Sorry if I can't get excited about a guy we'll have probably at best a 25% chance of landing, but more likely no better than 10%. I hate gambling, therefore I hate tanking.
The Rockets post-trade deadline have an age per minute of 25.367, tying them with Philly for 8th youngest team. Only OKC is outperforming us if you assume the Rockets would be better than Philly and NYK if we played in the east.
the current Lakers and Celtics are two good examples of circumventing the mediocrity treadmill, then you have the Spurs who are the anomoly of all sports (it helps having hit the jackpot the one season they were completely out of the race). while the Thunder are definitely the envy of just about every organization, they have the good fortune of having locked in a young franchise player for the long haul. Whereas you have franchises like Cleveland, Denver and soon to be Orlando who had it made and now are on the outside looking in because they weren't able to lock in their franchise player... You can see the ground work in place for what this organization has positioned itself for. But even if we tank there is no guarantee: A) We land a franchise player B) That franchise player commits to the organization for the long haul. so pick your poison.
Now that much is true. However, the problem for the Mavericks is that Mark Cuban is their biggest asset (owner willing to do whatever it takes to win) AND their biggest obstacle (an owner who thinks he's an NBA GM). Things are much different in Houston where the entire organization has yet to get a clue about how to put together a contending team.
No player or coach ever WANTS to tank, just like no fan ever WANTS the team to tank. Everyone hates losing unless they are a masochist. The difference however, is that players, coaches, and fans may ACCEPT tanking if it is brought up as a legitimate strategy that offers a chance to win more than one or two playoff series.
Let's put it this way. If short term doesn't pan out (injuries, cap space, trading, signing) then you have to plan for long term (rebuilding, drafting, player development) and only fools do not consider all their options. There are 3 ways the Rockets can get back on track: - Some of our players end the season with breakouts to inflate their trade value and we flip them for one or two All-Stars. He would probably have to come from the East as any West team is highly unlikely to trade us any star. - We sign one during 2011 or 2012 which is unlikely again unless we clear some substantial cap space and pickup an All-Star willing to join a team with NO stars. - We draft one by either trading up in the draft or tanking next year.
I just love how folks here like to take these little potshots at Dallas in an effort to somehow infer that the Rockets are somehow doing things the right way. Let's see: as of today, that "middling" team has a record of 45-17. They are 5.5 games behind the Spurs and sit a #2 in the SouthWest division. Meanwhile, down in Rocketland, the hometown team that is not saddled with overpaid veterans (and is also not good enough to win a ring) currently sits at 32-32, 13 games behind the Mavericks and resides in last place in the SouthWest division. Oh yeah, it really sucks to be Dallas right now...
But they did put contending teams together for a few years in a row. Go check the preseason rankings when Yao and Tracy were both going into the season healthy...then reality happened. It's like saying the Mavs don't know how to put a contending team together because Dirk went down to injury.
When your goal is to win a title and you've failed for 13+ years, you have failed. Are we reduced to arguing level of failure now? Hey let's have a discussion about who we think is worse, TWolves or Kings? Here let's do a breakdown. The Kings are 16-45 sitting in last place of the...oh wait I have better things to do than argue who's failed more.
The Mavs are far from a middling team, yes they did sign Haywood to that horrible deal but have tons of salary coming off in the next few years. Even if they resign Chandler, unless the new CBA makes the SC go down which is highly unlikely, Dallas has set themselves up for a run at Paul, Howard or Williams in the Summer of 2012. Cuban won't sit back and let Dirk just fade away without giving him one last shot at a title. Rockets aren't in a bad spot but aren't great either. They REALLY need to move up in this upcoming draft and get a kid with potential. He needs to be their Derrick Favors to either develop or make a center piece in a deal for a star.
I agree with you...but I'm just gonna enjoy the rest of the season for what it is. In the offseason, we'll see what they do. But I am enjoying watching this team hustle to try to make the playoffs.
Well if you are talking about the Mavericks' failure, then this discussion is moot as the majority of the folks here don't give a rat's a** about anything Dallas. Now they (Mavs) should have won in 2006 but as I pointed out earlier, thanks to Mark Cuban they fielded a flawed, soft, defensively challenged jump shooting team that had no answer when the Heat started attacking the basket (something that happens a lot in the playoffs but Cuban didn't get that memo, Tee Hee!). As for the Rockets, I really don't know how to classify what I've seen from them over the past 15+ years. I have simply run out of adjectives to explain their inability to get a clue. They are NOT as wretched as the Kings, Twolves, Cavs, Bullets, Raptors and Nets but on the other hand, they have yet to demonstrate that they are able to take that perverbial next step up the laader.
Seriously? What moves have the Rockets done that have been so clueless, in your opinion...let's say within the past 5-7 years? That apparently have been so bad it has you at a loss for words.