As we Rockets fans sit here today wondering what direction the team will take, I started to think and look at the big picture. For as long as the West has been so tough, the best teams will soon start to fade. The Western Conference very quickly will start weakening and the time is now to start taking over the conference. The question becomes do you build on the current roster or hold on to only a few pieces and start over? Here is a look at the current standings WESTERN CONFERENCE San Antonio L.A. Lakers Dallas Oklahoma City New Orleans Denver Utah Portland Memphis Phoenix Houston Golden State L.A. Clippers Sacramento Minnesota The top teams in the standings(along with Phoenix) have a core of players that are in or entering the tail end of their prime. (SA,LAL,DAL,PHX) The OKC Thunder is the only young up and coming team that on paper, should be considered contenders for years to come. Hornets, Nuggets, and Jazz all have star players that are frustrated and want out or are rumored to want out! Portland two years ago were like OKC today but Oden and Roy are todays Yao and T-Mac! The remaining teams under Houston(along with Memphis) all have great young talent but these teams have no history(or recent history anyway) of ever keeping their talent and contending for a championship. More than likely those great players will soon be on other teams. Players change teams all the time and pretenders can become contenders when you least expect it but soon the West will have an easier road to the Finals than the East. This is why I feel Daryl Morey is holding out hope of acquiring a star player soon. Even though this is not another Melo thread, I can understand why the Rockets would be willing to trade for him without an extension and sell him on the idea that the West will soon be up for the taking! Thoughts?
Positive thread. I like it. NBA players love Houston, A great NBA city that will hopefully attract a young star.
The OP makes a good point. The top teams in the West are aging and the time to take advantage of this is now or in the very near future. San Antonio - Duncan is still a good player but no where near as dominant as he was earlier in his career. Although Pop is keeping the wear and tear of this season to a minimum , I could easily see Duncan breaking down in the next season or two. LA Lakers - Kobe has logged a lot of minutes and sustained many injuries over the years. He cant keep it up forever. We've likely seen the last of Kobe at his best and he will continue to decline. He might stick around for few more years but I think the window closes on the Lakers after this season without significant changes. Bynum is playing on retread tires , how long before they blow .... again ? Dallas - Dirk another guy with a lot of miles on him. He's not a guy who I can see carrying a team to a championship to begin with. He can score but he doesnt do anything else particularly well. As he goes , so go the Mavs. OKC - If they can manage to keep their core together and add a bit of help they could be the team to beat for the next few years. New Orleans - CP3 is gone soon .... once he's gone that franchise looks awful. David West is a good complimentary player but without Paul he's going to find the going much tougher. Denver - When does DraMelo pack his bags for NY ? Utah - I cant see them going thru a prolonged downturn with Sloan at the helm. But they do have problems - losing Boozer hurt more than they expected. Will Williams bolt in FA ? Portland - the OP nailed it with the comparison to McGrady and Yao tho they still have some good pieces. LaMarcus Aldridge has been very good this season. He's locked up until 2014/15. Memphis - Could be the dark horse of this bunch. They have a lot of young talent but .... can they keep them ? Pheonix - Nash is already old and a defensive liability. His contract expires after next season , I doubt he plays out that deal for the Suns. Vince Carter has this season and a team option for next on his current deal - will they even exercise that option for $18M ? Josh Childress , Hakim Warrick , Jared Dudley and Marcin Gortat dont strike fear into anyone .... The rest of the West is just that , a bunch of also rans right now. The West should be wide open in the coming seasons with so many aging and ailing rosters. Now how to take advantage of it ?
you really think this was worth making a thread for? im pretty sure everyone in the world knows what daryl morey is trying to do. if not he wouldnt be working for les. why would he not go for a superstar? you think he just wants to let aaron, hill, budinger to become our franchise players? no way. this is a silly thread. and there have been countless threads over these two question, why couldnt you just post in those?
Fresh way of thinking. Morey needs a Western Conf. futures depth chart in his office, if he already doesn't.
You maybe right but my point was looking past the current season and only the Rockets and look at the West as a whole. The dominant teams are losing their luster and the East is becoming the new West. Whether we add to what we have or we reload, we need to take advantage now. It goes back to being "predatory". Even if we reload, we maybe back up sooner rather than later because the West as a whole will start to drop off.
We hear that a lot. How come no one wants to PLAY for Houston? I would love to see a list of all the players who make their home here in houston but play for other teams.
Look at the rebuilding clubs, right now they have better building blocks then the rockets. The top clubs might fade, but there are clubs already gearing up replace them.
True but when have those teams ever had a history of keeping their talent in place and truly contend for a title. Only the Warriors have won a title and that was like over 30 years ago! When KG was with the T-wolves it took them forever to build around him and the best they ever did was a conference final. Clippers and Grizzles have had playoff appearances but have been mostly forgettable. The Kings may have a decent shot of putting something together but maybe in another city! Of all the current bad teams, only Houston has been honest in their efforts of building a winner and trying to compete for a title!
Uh trying to predict the downfall of other teams won't do you any good. Everyone knows the Lakers are going to reload as they usually do. Once Kobe leaves they will definitely have another star in waiting. Why? Because they are the Lakers they have history and are one of the top two greatest franchises in the history of the game Good franchies aren't down long and are always stocking up on talent. Dallas/LA/SA are going to remain relevant for a long time.
You're making my point for me! The Rockets are a great team with great history! All the great teams come to the point where they need to reload. It just so happens that the time for the Rockets has arrived. When it's time for those other great teams to reload, the Rockets would have already done so and would be in position to contend. As far as the lesser teams with the great young talent, they have no reputation of ever trying to build a winner
I've actuall thought about this which is why I wouldnt mind (and I bet I would enojy the games more) if we went full Player Progression Pode (PPM is better then tanking) Trade everyone with non rookie contracts for picks and more youngs. Find your potential all stars this way!!
Opportunity only knocks so often; if the Rockets are to take advantage of this open door they need to acquire some young talent soon, probably through the draft. How often is a superstar acquired from another team, mostly they are drafted and developed. We can hope that one or more of our young players is going to blossom into something special, but right now who is it going to be? Last year I would have said AB was the prime candidate. This year, not so much. At one time C-Bud looked like a sure thing, guess not. Hill? Looks like he is on the "bust" fast track. Patterson? Promising, maybe. TWill? Who?
