Trading for a Superstar, a real strategy?

Well Rubio and Cousins are two potential 'superstars' Morey has coveted recently.

 

There are actually a number of goals that the Rockets are trying to meet.

Even if they don't have the star player, they want to given themselves a chance to win every year. That means no tanking.

The Rockets want to build up a flexible roster with attractive assets that allows them to be opportunistic if certain really good players become available. It happens, and to me that is a sound strategy.

The Rockets understand that one way to acquire elite talent is to draft very high. That is why in the last couple draft they have been highly involved in trying to trade up. This looks to be a big part of their draft strategy. They haven't gotten the deal they've wanted the last couple years, but they are still giving themselves that opportunity.

Getting a superstar talent through free agency is another option. This is a risky maneuver if you don't already have young, star talent on your team or a "cool" city that players want to play in. But the Rockets try to be active in the free agency market as well, in a less risky way, by trying to acquire via sign-and-trade. Again, it hasn't worked out, but they have at least given themselves that chance.

In evaluating the job the Rockets have done, we could assess the approach or we can just look at the results. Just based on the results, they have consistently come up short in their superstar pursuits. But they haven't hamstrung their team as a result. They can still be competitive on the court, and the can still continue to pursue these players. I think this is a good strategy.

 

As long as we're stacking good contracts of statistically efficient players, I'm happy!! Besides....the actual standings are overrated. I care more about point differential and spreadsheets.



Ok..kidding aside...if he's as smart as you all claim he is, I promise you he's looking for a superstar...because the bulk of NBA history tells us that's the only way you end up with a real championship contender. And I'm assuming that ULTIMATELY Morey will be judged on whether he makes the Rockets into one.


I really really really hope he didn't assemble these pieces together and think he had built the team he wanted to be remembered for. Pretty sure that he didn't. I think he put all these "high efficiency, good contract" players together because they're great for mix-and-match trades. For stacking up assets high enough to acquire an elite player.

 

AB + Shane + Jeffries + NY Pick for Gerald Wallace

 

my hope is that we're at the end of the Yao years, anyway, DD. i agree completely with you. no one wants to hitch their wagon to Tenderfoot.

 

They only way to get a superstar in this city is via draft. Even Yao wouldn't have come here if he could have chose.

 

Enes Kanter baaaaby!!! Bring him on. Move up and draft Kanter and sign Oden for cheap give you two quality bigs this off season.

 

The difference is, in swing for the fences and eating Elton Brand's contract in the process, the team's flexibility would be hampered for years. In the meantime, the potential reward(Turner) is STILL a gamble.

The alternative, in creating flexibility, while maintaining a competitive team, you still have options to 1. trade for immediate help 2. trade for future picks 3. stand still and compete.

One option is a complete gamble, while the other involves careful planning and contingencies. Which one is the "real" strategy? I'm guessing Morey wasn't brought in from MIT just for a throw of the dice.

 

Trading for the superstar probably is a long shot. Even this past summer, with all the hooplah over Chris Bosh, the Rockets maintained that getting him was a long shot. But they didn't want the opportunity to pass by without giving it their best shot.

 

Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Tracy McGrady and Scottie Pippen say, "hi."

It has zilch to do with this city...hell, a good number of players live here during the offseason anyway.

 

i have been wanting to make a thread about this for awhile now...but i'm too lazy. :grin:

morey has mentioned that most stars are acquired thru sign and trades, but this is a misleading claim. they aren't just traded to a team they don't want to play for and then sign with that team. they are signed and traded after the star has already decided where he is going to play and then a trade is worked out.

further, how bad of an acquisition would bosh have been for the max? any of you guys complaining about the contracts of lowry and miller would be going nuclear about bosh's 20 mil per and i would too. i didn't really start thinking about it until after some of the hype about us getting bosh calmed down. he is a nice player, but certainly not a superstar and he doesn't make his teammates significantly better. efficient player who gets to the line when he is the #1 option, but not a guy who will get tons of hard nosed rebounds, play amazing defense, or have crafty post passing. bottom line...it would have been a horrible signing especially since we have scola.

if we had signed bosh we would have solidified ourselves as a team that will never win anything imo. so i really don't know what morey's strategy is other than to keep us competitive. also, his drafting and ability to find off the radar nba talent has proven to be very strong, but his free agent acquisitions have been bad and the bosh one would have been a killer imo. further, he was also rumored to be heavily pursuing amare and that would have been pretty questionable as well. it was always clear that much of amare's numbers were dependent upon nash and now that becoming reality with his efficiency plummeting without nash.

we've stayed competitive, but how many teams have gone from competitive to elite? i'm not trying to rip morey down or anything...i just want to review everything that has happened under morey and how some of his major pursuits would have changed the team.

 

I wouldn't do this now but IF the squad is medicore by new years, i'd look to make a play for Ricky Rubio. He has his doubters but most scouts still consider him a potential star and he isn't playing in Minnesota so eventually they will be willing to trade him for something reasonable.

After that, like I said, do what you can to move up in the draft and get yourself the "other" star to build the team around with Rubio. It wouldn't be rebuilding but reloading, gives you a chance to stay competitive.

After reading Bima's update, this would also create an excellent cap situation to complement the squad with whatever else is needed.

 

They all have one thing in common...

 

Tracy McGrady didn't play with Dream.

I hear ya...they're more concerned about the players on the team...that's my point. It isn't the city that's the issue. It's the "where the hell is the other franchise player I'm gonna win rings with?" issue.

 

I think the draft is the best way to land that superstar. It's hard to picture one coming here in midseason through a trade.