Does anyone here think we can add the talent needed right now to be legitimate contendars this year with what we currently have? TMAC and Ming are young and have how much playoff experience? Do you really think that adding vets and role players like Battier will put us over the top? Not to beat a dead horse but IMO we would of been better off keeping Swift and Gay, and letting this team get valuable playoff experience this year while targeting next years far supperior free agent class. Imagine if Rudy Gay had shown any of the potential that most experts think he has or if Swift actually showed improvement with more time. Imagine having those assets for a sign and trade for say Paul Peirce. Now you have the playoff experience and the players to add around to make a run while your core players are still in their prime. Dont have a list handy but look at next years free agency and think what could have been. Its sad!
So you are just repeating what other people said in this forum: it is so wrong to give up Gay, right?
Time will tell. I have no problem giving Stro away because you are what you are after 6 NBA seasons. Losing Rudy Gay bothers me a lot. I think he could have helped us win now.
"Imagine" is the operative word. I for one don't want to have to imagine about what Gay or Swift will do. With Battier and hopefully soon with Mike James, you don't have to imagine what they can do because they've already done it. And yes, I do think adding good vets can push us to the top quickly for 2 reasons: (1) Miami won the title this year with precisely that strategy, and (2) the Rox were close to being contenders with the 04-05 squad and would have been contenders this year if they didn't lose more player-games than every team in the NBA. How does that fact escape so many ppl on this board? Losing your two stars for 65 player-games is devastating for a team whose success is predicated on those two players. The big IF is health. If we're healthy, we will certainly be contenders - not for the playoffs but for the title.
Yes and No. What I'm trying to get across is IMO we (management) are jumping the gun. We shouldn't be in the win now mode. We have 2 of the best players in the NBA and both are young and have hardly any playoff experience. We should be looking to the future not destroying it.
JVG and Les are the ones to blame- Les puts up with JVG and JVE wont coach or play Rookies, unless he is forced to do so!! JVG has no experience of developing a team and only wants to play vets with experience. Coaching Rookies to be great players, should be the number one delight of a good coach.
Well Tracy will be turning 28.. he's not exactly "young" anymore when he's entering his 10th season. Once most players hit 30 they start to detiorate quickly. His back has also been a reoccuring problem throughout his career, it might be okay now, but who knows what could happen. The Rockets' best chance of winning it all is within a window 2-3 years. Past three years, Tracy will be 31+ and Yao almost 30. So I can understand the Rocket's "Win now" mentality, if we don't get it done within a few years, the chance will slip by us.
It is a good strategy and I believe we can make it to the championship in two seasons but not this one. The whole thing hinges on this season though. If Tmac and Yao are healthy all season and we show the league that we are really contenders for a title by making a deep playoff run this season we will become a desireable team to aging stars. This is the key, we need to pick up a veteran star that wants a title but to do it we MUST compete well in the playoffs this season.
I think the win now choice is good becasue ie we had all young talent, fans would be complaining, saying the Rockets aren't showing a desire to win. Free agents want to come here becasue we dont want to renbuild or groom a team. We want success and we want it fast. We have two playerswho are good and we need to utilize them while they are still young as much as possible. Not having the win now attitude will set us back for years.
It's not worth "imagining" what could've been. It's over (though not officially). What good does it do to think of what it could've been. Let's just wait until next season starts and see how Memphis does with Swift and Gay and then we can become depressed over what could've been. As of now, we really don't know if this deal was good or bad, on paper it's suspect and it was a shock to most of us. The shock should be settled and we all should be thinking about what we have to work with and how we are going to make the team better. We as fans seem to love the unknown or "potential", Rockets management is probably sick and tired of relying on it year and after year, millions after millions. I think it's a good idea to go forward with established players that we know more or less what he will produce. Swift and Shane's productions are basically equal but what seperates the two are the intangables (Shane gives us more) and the potential to become a major factor on the team (Swift had more potential). The safe bet would be to go with what we know will atleast be as good as what we've had (10pts 5rbs) and hopefully an upgrade. We should all know that draft picks, especially Rockets picks, are more likely to bust than become what we expect. Here's to hoping Gay becomes the next Reece Gaines and Swift never improves and fouls his way out of getting starters minutes.
What we did to Swift -- regardless of fan opinions of him -- will give pause to other free agents who look at a move to Houston. Once upon a time Houston had real appeal, but now we have replaced that with real suspicion. Thanks again, Houston management.
IMO, I think the Rockets are doing the right thing..... I wouldn't want to add a Kevin Garnette, or an Allan Iverson to our team right now. We've got our two superstars, which is about all you can really handle on a five man team. Rudy Gay would most likely not be a Ron Artest, or Bruce Bowen, which is what we need. A tough versatile defender who can hit open shots. I agree we should be looking to the future, but to me, that means developing Luther Head, and Novak..... strong players to come off the bench, who may be starters in the next few years..... who know their role.
Didn't Marcus Camby start off with JVG and the Knicks?? Playing as a rookie, and getting them into the playoffs??
ANY team with a healthy T-Mac and a healthy Yao is automatically a title contender. Our chances depend on staying relatively injury-free and on what other pieces can be assembled around those two. I think our starting five should be just fine, especially if we can get MJ. The biggest problem I foresee is depth -- even more so if Deke doesn't bounce back to have a productive year.
I disagree because I don't think CD is going to fill in the necessary players that will make them championship contenders. He always does a half as$ job.
Considering how the Rox brass have treated stro, I won't be optimistic about the team's luck in the free agent market in the near future. )
Win now attitude disregards the future and is why the knicks jazz sixers are where they are ...I forgot one other team THE ROCKETS.
guy,we should face the reality! to me,it's a pity that GAY have no chance to show his capacity for ROCKETS. but,Swift is not the worthy player...let's look forward to Battier 's help!
