I still don't get what you're saying other than "the Rockets are failures and should look at all options". Whoop-dee-doo, what concrete advice can you offer?
McGrady's a no-brainer. If there's a deal out there that can give us something valuable in return for him, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat. If not, we'll just keep him and let his contract run out in a year. We would then have at least $10 mil to spend on the 2010 market. Battier like I said is not going to fetch someone of equal value. I'm sure you've read the Michael Lewis article on him recently in the NYT, and it's what us Rockets fans have known for years now. Battier's value to the Rockets is far beyond that on the stat sheet. He defends the other team's best wing scorer every night, makes his corner threes when called upon, and generally is always in the right spot at the right time. Another team will not see that and try to lowball us. I'm not saying Battier should be untouchable, if we can re-do the Rudy Gay trade I probably would, but unless the player in return is evidently better fitted for this team, trading Battier makes no sense. As for Yao, I've said above why he shouldn't be dealt. Don't feel like repeating myself.
I’m glad we found some common ground on McGrady. While fans may overrate statistics, GMs generally have a more complete understanding of a player. Despite only averaging about 10 points and 5 rebounds, your very Houston Rockets deemed Battier valuable enough to trade a pretty talented prospect in Rudy Gay for him. So I wouldn’t quite rule out not getting something close to equal value for him. As for Yao, there has to be a point where the Rockets have to address the fact that Yao Ming, a perfect fit, hasn’t been able to advance past the first round with "drastically" different teams. Yao has been in the league for seven years, is close to 30, and still hasn’t advanced past the first round. There has to be a point when you wonder how truly dominant he is. I think the Rockets have surrounded him with plenty of talent. They brought in a two-time scoring leader and perennial all-star in T-Mac, a lock-down defender in Battier, and a plethora of solid role players over the years. Is Yao Ming possibly responsible for the lack of winning? I also question Yao Ming myself. He’s injury prone and hasn’t always put up dominant numbers. For someone who is always the tallest player on the court, he only has two double-digit rebound years. His scoring numbers are solid, but nothing extraordinary, and he is turnover prone. With that said, Yao Ming is a good player, but considering what I said above and the fact he hasn’t won in the postseason, I don’t know why he is still "untouchable". I don’t know who on the market will be available at the time, but I don’t see the harm in throwing some feelers around.
Yao is 28. He gives you another guy who scores, grabs boards, and blocks shots. He can't dominate a game, but he is the Rockets best player. The only players in the NBA that can dominate for 4 quarters are Kobe and Wade.
If he is injury-prone, non-dominant, and already hasn't been winning after seven seasons, what makes him untouchable? He's about to be 29 soon and probably won't get any better. He's played with drastically different teams and the results have all been the same: first round exits or missing the playoffs entirely. I really don't see what warrants the untouchable label.
The right offer makes Yao expendable. The reason he is untouchable is because his market value highly outweighs his trade value. The only players Morey would trade him for are Wade, LeBron, Paul and Kobe. If Brandon Roy and Aldridge are on the the table Morey would pull the trigger, but not for Roy and Outlaw (even though Roy is about as good as Yao) simply because the NBA is a business.
Yup, the Rockets now represent the majority of Les Alexander's wealth; if the Rockets are to be less profitable, Les might be forced to sell. He alone might make Yao untouchable.
I didn’t consider the monetary consequences of trading Yao, but speaking purely basketball, Yao Ming shouldn’t be untouchable. It ultimately comes down to two values: winning and money. If money trumps winning, then the Rockets should keep Yao. On another note, it’s pretty sad the amount of bandwagon Rocket fans who would stop supporting the franchise if they traded Yao.
If the bandwagoners jump off the wagon when Yao goes, then I don't blame them. They (Chinese fans) got into the NBA only because of Yao. And for Battier, the Rockets are probably the only team that recognizes his true value to a team. Another team looks on the surface and sees a spot-up shooter who plays good defense. Shane's definitely more than just a Bruce Bowen.
Lots of fans get into basketball because of a specific player. I'm sure some of the Rockets fans on this board got into the NBA because of Olajuwon, but they are true fans to stick with the team after he left and the Rockets were struggling to make the playoffs. I, personally, am not fond of the act of jumping from team to team based on their favorite player. If they (Chinese fans) only support the Rockets for Yao, then its inevitable that they will stop supporting the Rockets eventually. Either way the Rockets organization stands to lose money.
I never thought of it that way. Many T-Mac fans still support the Rockets. When Yao retires, it won't be the same. Sucks for Les, but I can't feel sorry for him because he landed a cash cow.
Either start losing fans now by trading Yao or in 8 years when he retires. For someone who's lost a lot of his worth in the current economic climate, I think Les will opt for the latter.
Well, we are winning games. And your whole point becomes moot if we make a playoff run in any of Yao's next 8 seasons. Also, it's not just the fans Yao will take. It's the national TV coverage in China, huge crowds on the road, and all the Chinese season-ticket holders and affluent members of the Asian community in Houston.
if yao retires with houston, the rockets will still be china's team at least until another chinese star emerges.
TIED for #1 again in the SW but now behind Denver OKC has the Spurs number and plays them again next week Bruce Bowen hasn't been in the rotation, not even to guard a pure scorer like KD To jump into the current convo I think that Les thinks Yao is untouchable, and thats all that matters. playing Utah in the first round is inevitable. Yao has to get us past them, and now its on him because he is the one that Okur takes advantage of by shooting outside. Deron owns our guards
okur defends yao but yao defends boozer. it's up to scola/landry/hayes to stay with okur on the perimeter.
I know they switch but I think thats the problem Because Yao can't gaurd Okur, he's on Booz Boozer is too quick for Yao
