evolve into the kind of defensive center Dikembe was for us in his 40's and the kind we've been sorely looking for the past two years. It's cliche now, but remember, they can't teach height. You want to get a guy with his potential in a trade, he had better have some warts or else you're selling the farm to get him.
Manute Bol / Shawn Bradley. This is what we should be WISHING he turns into! I could live with that, but we should also try and get his salary down, maybe via a rigged poker game.
You guys are SO BLIND. We did not trade for this guy because we think he has potential. We signed him because Shane was an expiring that we did not want to resign, and the market was soft for expirings, so we couldnt get anything of value in return. So what did Morey do? He flipped him for an expiring in the following season, so hopefully next year he can flip this contract for something of value. I guarantee you if his contract were 2 yrs or longer, he would not have been traded for. This guy is not a project. He will not get minutes. He is simply a deferred asset that Morey hopes he can cash out on in the future.
