baki wrote:Of course, coming from an armchair expert 10th removed from reality![]()
You don't get it, without money Houston would have been relying on lottery picks for years, not an issue as many teams have gone on to become successful but Houston have struggled with the concept for years because they are just hopeless at building teams. They had a chance with Yao Ming but surrounded him with peanuts. They had Lowry and Dragic but traded them offThey had Batum in our grasp but traded him to Portland
They gave up 4 good players for Charles Barkley
They had Fisher on the team but he wanted a buyout because he wanted to win a championship (went on the OKC and a finals run).
They had Moses Malone winning MVPs and putting up insane numbers 24 points and 17 rebounds a game only to trade him to the 76ers where he led them to an NBA championship in 83.![]()
And my favorite, wasting a 16th pick in the first round to select Royce White. Great insight there McHale![]()
Houston isn't exactly a hotbed for stars and coaches wanting to come here unless there is money, it doesn't matter where our corporate sponsorship is coming from whether they are African, Saudi Arabian or Chinese, it's the only way to attract high profile players to Houston.
I know that you're trying to come off as insightful in regards to the history of the Rockets franchise here, but you just...don't. This entire post comes across as someone who cherry-picked a few events they got off of Wikipedia and tried to use them to make a point.
If you had only focused on the Morey era then there may be something, but you went back to Moses Malone; therefore we are looking at a historical look at the team.
Here are some things that you claim:
You don't get it, without money Houston would have been relying on lottery picks for years, not an issue as many teams have gone on to become successful but Houston have struggled with the concept for years because they are just hopeless at building teams.
OK, first off you bring up Moses Malone, but then you conveniently gloss over the Rockets team of the 80s. That was a team that was built brilliantly through the draft, but due to off-court issues (Cocaine....lots and lots of cocaine) they were doomed to "what if?" territory.
I know that you think that it is weird that I'm bringing up a team with guys like Wiggins, Lloyd, McCray, Lucas, Sampson and Akeem Abdul Olajuwon in a topic about being "successful," but you inferred that Houston could not "build teams." They did build one here, but tragically it never came to be.
Fortunately they had better luck the next time that they built a team! Akeem added an "H" and along with the likes of Otis Thorpe, Vernon Maxwell, Kenny (not the Jet at that time) Smith, Robert Horry (drafted), Sam Cassell (drafted) and Mario Elie. They went on to win an NBA championship. The next year they added another with the return of a hometown hero.
Yeah, they had to move an all-star and future hall of famer in Moses Malone way back in the early 80s, but they had some pretty good return after moving that guy.
(by the way, Moses was one of the guys who recruited Dwight to Houston, so he's still a team player)
Let's move on to the next great Rockets Big Man - Yao Ming. They, according to you, surrounded him with "peanuts." Well...despite how Tracy McGrady's career ended here in Houston I doubt that anyone would describe him as "peanuts." I don't know if you were following the Rockets when McGrady was here, but he was legitimately considered to be one of the best players in the game. Yeah, they could have filled out the roster better around them (more on that in a bit), but if you're going to bring up Yao then you cannot ignore the best player he ever called a teammate.
They had Lowry and Dragic but traded them offThey had Batum in our grasp but traded him to Portland
Lowry - traded for a draft pick that was instrumental in acquiring James Harden
Dragic - I'll concede this one...I'm still pissed about not giving the Dragon the 4th year. Terrible move.
Batum - Bad trade in retrospect, but at the time it helped lead to getting a vet who could help Yao
They gave up 4 good players for Charles Barkley
I agree with this one. It was a desperation move that tried to capitalize on the end of Hakeem's window. It didn't pan out.
They were still a very competitive team, regardless.
They had Fisher on the team but he wanted a buyout because he wanted to win a championship (went on the OKC and a finals run).
...
yeah...now I know that you are not a Rockets fan and don't know much about this franchise. I don't even have to explain this one.
Rockets fans know what I'm talking about, right?
And my favorite, wasting a 16th pick in the first round to select Royce White. Great insight there McHale
Really?
That's your "favorite?"
Why?
Houston took a risk on a player in the middle of the first round of a sub-par draft?
Are we ignoring that Houston had three picks in that draft all within that range? One pick (Lamb) helped land Harden. Another pick (Jones) is a contributing member of the team. White...yeah, he flamed out in spectacular fashion, but he has not hurt Houston in the long term and is already history. It is extraordinarily disingenuous to suggest that Houston is a failure because they whiffed on one out of three middle of the First Round picks in one year.
You could have gone with the contracts of Kelvin Cato, Matt Maloney, Mo Taylor or the three-for-one trade for Eddie Grffin (RIP), but instead you go with the White pick...