If you look at the top teams in the west, all but the Lakers are getting better. What are we doing? The draft went well, but we have to expect that Ming will struggle in his 1st year as will Nachbar. We still have a glut at the 4, a lame 3, no backup to Cuttino, Steve's migraines haven't been fixed, etc. From all accounts we have shown Rashard no love (or atleast not anything near what Dallas did). We are sitting around while teams that are better than us get better. If we miss the playoffs this year we get no lotto pick and will probably be leapfroged by Memphis. LAL- kept their team and added Kareem Rush Sac- pursuing Keon Clark SA- only real addition is Ginobilli Dal- kept their team together looking to add Shard Minn- looking to trade Wally? LAC- Miller will make them real good Sea- losing Lewis hurts but Potapenko and Anderson help Port- good and adding SABONIS (?) What in the hell are we doing? We had a chance to make a lot of headway this summer and haven't done much to get better NEXT year. It would be nice to know that we are atleast looking at different players/trade possibilities.
I have no problem standing pat. We will be adding a healthy Glen Rice, a healthy Mo Taylor and a healthy Steve Francis. On top of that, we are adding quite possibly the biggest impact player in years in Ming (no pun intended). Nachbar is gravy. I for one am optimistic regardless of whether we make any other acquisitions.
Nuff said Rash. I could not believe what I was reading. As far as I am concerned, CD should be on vacation. Clutchcity.net should have an offseason too. People have nothing to say.
i would like to see us talking to reshard a little bit more, but if we don't end with reshard. it's okay, we still have a very good team.
One more acquisition would be nice. Preferably a sign & trade, or a trade to get rid of the logjam at PF. I know there is something out there, patience my amigos.
I don't get your logic. You say that "all but the Lakers are getting better", yet Sacramento, San Antonio, Dallas, Minnesota, and Portland haven't made any significant moves. What exactly were we supposed to do? Trade Taylor and Cato with five years left on their big contracts? Trade an aging Rice with two years left on his contract? The only real "tradeable" players we have are Cuttino and Thomas. Cuttino is untouchable at this point in time, and we won't get much for Thomas by himself. As for Rashard Lewis, that's his prerogative whether he wants to sign with us or not... We had four goals this offseason: 1) get a big man 2) get a small forward 3) get Steve locked up to an extension 1 and 2 are done, and 3 is about to be done in the next couple of weeks. Pretty much everyone on the board agrees that injuries were what held us back last season. Hopefully, we'll be healthy next year and make a playoff run... Frankly, we had no choice BUT to stand pat...
Ming is a better addition than anyone on this list. The Rocket off-season is better than anyone's on this list, by far. Why are you giving Dallas credit for merely TALKING to Ratard? Would you rather have Keon Clark or Yao Ming? Hmmmm. You have anointed more than half your list as having a better off-season than the Rockets based entirely on what COULD happen.
Offseasons are pretty boring when your team is standing pat. However, I hope -- for the good of the team -- that they concern themselves first with their long-term success and second with their success in the coming season. I think their approach has been with the long-term in mind.
Your positive outlook astounds me. I am in shock. I think we had some holes to fill since last season and have filled them very well without destroying team chemistry. Remember that we were a 45 win team WITHOUT: EG Ming Boki (healthy) Rice Add to that a healthy MoT & Francis a more mature Cat.... Well you see that we have done quite a bit to better the team.
Remember these names UT BALLER of the guys who wanted to settle with what we have and we will see when the year begins if they are not looking for a back up SG and maybe even back up if not starting SF.We can learn from the Yanks, you have to keep pushing the possibilities.The name of the game is the CHAMPIONSHIP and this team is shaping up but I for one do not want to see Rudy lose his job based on the performance of the young guys we have.This team looks good on paper but until you have the proven players to rely on you can wipe your ass with that paper.I'm willing to give these guys a chance but I don't think any GM in the NBA is willing to stand pat, not even phil jackson.
Seems like most teams are standing pat. LAL - Let's wait and see who else they sign Sac - Keon - they don't have him yet SA - Standing pat Dal - The Mavs need some thuggery. Rashard epitomizes their weaknesses as well as their strengths Minn - A team in turmoil - needs to make some type of move LAC - Only team in the West that has made a significant move (non-draft related) Sea - Sonics are set to rebuild soon Port - team turmoil no.2 I don't really know what you are referring to when it comes to every team but us making moves. With some small exceptions, the really good teams seem to be standing pat. It seems our whole offseason was geared around the draft and that went EXACTLY as their best case scenario was supposed to go. I don't think management wants to handcuff our cap flexibility by adding any redundancies to our lineup. I see us MAYBE using the exception or part of it for a backup 2. IMHO
Oh you mean, spend indiscriminately without the constraints of a salary cap. Ask the Blazers how that worked out, dave.
Okay here is what we have done this ofseason: drafted Ming-one day he might be worth the #1 pick, but right now the guy is an unknown. Add to that the fact that he will get no camp, has been playing all summer (possibly even before the summer?), and will be acclimating himself to a new team/culture. I dont really have an opinion on him yet but I dont see him being our savior THIS season (maybe he'll do what we were hoping Marc Jackson could last year). drafted Nachbar-he is the guy I am most excited about for this year (in terms of new acquisitions). If he returns from injury without a problem he'll help, but how much? There is no guarantee that he will be any better than the Wizard. healthy Mo and Glen-who knows with Rice and I think that Mo's place on this team is in question. Griff and Cato should see minutes at 4 (Cato w/Ming at the 5). I hate to say it, but KT is probably the better backup 4 and I dont know how long Mo can keep Griff on the bench. Stevie's headaches- Jesus Steve! Get your cranium checked out man! Without Steve this will be another lottery year (except we dont get the pick). All of this being said I think that we have taken a step forward, but I think that there are a couple teams ahead of us (ie better than us) that are getting better still. I am not expecting KG to walk through the door or for Shard to sign for the minimum here. What I do expect is for us to look for players who can help us out. What do you all think of Bonzi Wells for example? This team needs a BIG 2 guard to back up Mobes/run a bit at the 3. Maybe I am dead wrong, but I still see holes that we could probably fill w/out disrupting the team.
2002-03 Houston Rockets: Center: Ming Cato Griffin Collier P.Frwd: Griffin Taylor Thomas S.Frwd: Rice Nachbar Thomas Guard: Cuttino Francis Torres Guard: Francis Mooch Maddox In order to win you need a TEAM! Not a collection of superstars and ego's ala Portland or even Dallas to a lesser extent. I think the eventual team of Ming, Griffin, Nachbar, Cat and Franchise will rock in a few years, but they need time to gel and work together. It took the Lakers YEARS together to become as cohesive as they are now. You can't just throw talent together in Basketball and expect them to win. Baseball is an individual type sport in which interaction isn't as important as individual performance, as to why the Yankees can win and win. I think we have a top 3 point guard, a potential top 5 P.Forward and a Potential Top 3 Center, and a great mix of talent filling in the holes. Don't rush it and get greedy otherwise we will be first round fodder like Minnesota and Never accomplish anything. I would rather be in our position than that of almost any team. The Clippers look great, but Odom, Brand, Maggette, Miller and Olowokandi will not all be there and Sterling will NOT pay more than one max player, I think this is their year and its over. Memphis has a bright future and good management, but just doesn't have the talent of Houston, jerry west said it himself. Lighten up....our future looks grand!
I 100% agree with all of you all that say "our future is bright". But whoever is satisfied with waiting for the future should not be in sports. We struck gold 3 times in 4 years with Steve, Griff, and Ming (well atleast the #1 pick). There is no reason for us to not have very high expectations, but we are competeing against the best basketball teams in the world in the wetsern conference. Granted, if Ming comes in and is unstopable you can disregard all of this and I'll shut the hell up. That is probably not going to happen though so we have to look at how to get much better than what we were last year. LAL, Sac, LAC, Dal, SA, and Port are all locks to make the playoffs. That leaves 2 spots between us, Utah, Phoenix, and Minnesota. We are better than 3 of those teams on paper, but all of them have been to the playoffs since we made our last appearance and probably expect to return. I am not satisfied with an 8 seed, I mean that is improvement but we should all expect more.
The Rockets did great this summer. Better than anyone could have expected. Going into the draft, they were suppose to end up with the 5th pick but got #1. That in itself was more fortunate than many realize. They picked the best available player (rated #1 player) at the position of highest need (center). That couldn't have turned out any better. They pickup Nachbar at small forward with their 2nd pick, another great move. I realize that these are both rookies and probably will have a learning curve. But these are both rookies playing in professional leagues for years before they signed with the Rockets so they might do better than expected. Also, 2 players that were starters from last year are back. MoT & Rice. That gotta improve the team. As for picking up free agents. I think the Rockets are smart enough to know that if they pick up someone, they have to dump some salary. So that's why they are saying S&T in regards to Lewis. Besides, 9 mil is an expensive backup if Rice is still here and Rockets pick up Lewis. The logjam at the 3 spot would cause problems if Lewis would actually sign for the MCE with the Rockets. You can't dump Rice's salary and Nachbar needs some playing time. Do the Rockets just dump T-Mo? Besides, who seriously thinks that Lewis will just sign a MCE anywhere???? Everything was done to make Seattle show him the money. So no Lewis. Who else? Keon? He won't sign for MCE or he could have resigned with Torronto. Backup 2 Guard? Mobley plays like a iron man so unless you get someone that is willing to play very little minutes, he's not going to sign up to seat behind Mobley. It's best to see if Oscar or even Titto can do the job. Sometimes, sitting pat is the best thing to do. If in Blackjack, you are holding an Ace and 9, do you hit and hope for another Ace so you can get 21 instead of 20? No way. I think the Rockets are sitting pretty and unless they know an Ace is the next card, they won't do anything.
let's just say...we 'win' Labron James sweepstakes. Memphis, yes -- Rox shut out? Uh uh. The Good Guys still only have to deliver a pick w/in (what, 5?) places of ours...so, someone wants him badly enough to trade in a way that the Rox still get something good. Better yet, we make play-offs. Shard? Not so great, sorry. I'd like to have him, but wouldn't love to. I'd like a 4/5 banger, health for Stevie and the others, and then -- challenge the standings by the 2nd half of the season. It could happen. Besides, I wouldn't cry if Keon or even Marshall landed here... PS Moochie in a three way to land Odom is not far fetched, and sounds really good to me!
Landing #1 and #15 in a VERY deep draft, regaining two of your starters from year-long injuries and getting your star 100 percent healthy is more significant than anyone can imagine. Just getting a consistent line-up on the floor for consecutive games will do wonders. The only position I would like to see them address is the back up 2/3. I'd love a Mario Elie-type player who can be a defensive stopper off the bench. Other than that, they are pretty well set at every position.
Are you on drugs? If not let's just run down the list vs. adding Ming, Nachbar Ming, Nachbar > Rush > Clark > Ginobli > Lewis > "looking to trade wally" > Miller (from the rockets perspective) > potapenko anderson > sabonis I would say two new eventual starters is a pretty big overhaul. Not to mention that, as prospects, they are more valuable than any of the guys you listed with the possible exception of Miller, who is useless to houston anyway. I suppose they could have totally dismantled and traded ming and francis for miller and kwame brown or something asinine like that. Then they would really have a shot at lebron james.
