Comments on: Speechless.

By: thirdcoastborn

thirdcoastborn — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:07:28 +0000

Morey is really good. That first proposed deal with the Knicks did not make any sense, but this deal was great. I rather Scola got traded, Landry played well this year but with Yao back next year his touches would drop. Even if we just resign Lowry and Scola and dont get any free agents this summer our roster with Yao is loaded.

By: rahat_huq

rahat_huq — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:40:22 +0000

teddy - the chronicle's jonathon feigen says they may try to renegotiate with hayes

aps213 - its definitely been shocking, no doubt. landry was a tough emotional loss, but there's literally NOTHING bad about this trade. (even jeffries expires next year and has defensive value.) that doesn't happen in the NBA.

david - i think they will look to trade shane, not because they want to, but because he has value in that he is an expiring contract with game. the team is definitely in perfect position for a sign and trade with its boatload of assets. two things to keep in mind: if a team deals with us for their free agent, they know that those Knicks picks gain value simply by virtue of their own guy not going to NY. secondly, FA's cannot extract the full value allowable to them if signing outright with another team, such as NY.

david_etheredge: not sure about center, but i definitely think he can contribute here.

By: thirdcoastborn

thirdcoastborn — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:07:28 +0000

By: rahat_huq

rahat_huq — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:40:22 +0000

By: Trade deadline wrap up; Tiger and PR | Outside the Clubhouse

Trade deadline wrap up; Tiger and PR | Outside the Clubhouse — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:07:53 +0000

[...] an extra first-round pick, lottery protected, in three years … In the big trade of the day, Rockets GM Daryl Morey went analytical on the league’s ass … And Ronnie Brewer is headed to Memphis for a protected first-round [...]

By: steve___1

steve___1 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:23:52 +0000

I know didley about the NBA's salary cap madness, but from what I gather from ESPN there are about 8 teams with 20-35 million in cap space. Not all are contenders or places some stars may want to live and then there is the caveat the player's current team has a huge advantage in offering a contract to stay competeing teams can't match. (is this where sign and trade comes in?)

My point is LeBron and Wade among others are no sure thing to land there's going to be massive competition. The Rockets today eliminated some of that from the equation by being pro active. Personally I expected Morey for that reason to make a deal and not let Mcgrady walk on an expiring contract.

By: david_etheredge

david_etheredge — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:38:55 +0000

Good points all.

So now that the initial shock has passed, how much better will the Rox be THIS year with Martin and friends added to the mix? I don't know about anyone else, but I'd like to see a rematch with the Lakers…

By: Darwin Cruz

Darwin Cruz — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:38:23 +0000

Digesting the amazing trade that @dmorey made 4 #Rockets today. Bye T-Mac, Hello Kevin Martin. Landry will be missed. http://bit.ly/c6El2g

By: Darwin Cruz

Darwin Cruz — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:38:00 +0000

Digesting the amazing trade that @dmorey made 4 #Rockets today. Bye T-Mac, Hello Kevin Martin. Landry will be missed. http://bit.ly/c6El2g

By: david_etheredge

david_etheredge — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:25:33 +0000

I'm looking at Jared Jeffries stats and various people's analysis on him and wondering if he's going to be the starting center for the Rox at some point. Sure he's not a “real” center, but who is on this team? Given the fact that offensive rebounding is the only outstanding part of his game statistically, I kind of like the idea of Brooks, Martin and Ariza / Battier / Budinger stroking threes off of a post up game with Scola and having Jeffries cleaning up the glass from the weak side. Then Jeffries can focus on kicking the ball back outside (instead of his weak inside game) for another trey attempt.

Are the Rox about to become the top three point shooting team in the league?

By: physicsgeekandrocketsfan

physicsgeekandrocketsfan — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:28:14 +0000

aps123, i couldn't agree more. Unless your landry's mother and your upset at him being in another state there is no reason not to love what happened today.

By: aps213

aps213 — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:14:35 +0000

I have been scavenging the sports websites all day and I am simply baffled at the reaction of many Rockets fans I see out there. There are two camps. Those that get it and those that do not. Amazingly, those that do not seem to outnumber those that do. Judging from the comments, the people who are waxing negative about this trade are completely ignorant of the facts or have the facts all wrong. Surprisingly, many of them dont even seem to know who Kevin Martin is. Many still think the Rockets should have simply waited and "signed Chris Bosh this summer". Others just say this is a stupid trade in a barrage of misspelled words and disjointed thoughts.

These reactions make me angry just like my kids do on Christmas when, after opening presents for two hours, they look dejected when told there are no more. Wake up Rockets fans. This was a masterful trade that rendered us 200% of value for what we gave up and, frankly, it put us on the right path again. In 12 hours, the Rockets went from being fodder for the West's 8-10 spot for years to come to having a pretty damn bright future.

I know I do not need to relate this thought on this message board as the readers of Rahats column tend to see things with the lights turned on. I just want it off my chest and I knew this would be a place where nearly everyone gets it and I wouldnt have to listen to a bunch of innane bashing comments in response.

I wish Carl the best of luck.

By: David

David — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:47:25 +0000

Rahat,

What do you see the Rockets doing with Ariza or Battier in the offseason? Do you think they would keep both, or look to trade one or the other?

Also, if Lebron and Wade decide to re-up with their current teams in the offseason, especially if they do it early, Morey suddenly has two VERY valuable additional trade pieces with those picks. Do you think that scenario would make a sign-and-trade more likely?

By: mikol13

mikol13 — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:04:21 +0000

I'm glad I didn't know Morey as a kid, I'm sure he would have talked me into trading my bicycle for a piece of gum. Imo Morey's status as a genius is somewhat of an understatement right now. I don't know how he did it, smoke, mirrors or jedi mind tricks. I am more than thrilled with this deal. Yes losing Mandry stings, I was glad to have him, so thank you Carl for giving it everything you had. Thank you DM, glad you are a Rocket. Hey Les how about a raise for DM?

By: teddy

teddy — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:53:03 +0000

Losing Landry hurts, but like steve said you've got to give to get. I see Hill getting minutes as Scola's backup this season, but with Yao's return next season I would imagine that Chuckwagon and Andersen would get the majority of the backup frontcourt minutes. If Hayes doesnt return then Hill would retain his spot as backup PF. As for Jefferies, his only spot will be next to Brian Cook on the bench unless someone gets hurt.
As for Kevin Martin, he is now the starting SG of this team. The problem is that you have to have either Ariza or Battier come off the bench. Either of them would suffice to protect Martin defensively, which is something that no one has talked about strangely enough. Oh yeah, and we get 1.5 draft picks too. In Morey we trust.

By: rahat_huq

rahat_huq — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:50:59 +0000

steve – i agree, it hurts to see carl go.

suhas – they won't be able to resign both scola and lowry without exceeding the tax. so the question is, is les alexander willing to pay it? for a haul like this, it is worth it. but we will see.

By: Reports: Rockets trade McGrady to Kings (AP) | Sports Headlines Today

Reports: Rockets trade McGrady to Kings (AP) | Sports Headlines Today — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:48:58 +0000

[...] Speechless. | Red94 | essays and musings on the nba & houston rockets [...]

By: physicsgeekandrocketsfan

physicsgeekandrocketsfan — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:23:31 +0000

purvisshot, i think the knicks are gonna try to do like the celtics, lure a star in by going for two at the same time, if they tried to get lebron it wont work but if they told lebron “we'll have bosh if you come” then they get both. this worked amazingly well for the celtics so i think we'll see this signing strategy again

By: purvisshort

purvisshort — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:14:13 +0000

I keep reminding myself that Morey has been putting this team together using only half of the available salary cap. It's like he's playing hold 'em with only one down card, and yet he keeps winning. Moving McGrady was his first time to break into that other half.

And I would love to have been in the room to watch Donnie keep saying, your asking too much. Morey just went and started the trade without the Knicks, and then came back and said, how about now?

And one question: Do you read the Martin acquisition as giving any indication on the likelihood of Yao's return next season?

What's amazing is that if the Knicks fail to lure Lebron, they have nothing, and for years. Talk about negotiating with no leverage.

By: Suhas

Suhas — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:27:19 +0000

Rahat, for cap idiots like myself, can you comment on how this deal impacts our ability to resign Lowry, Scola, and anyone else who may be a restricted or unrestricted free agent after the current season?

By: rahat_huq

rahat_huq — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:20:07 +0000

if either of those events occur, the picks are deferred to the next year and likely with no protection. so if they get the #1 pick in 2011, it most likely defers to 2013 etc

By: Mike B

Mike B — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:15:16 +0000

It's just not even fair anymore. How does Morey do this? It's one thing to find an unknown like Kyle Lowry, but to trade for a top 10 scorer, a lottery pick, and two future first rounders for ONE good player and an expiring contract? You couldn't even pull that off in a video game.

By: The_Yoyo

The_Yoyo — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:03:11 +0000

the Rockets are definitely in tax hell next season but considering the picks, hill and martin I think Les will go over the tax for the first time in a while to keep this team intact. What I DONT see happening though this year is Les buying picks like the past few years will probably save that money to help pay for the tax.

By: The_Yoyo

The_Yoyo — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:03:00 +0000

By: bob schmidt

bob schmidt — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:02:32 +0000

I wouldn't want to play poker with Morey, he does know how to play the hand that he's dealt. Suddenly, the Rockets won't be undersized, and our core players are still here excepting for Landry. Either Landry or Scola was going to leave soon (I think), so the price paid for all of these changes is minimal. You can't get something for nothing, but we've done the next best thing.