I'm referencing the person everyone who apparently has a freakin crystal ball knows the rockets would have drafted. I'm just debunking the stupid argument from both sides.
There's no crystal ball, CD said they were likely going to draft Thabo Sefolosha (to whom there is no doubt that Gay out performed this season) But, your argument still doesn't make any sense. To evaluate whether a trade was good you have to compare it versus what would've happened "but for" the trade...and you're still not doing that.
we don't know what would have happened. all I know is that the rockets gave up a young star for a veteran because the veteran was supposed to help us win now. they had rudy gay, I don't know who they would have picked, I know who they traded. the "win now" didn't happen. the rookie looks promising and actually improved towards the end of the season. that's how I'm evaluating the trade.
I know that's how you're evaluating the trade, but it's a nonsensical approach to evaluating the trade.
saying what the rockets would have done is a nosensical approach. believing everything a gm says is gullible
and calling people names is childish. Why would CD lie about who they would've picked after the fact? If CD and the Rockets were going to pick Gay with their pick why would they go out of their way to say they weren't going to pick him? Seeing as I'm very gullible I'm sure any explanation you come up with will convince me.
I'm not going to try to convince you because you've already hung your argument on that "assumption". they probably went out of their way to say it to buffer any criticism knowing they risked trading an extremely valuable rookie. he probably said it because the rockets orginazition was roundly booed when it happened. i don't know why he said it but I don't have to believe him.
My stance on this has been unwavering. I never liked the "Win Now" mentality, beacuse Yao and T-Mac easily have another 3, 4, maybe 5 years together before age takes its toll. Do I like this trade if T-Mac is 32 and Yao is 31? Maybe. At that point, their window is clearly closing, and they need help ASAP. And for those who complain about T-Mac's back, and how that could give out at any time...if that's the case, it's a whole different scenario in either option, but at least with Gay, you have the chance that he can come in and serve as T-Mac's understudy. Here's how I see it: Battier might have given us an extra 5 games. Gay might have given us an extra 5 years.
I like Battier, but I would not have made the trade. The team desperately needs young athletic talent. Desperately. They should have gotten more anyway, like a second round pick. But there are very few trades, drafts, or contracts that the Rockets have made in the last ten years that I agree with. IMO they have been poorly managed during this period.
It's taking its toll already - Yao had 3 major injuries (toe, foot, knee) in an 18 month span and is stuck with a bum shoulder. T-mac is already diminished.
Either way the backcourt still isn't good enough. Unless Battier moves to the 4 this season the Rockets need to look at trading him for another starter + lottery pick. Tracy needs to move back to the 3.
While clearly they've both been dinged up, do you really think that they only have another 1, 2 years? If so, damn, that's one pessimistic outlook. Obviously T-Mac isn't the dunking tightrope artist he used to be, but he still has the juice to remain at an elite level for another 3, 4 years. And Yao? By even the most bearish estimates, he has another 3 years... age shouldn't affect him as much, since his game isn't based on speed. If Yao and T-Mac really only have another 1 or 2 years together, our franchise is in more trouble than Shane Battier can fix.
Finley (used to, not anymore), Oberto, Horry, Vaughn, Barry, Elson, Bowen. Bonner and Udrih don't play. So basically that's everyone outside of Duncan, Parker, and Manu.
I like that Battier is on the team, it takes alot of defensive pressure off of T-Mac. But the rockets gave up to much and did not get enough in return. A future pick would have satisfied me.
It was a bad trade. We trade someone who looked like they would develop into a star for someone who will never be a star. It may be worth it to settle when it comes to your job or your gf....but in basketball where winning rings really is the only thing you get remembered for - it's a bad idea.
I don't think it was a good trade, even though I really like Battier. I just look at the lineup we would have had if we didn't do the trade vs the current one: C Yao PF Hayes/Stro SF Gay SG T-Mac PG Alston seems as good or better than: C Yao PF Hayes SF Battier SG T-Mac PG Alston Having Stro+Gay > Battier slightly in my opinion. Of course hindsight is 20/20 as we weren't sure how solid Gay would be and he turned out quite solid. Remember the trade was essentially a 2 for 1, and even if it were Gay for Battier straight up would have been somewhat questionable. So overall a pretty bad trade in retrospect.
