Would you feel better if the Rockets listened to us?

I was hoping someone would get it.

 

For those who say that we DO have some good insights, don't forget that a lot of the supposed INsights are actually HINDsights.

For those who actually have said something right without the benefit of hindsight, they may just be lucky.

That said, the Rockets do need lots of luck in their decision making.

 

You forgot the promise to Shandon that eventually resulted in the sign-n-trade for Glen Rice. Utah got <i>paid</i> to make Rice disappear.

Terence Morris

 

Yes, they should listen to us.

Especially to all my reasons why it would be a good, infact GREAT decision to bring in T-mac.

 

Salary cap, schmalary cap. The root of this game still lies on talent, judges of this talent, and development of this talent. I believe that the basketball guys still belong in the front office, with some financial experts just chipping in every so often.

The only things I can criticize the organization for are impulse buys and the payday promise. If Cato became what we all expected after his dazzling preseason performance(I'll admit it...I thought we had our center for years to come...turns out he was actually our lazy - ass backup center turned PF), no one would question this move at all. 15 and 10(Just some speculation) with solid "D" will get a center a near max contract. 42 over 7? Bargain! It was an impulse that just didn't work out.

The payday promise is the big one. Mooch, Shandon, Mo, Maloney. All of these guys played at least one season for well under market value. Mooch was considered the best backup PG in the league. He played starters' minutes, and some around here questioned how much better Francis really was than the Mooch. Shandon was the swingman to have the summer we signed him. We fought SA hard, and we won. He signed for much less than he could have gotten in Utah and, I believe, for less than he could have gotten in SA(Yes, Houston does rock). Mo was kind of an afterthought that summer. Most around here wanted to pick him up, because he wanted to sign for the minimum. For $1 mil, he was a pretty good pickup. He could have gotten more(If I remember correctly, Seattle was offering somewhere in the network of 5-7 million per), but he didn't. Maloney was signed out of the CBA, so his low salary wasn't much of a surprise. Still, he started on a team with three hall-of-famers for about $500K.

In exchange for these seasons under market value, they were probably promised (For the most part, overly) large contracts. All the Rockets did was hold true to their promises. Sure, we could have backed out(I guarantee you that at least a few teams have backed out of these "wink, wink" deals), but I'm glad they didn't. The goal of a professional sports team should be to win with class, and I don't mean the Spers' type of class. I think the Rockets have a good 'rep' around the league, and I like it like that.

We've busted some draft picks, but Drew and Turkcan are the only ones I really regret. Rashard should have stayed in Houston. Collier wasn't too bad. There was very little to that draft(not top-heavy, not deep, just a bad, bad draft), and we did pick up an extra pick. I don't blame anyone for the EG trade. I thought it was brilliant at the time. One star is easily worth a few mid first-rounders.

Back to topic...No, the Rockets organization should not listen to any one of us. Not a soul.

 

strange that this board seems to attract people who only ever notice things that are done poorly, mistakes and errors...... if all i took in was the GARM i would think the rockets went 0-82 for the season and were averaging 80 turnovers a game, Zero points and giving up 200 pts a game......

for example the millions who have complained about players not passing to Yao in the post..... have you actually ever counted the number of times a pass is made in a game and how many passes to Yao..... do that first before posting such reactice criticism

observation maybe King DD, but posting there am talkback radio reaction while still under the influence of white line fever and never acknowledging things that are done well or improvements smells heavily of people who have never ever played any semi competitive sport ever.......

 

If only they had pulled the trigger on my Moochie-for-Garnett trade, they would be champions by now.

 

This is something I agree with Smeg.

No doubt people tend to focus on the negative, but a lot of us also post about positive things.

This team had a mediocre season, and the front office needs to do something to get a team that works together.

Look at the Spurs (UGH), they have molded their team together nicely and the Rockets need to do the same.

DD

 

I agree with DaDakota and Mango in this thread.

 

Absolutely.

Being a successful business person in any endeavor requires dedication, intelligence (ie "logic") and luck. Luck is something which can be prepared for but can not be counted upon. So assuming you are reasonably dedicated to your goal, that leaves you with logic.

Human beings have a wide range of "logic" ability. Some of the better posters here have as much logic as NBA executive managers and coaches. They may not have the dedication, experience or luck...but you can see they have the same logical foundation.


And for those posters believing that the fans' opinions don't count....how much value does Steve Francis's "All Star" tag have to franchises like WAS or ATL or even PHI? You don't have to be an experienced GM to figure that out...an entry level accountant probably has a good idea.

 

LMFAO! I watched that SP episode last night. Funny as hell.

 

Not with people like me on this site.

 

In regards to the talent issue, if the salary situation would have been managed better, the Rockets would have a 1st round pick (potential shot for talent) in the upcoming draft. That lack of a 1st round pick will impede the ability to increase the talent level on the team, so salary management is a factor that shouldn't be discounted.

The same things that I am mentioning.

Cato was a failed attempt...... but Mo's lack of rebounding skills (desire?) was already evident when he was a LA Clipper, so that part is inexcusable. If Mo was getting 4 million a year (rather than the nearly 8 million a year) to be the offensive spark off of the bench, then it would be more tolerable.

I can appreciate that the Rockets kept their promises to Shandon, Mo etc........but it seems that the promises were made without looking at the long term ramifications of living up to those promises.

Promise to the very <i>special</i> players, but Mo and Shandon would never be called very <i>special</i> players. The catch about promising to the <i>special</i> players is that they are usually able to strike solid deals in their initial Free Agency and have no need to take a lowball salary coupled with a promise (wink) of gold in the next contract.

Basically, I would rather they (managment) not even get involved in the <i>promise</i> situations. The Suns used to do some promise things and overall gained very little from them. By not getting wrapped up in promise situations, the Rockets could keep their class ('rep') and preserve some flexibility in the salary situation.


Tuition in the school of hard knocks is expensive.

 

"If Rockets executives actually made offseason decisions based on advice from an amateur fan site, I would be so horrified by their lack of independent professional expertise and confidence that I would want them fired," he responded in a pre-recorded tone.

"But I would feel better if the Mavericks, Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, Kings and Grizzlies listened to us," he added with a smirk.

"Do everything to let the T-Wolves win," he shouted.



Go E.T.

 

The Rice trade was just a bad trade. I can't believe that we traded a first rounder just to drop a guy who would be 9 million off the books at the end of the season. This year's draft doesn't seem very promising, but I would have liked to have seen what JVG could have done with a pick. I agree...bad move by the Rockets.

Well, he was only 23 or 24 at the time, so I guess they believed that he might develop some skills/desire. Mo had all the skills to be a very good PF. At 6'9 260, he has the perfect size for a PF(I'd even say he's bigger than most PF's). He's quick, and has an excellent shooting touch. If someone would knock some toughness into him, I think we would have the ideal PF for Yao. At the time, I thought it was just going to be a one-season stint so he could bring his value up and sign for big bucks elsewhere. He didn't really bring his value up, but he did sign for big bucks.

This is a good point...Most players looking for these promise deals(Joe Smith, Mo Taylor, Erick Dampier - types) won't ever be stars.

I can see the reasoning behind these promise deals(Especially when you are looking to make one last run), but it has hurt the franchise. I just don't think it has crippled the franchise as others do. We've stockpiled some bad contracts, but most of them will be off the books by the time Yao is entering his prime. We still have plenty of talent...I'm excited about Badiane, and doesn't get much mention at all. Boki showed flashes during the Lakers series.

They were bad moves, no doubt, but I think that the franchise has learned from them, as we haven't seen them recently.

 

OK......it seems like we are done on this topic.