Why oh why am I putting this in a thread, but wake up people. I posted this in another thread but we need to get with the idea of rebuilding. Don't use the terms tank or blow up the team. That is not what rebuilding should be. It is not a matter of blowing up the team right now it is about a new strategy for our future which should be to rebuild a championship team without the Yao/TMac core. The only bizarre yet plausible reason to do otherwise would be if both Yao and TMac are able to come back healthy and effective this season for a playoff run. First of all rebuilding takes a very good strategy and also extremely wise execution. Three things are needed: 1. High Lottery Picks that are used on very good players or by chance getting a star player outside the lottery. 2. Winning every trade. If you trade you must get the better, for instance you must get a draft pick that will return a star player or you get a young player who becomes a star player. 3. Free agent steals. It takes a steal like the Lakers made with Memphis or the Celtics made with Minn. to rebuild a championship team through free agency. Just look at all the free agent signings in the last 5 years and ask yourself which ones that involved star players resulted in a championship. The reason we have to rebuild has become obvious: 1. If Yao returns again he is a greater risk for future injury than ever before and it is unknown at what level of performance he will return to and it will be towards the middle to end of next season and he is a year older. The best case scenario is that we are very unlikely to have enough healthy Yao to win the championship with Yao in his prime. 2. TMac may return but it is a definate risk to assume he will be dominant. As a role player and given Yao's condition it is almost impossible to assume that the Rockets would win the championship next season. To have a strategy based upon that kind of assumption is ridiculous. Tmac may play at some point next season but he won't carry the team and we don't need to try to resign him. At this point I would like for Yao to end his career as a Rocket which means whatever the future holds we hang on to him. But rebuild we must. We cannot stand pat. We need to look for any advantage we can find to start rebuilding especially by trades. Decide who you want to keep- I would say Scola and Brooks. And don't trade anyone else unless you win the trade. I would go for draft picks and moveable players.
I see the rockets placing a winning product on the floor no matter what. I also see possibility of them keeping Tracy with nothing to lose in seeing how his injury plays out. It really makes no sense now in trading Tracy unless they can get some talented youth for him.
well said, rhester. i believe that we should do the following in order to get the rebuilding process started: 1.let Tmac come off the books - i've been pushing for a trade for 2 years, but now it makes more sense to have cap flexibility than taking on large contracts. 2. S&T Ron - not needed on a rebuilding team, and probably doesn't want to be on one. its important not to lose assets without any return. get whatever young player or picks you can for him. 3. trade Scola - he's a free agent next summer and will command a decent pay check, that a rebuilding team probably wont be interested in matching considering he's on the wrong side of 30. trading him now gives the rockets more leverage for a greater return. again, the return should be young players and picks. 4. never trade shane! - i would keep him as long as he wants to be here, hopefully until retirement. then make him an assistant coach. i always thought that he would be a great coach, and his retirement from playing might be around the same time as adelman's from coaching. if shane gets one year as an assistant under adelman before he retires he would be in line to take over, like avery with the mavs, but better.
Short of getting an extended Bosh or Amare which have been mentioned, I'd keep Grady at this point. I don't want the Rockets to take on bad contracts that won't give them the flexibility they need next year just to try and make the playoffs this year, but with no real chance of winning a title. Sign Gortat if possbile and let these guys do their thing.
Sounds good to me, I just hope Morey isn't pressured by Les to make a quick fix. We need to win every deal, what I mean by that is we can't afford mistakes with draft picks, trades or free agents.
