NBA TOP10 OWNERS No. 1: Leslie Alexander Houston Rockets All figures are from 2003 to present Valuation Growth: 68.7% (4th) Revenue Growth: 90.2% (1st) Total Operating Profits: $159.2 million (4th) On-Court Performance Rank: 4th (0.578 winning pct., four playoff appearances) Market Size: 4.7 million (11th) Median Income: $44,761 (19th) Alexander bought the club for $85 million in 1993, a year before the first of its back-to-back NBA titles. The big jump in value came between 2003 ($278 million) and 2005 ($422 million), right after the Rockets drafted international icon Yao Ming following his release from the Chinese Basketball Association. source:http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/03/nb...vr_1203nbaowners_slide_2.html?thisspeed=25000 I am really confused why don't Les use the money Yao brought to group more talented players to chase a championship. And I do think Yao will walk in 2010 if he can't see any possiblity of a ring
Thus the reason that Yao will NEVER be traded, and just because your value as a company goes up does not mean you have that money, it just means you get it if you sell. DD
You are right, someone here called him a cheap owner, maybe right in certain degree. On the another hand, Les did brought a talented player like TMac, SF3, B. Wells, etc, but we did not get very good results.
Confused because WHAT?? Les has done nothing BUT bring in talented players around Yao. How many years have you said "bah, it's obvious this year's team has NO chance to win...." I guarantee you it's not many. Back when Francis and Mobley were here, that was considered one of the better back-courts in the league, and how would you classify trading all that for T-Mac in his prime....and even now, signing off on a known risk like Ron Artest is definitely a move to bring a championship here. I have NO beefs with the way Les Alexander has run this team, and I think we're all fortunate that we have an owner who's so dedicated to winning. Sure, he might make some cost-cutting moves, but they never impede with our win-now mentality. Just because we haven't won with Yao doesn't mean Les isn't trying.
Yao should opt out ... maybe of the NBA in 2010. If there is a poster child for unfair calls, he's it. After all he has brought to the NBA, I can't believe how badly he is being treated by the officials. It is pathetic. I'm not asking for favoritism, I'm just asking for fairness.
EXACTLY why the Hell won't Les Cheap skate Alexander get the big talents to surround Yao. He's pulling his weight in Gold. And Les, don't you think if Yao made it very far into the playoffs you would be getting huge benefits from the international markets? Sign Artest in the off season( 5yr/60 or 65 mil) and get D'wade (For Max Dollars) in 2010 and this team will win it all. Get a Rebounding/Shot Blocking PF' who could also play center and this team would be unstoppable. Yes you might eat some luxury tax in 2010 but dammit you would have an exciting team that would pay off the lux tax in itself.
amen. big deal that he wont go over the LT. i wouldn't either. why lose out on nba shared revenue to keep luther head? he said for the right player he would go over the LT, but they'd have to be a superstar.
Actually if recall correctly, Les has been buying draft picks in the last couple of years because he isn't cheap. And Morey has made the comment that he's willing to do it again. Not only is Yao a cash cow, he's a hardworking cash cow
Les is a very good owner. Morey is a damn good manager/GM. McClane should pull out a pen and pad to take some notes.
Yao need get better treatment from the rockets simply due to the cash cow, not mention that he is a nice guy, working hard, a top NBA player who need to be doubled. Yao could go to New York to play with James, it is a possible.
Les is cheap and willing to spend to bring talents too. here is small evidence from last year. They negociated hard with Landry and deke. Offer landry 1.5m and spread rumor that landry is injuried, That's cheap. Now Rockets assembly a WC level team, bring in RonRon, showing their committment to win. He also brought Barkeley/pippen/drycsler before. Les likes star powers which will max his profits. Most NBA owners specially those financial investors are cheap. They don't create, they just take advantage of others. That's how they got their money. I always remember two Jerrys forced M. jordon retired and broke the Championship team for Financial reason and another Jerry traded Shaq because he didn't want to pay shaq fair market price and spread rumors that Kobe forced shaq to leave. I never believe such BS, I know who's the boss and who made the decision. I never like phil Jackson, he's pretenders. He betrayed both Mike and Shaq. that's why I love JVG. JVG is a loyal friend of his players.
I think Les is trying to bring talents here year-after-year. If not for all the injuries that TMac and Yao suffered, this team will probably more successful. I think Les is a wise spender.
I hate to admit this, but Yao would definitely get more respect from the league and referees if he joins the Lakers..
Not hating, just asking. How much of that is because the rox went from the summit to compaq center? Also, where does La,Boston, and the knicks rank in the revenue dept. I bring that up because when the Cowboys open their new stadium, they will leap frog the redskins. When the Giants open their new stadium, they will probably jump the Boys. A lot of it is the revenue from the stadium, but I could be wrong.
Spend more money for winning just like the Mavs or Lakers's owner. I am not saying Les is cheap, but he need do more. This is the first important thing.
right on!! he puts the right people in place and let them run things without interfering.. that's probably the thing cuban needs to do more of
But really though, who could you possible see them trading him for? I've thought about this myself and can't imagine receiving anything worth what Yao is... And i'm talking team-wise. We would need another center of course. We can't trade him for D-Wade or another guard... That would be silly.
