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[thejohnnygold]

A new front page article from Rahat Huq can be read HERE.

 

In brief, Rahat outlines his current perception of the franchise as a whole and why he has made peace with that.

 

Here is an exerpt:

 

 

"...I’ve been thinking a lot about the business side of things here.  We, I in particular, mocked Alexander for wanting an uptempo exciting brand of basketball.  But in the face of an almost inevitable Warriors title, that potential style of play is what will likely keep local fans intrigued and coming to the gates.  On the flip side though, such an approach only works because of the novelty.  Even if they lead the league in scoring in consecutive years, if the Rockets keep flaming out in the first round under D’Antoni, the fans will again lose all interest."

 

 

Here is a reply from one of our contributing writers, John Eby.  (from the Disqus section)

 

 

 

You're not wrong. The team's course is defensible on both a business level and a competitive level. 
On the business level, the raison d'etre for the league is to create an entertaining product that people want to see. If you put a team on the floor that can compete with anyone on any given night (i.e. a 50+ win team) and do it with some flair, then that's a good show/good business.
On a competitive level, it looks like Morey is actually just trying to take a different approach to building a "Big Three," or a "Death Lineup" as they call it in Golden State. Having a Big Three doesn't mean you bring in three All-Star free agents. It means having at least three guys who produce at an All-Star level in the team's system. Call them "situational All-Stars." Dennis Rodman on the Bulls, Tyson Chandler on the Mavericks, and even Draymond Green are examples on championship teams. Even though he doesn't have a ring, D'Antoni has a great track record of creating situational stars: Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, and Linsanity (the use of the nickname to refer to a specific period of said player's career is intentional) being at the top of the list. Morey is betting on D'Antoni's system turning either Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, or one of the young prospects into situational stars. I'm keeping an eye on Montrezl Harrell for Shawn Marion/Draymond Green potential (long shot), Sam Dekker looks like Chandler Parsons 2.0 (best case), and the Hack-a-Shaq rule change had to have boosted Clint Capela's value by at least 25 percent (knock wood). The upside of having D'Antoni is that there is a good chance that he will invigorate or reinvigorate the careers of at least a couple of those guys, and that could lead to a really great team. The downside is that his history indicates if the team doesn't do some serious winning pretty fast, the players will tune him out.
Based on the Anderson and Gordon signings, Morey is clearly betting hard on D'Antoni's system. I hope that bet works out, because it will be easier to get a new coach than move those contracts.

 

(Sorry for the poor formatting.  The text editor was uncooperative.)

[thejohnnygold]

This topic clearly has the Forum titillated.

 

Well, here is some more from Rahat on the subject (from the front page): LINK

[rockets best fan]

man it's slow around here...............while it angers me I agree with Rahut that the Rockets are in entertainment mode rather than actually chasing a championship. while some are satisfied with that to me it's worse than building from scratch and enduring the years necessary to build the proper foundation to win. it's a sell out attitude. while it may be a good business plan as a sports fan it's purgatory............not quite in hell, but never seeing heaven either. I remember all the complaining around here when we kept getting the 14th pick in the lottery every year and was seemingly stuck on the mediocre treadmill. now that we win enough to get into the playoffs everyone seems satisfied. as long as they get to the playoffs they can feed us any kind of propaganda and we suck it up like beetles on a pile of doo-doo. the Rockets have completely loss my confidence in them. they have made mistakes before, but the moves this off season..........I don't even have the proper words other than sell outs. making it to the playoffs and getting bounced every year hoping to get lucky and win but realistically knowing you have no real shot to win.......to me that's still riding the mediocre treadmill. the very moment you stop trying to win the top prize and #2 is acceptable it's time to get out of the game. time for Les to SELL the Rockets

[thejohnnygold]

At this point, I'm just curious about what's going on with D-Mo.

[rockets best fan]

At this point, I'm just curious about what's going on with D-Mo.

I must admit that situation has me baffled as well. it appears the Rockets may be trying to lowball him based on the fact they have the stronger position in negotiations.  while it may help get him under contract cheaply right now it may also hatch some negative feeling that can not be repaired. however I don't think the Rockets see the potential pitfalls or they simply don't care. playing hardball with everybody except Harden and expecting that to give potential FA a good feeling about coming here without being overpaid is a pipe dream. another hit to the reputation, but based on the way they have stunk it up this summer that stated reputation may already be presenting a negative image that will take some time to repair

[thejohnnygold]

I must admit that situation has me baffled as well. it appears the Rockets may be trying to lowball him based on the fact they have the stronger position in negotiations.  while it may help get him under contract cheaply right now it may also hatch some negative feeling that can not be repaired. however I don't think the Rockets see the potential pitfalls or they simply don't care. playing hardball with everybody except Harden and expecting that to give potential FA a good feeling about coming here without being overpaid is a pipe dream. another hit to the reputation, but based on the way they have stunk it up this summer that stated reputation may already be presenting a negative image that will take some time to repair

 

My concern is his back.  The longer this goes on the more I think he's got a serious issue.  I fear we may never see what could have been.  Honestly, has anyone seen a guy with post moves like his since Hakeem?...on any team?  I'm not saying he would ever be THAT good, but even 75-80% of Hakeem would be awesome!

[clydesmoustache]

Yeah he obviously doesn't want to take the Qualifying offer so what is he left to do? Rockets must be lowballing him big time. Its odd do to the reports of a dinner and possible understanding before free agency even started.

[rockets best fan]

My concern is his back.  The longer this goes on the more I think he's got a serious issue.  I fear we may never see what could have been.  Honestly, has anyone seen a guy with post moves like his since Hakeem?...on any team?  I'm not saying he would ever be THAT good, but even 75-80% of Hakeem would be awesome!

interesting perspective. if D-Mo's back is indeed the holdup then having T-Jones another  year might have been in our best interest. I simply can't believe the Rockets are that stupid. T-Jones sign for garbage money so money wasn't an object and he is capable of thriving in an up tempo offense. he's much better than the options we will consider should we not come to agreement with D-Mo. I may be the only one left who believes in the kid, but we shall see with his time in N.O. this year. as for our D-Mo situation.......I believe it will impact our season in a major way either good or bad. if we can't reach agreement or if we reach agreement and he is unable to put in significant minutes my forecast is much lower for the team. while he's not a star.....he is the kind of player capable of balancing or playing off a star well. we need that with our present ball hogging alpha.

[rockets best fan]

Yeah he obviously doesn't want to take the Qualifying offer so what is he left to do? Rockets must be lowballing him big time. Its odd do to the reports of a dinner and possible understanding before free agency even started.

if that be the case then Morey might be the one who speaks with fork tongue.

[thejohnnygold]

Well, this isn't good.  What the heck is Les talking about here?

 

 

 

For the last 15-20 years, I’ve always wanted to run. I’ve been saying it for years. There are no great big men, so what do you do? You have no choice, right? Who are you throwing it to? How many guys in this league can you throw it into the post, who can score all the time? Are there three? I don’t know.

 

This is from a recent interview Les did with ESPN.  He doesn't say much outside of normal we're gonna be better than people think kind of stuff; however, he does completely forget that in the last 15-20 years he has had not one, but two, Hall of Fame centers on his own team 

 

Looking across the league (and back through recent times), we have seen Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, Dirk, Amare, Bosh, both Gasols, Aldridge, Cousins, Zach Randolph, Jermaine O'Neal (until his legs died), Brook Lopez, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Chris Webber, and Al Jefferson just to name a few...oh, and let's not forget a guy who is currently on our roster...Nene!

 

They are all elite interior scorers.  Somehow, this eludes Les.  I find this very disconcerting.  The best part is after telling us all how he's known better than everyone else for all this time he ends by letting us know he has no clue what is actually out there.  "I don't know," he gives as the answer to his own question.

 

To make matters worse, he doesn't seem to realize he currently has the rights to, arguably, the best interior scorer in the entire league: D-Mo.

 

I don't know....maybe he's taking a pot shot at Dwight by saying there are "no great big men".  If that's the case it's still petty.  Dwight's gone.  Move on.

 

In other news, we just traded a guy "who can score all the time" for a PG who has done very little so far in his NBA career.  My guess is Morey/D'Antoni saw performances like this and saw some potential.

 

[slick shoes]

Well, this isn't good.  What the heck is Les talking about here?

 

 

This is from a recent interview Les did with ESPN.  He doesn't say much outside of normal we're gonna be better than people think kind of stuff; however, he does completely forget that in the last 15-20 years he has had not one, but two, Hall of Fame centers on his own team 

 

Looking across the league (and back through recent times), we have seen Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, Dirk, Amare, Bosh, both Gasols, Aldridge, Cousins, Zach Randolph, Jermaine O'Neal (until his legs died), Brook Lopez, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Chris Webber, and Al Jefferson just to name a few...oh, and let's not forget a guy who is currently on our roster...Nene!

 

They are all elite interior scorers.  Somehow, this eludes Les.  I find this very disconcerting.  The best part is after telling us all how he's known better than everyone else for all this time he ends by letting us know he has no clue what is actually out there.  "I don't know," he gives as the answer to his own question.

 

To make matters worse, he doesn't seem to realize he currently has the rights to, arguably, the best interior scorer in the entire league: D-Mo.

 

I don't know....maybe he's taking a pot shot at Dwight by saying there are "no great big men".  If that's the case it's still petty.  Dwight's gone.  Move on.

 

In other news, we just traded a guy "who can score all the time" for a PG who has done very little so far in his NBA career.  My guess is Morey/D'Antoni saw performances like this and saw some potential.

 

 

Those look like James Harden shots. Note enough ball sharing to matter for this kid.

[rockets best fan]

@JG

on this Ennis trade........I have not seen enough from this kid to warrant giving up Beasley. Beasley had his faults no doubt, but he has talent and I was hoping we would finally be the one's able to tap into that untapped potential. trading him in effect traded our bench scoring. it will be interesting to see how Pringles intends to replace that production.

 

speaking of situational stars Beasley would have been a possible windfall. it's not that I don't believe Pringles may turn either Anderson or Gordan into a situational star..............it's that even if he does they still may be injury prone therefore unreliable. I don't care how great of a player you are you can't hit shots from the training table. we don't need part time talent. while no one is immune to injury players with a peppered history of such activity should not be depended on as one of the pillars on the team

[thejohnnygold]

@JG

on this Ennis trade........I have not seen enough from this kid to warrant giving up Beasley. Beasley had his faults no doubt, but he has talent and I was hoping we would finally be the one's able to tap into that untapped potential. trading him in effect traded our bench scoring. it will be interesting to see how Pringles intends to replace that production.

 

speaking of situational stars Beasley would have been a possible windfall. it's not that I don't believe Pringles may turn either Anderson or Gordan into a situational star..............it's that even if he does they still may be injury prone therefore unreliable. I don't care how great of a player you are you can't hit shots from the training table. we don't need part time talent. while no one is immune to injury players with a peppered history of such activity should not be depended on as one of the pillars on the team

 

You make good points.  I think with Beasley there were two main problems which were really one main problem: his overall defense and his ball-stopping on offense.  I think both of those can be traced to a lack of smarts on his part.  Much like they say, "you can't coach height", it is also true that, "you can't fix stupid".  The guy's got more talent than most of the league and a prototype body...that means the problem is likely upstairs.

 

I was recently watching some of the early interviews they are doing with the players.  I think it was Ryan Anderson who was asked about Ennis and he was quick to point out how smart he is.  I guess we'll see...

 

As far as scoring goes, I think we will be ok.  Anderson can be a go-to guy as can Gordon and don't forget about D-Mo.  On top of that, I am overly optimistic that Dekker is going to be able to contribute in that area.  Oh, and Nene too.  He can still post up a little bit for us.

[Sir Thursday]

I'm very high on the Ennis for Beasley trade. I've been saying since the end of last season that it was the lack of a competent backup PG that hurt us the most last year. Beverley's On/Off splits were far better correlated with those of the team as a whole than any of our other starters. I was very worried when I looked at our depth chart and saw Pablo Prigioni as the backup!

 

All the talk is about making Harden the PG more often, but [a] if that doesn't work out we'll need a backup plan and [b] we can't rely on Beverley being healthy all season. Now we have that insurance, and it comes in the form of a player who has only been in the league for two years. He's about at the stage in his career when he would start to blossom if he was going to turn into a player who will stick in the NBA, and we get to be the ones to reap the benefits should that come to pass.

 

So yes we lose Beasley, but he was always a stopgap in my mind anyway. I wasn't really holding out much hope for his defence to improve to the point that it wasn't at trainwreck whenever he was on the floor. With Dekker healthy and Motiejunas re-signed (fingers crossed), we're set at the PF position anyway. And we've picked up enough offensive fire-power in the offseason that his skillset isn't so vital anymore.

 

ST

[rockets best fan]

I'm very high on the Ennis for Beasley trade. I've been saying since the end of last season that it was the lack of a competent backup PG that hurt us the most last year. Beverley's On/Off splits were far better correlated with those of the team as a whole than any of our other starters. I was very worried when I looked at our depth chart and saw Pablo Prigioni as the backup!

 

All the talk is about making Harden the PG more often, but [a] if that doesn't work out we'll need a backup plan and [b] we can't rely on Beverley being healthy all season. Now we have that insurance, and it comes in the form of a player who has only been in the league for two years. He's about at the stage in his career when he would start to blossom if he was going to turn into a player who will stick in the NBA, and we get to be the ones to reap the benefits should that come to pass.

 

So yes we lose Beasley, but he was always a stopgap in my mind anyway. I wasn't really holding out much hope for his defence to improve to the point that it wasn't at trainwreck whenever he was on the floor. With Dekker healthy and Motiejunas re-signed (fingers crossed), we're set at the PF position anyway. And we've picked up enough offensive fire-power in the offseason that his skillset isn't so vital anymore.

 

ST

I agree with you that we needed another PG. Prigs is washed up. however for all Beasley's faults at least we knew what he was. this kid is an unknown.........well not completely, but I don't have high hopes based on what I have seen of him. JG I agree you can't fix stupid in most cases, but Beasley was useful even in his stupidity. Yes he's shot happy, true he can't defend a stop sign  , but the one thing he can do is score and that's not a bad thing to have available on our bench especially bases on his contract. Ennis was unable to crack the rotation in Milwaukee.......let that sink in for a minute. a team so desperate for talent that MCW is the starter backed up by Delavadova and J. Terry and he couldn't squeeze some PT from those guys? Sir Thursday I know he's young and at  the blossoming year bases on a PG's average curve, but if he was truly going to be a steal he should be showing flashes of potential by now. I would love to be wrong on this kid, but the evidence is mounting and it's not promising

[Sir Thursday]

I agree with you that we needed another PG. Prigs is washed up. however for all Beasley's faults at least we knew what he was. this kid is an unknown.........well not completely, but I don't have high hopes based on what I have seen of him. JG I agree you can't fix stupid in most cases, but Beasley was useful even in his stupidity. Yes he's shot happy, true he can't defend a stop sign  , but the one thing he can do is score and that's not a bad thing to have available on our bench especially bases on his contract. Ennis was unable to crack the rotation in Milwaukee.......let that sink in for a minute. a team so desperate for talent that MCW is the starter backed up by Delavadova and J. Terry and he couldn't squeeze some PT from those guys? Sir Thursday I know he's young and at  the blossoming year bases on a PG's average curve, but if he was truly going to be a steal he should be showing flashes of potential by now. I would love to be wrong on this kid, but the evidence is mounting and it's not promising

 

Beasley was a known quantity, you're right. But I'm not sure he was a quantity that we needed. Ennis on the other hand, fills a position of need. If he can play a little defence and not completely tank the offence, he'll already be a step up on Terry last year.

 

I think you're selling Ennis short in your analysis of his past play. First of all, while he wasn't always in the rotation last year, towards the back end of the season he did get himself onto the court. If you look at his splits here, you'll see that he averaged 17MPG in March and 30 MPG in April. He posted reasonable per-36 numbers in that time too: 13.7/5.9 PPG/APG in March, 9.1/5.6 PPG/APG in April.

 

Then you have to factor in that Milwaukee was the worst three point shooting team in the league last year. In the modern NBA that lack of spacing is bound to cramp players' styles and suppress their stats. Ennis was actually the third best three point shooter on the team who got minutes (behind Middleton and Bayless). Admittedly he only shot 33% (on 69 attempts), which isn't great, but nevertheless it illustrates my point about the three point shooting drought. In a system where he has some space to drive, he should find it easier to create opportunities for himself and others.

 

Now you're saying that he couldn't get into a rotation of MCW/Dellavedova/Terry, but I don't think that's fair, since we haven't seen what their rotation will look like this season yet. I'm fairly confident he could have pushed himself ahead of the JET in that line, at least. And who knows, maybe when he's not got the reflected gleam of LeBron Delly won't quite look so good. The point is, it's not a foregone conclusion that Ennis wouldn't have been in the Bucks' rotation this year if he hadn't been traded.

 

And when you look at the trade, it's the Bucks who were in a hole. With Middleton going down, they needed some more wing players and there were basically none of them on the market. They were desperate and Ennis was the price the Rockets were able to extract for their desperation. You have looked at Ennis and come to the conclusion that he isn't going to be good, but I'd say he's worth a good deal more than say, an early second round pick (which is about the most you'd normally expect to be able to get for Beasley).

 

ST

[thejohnnygold]

I think this snippet from Draftexpress.com spells it out pretty well.

 

[rockets best fan]

@Sir Thursday / JG

I just don't see the potential in this kid. both you guys have stated his case well, but he's not yet passing the eye test to me. at this point his potential looks like a young Prigs to me in which case I personally would rather have Beasley. IMO Beasley was finally starting down the long path to becoming a reliable NBA commodity. he has a far higher ceiling if that potential is tapped than this kid. Beasley was the one player on our team who I thought might really blossom under Pringles. sometimes a player has to fall off the mountain to realize the value of what he had. I thought Beasley had endured that process and had finally gotten serious about his career. which to me says the clay is finally ready for the potter's hands. now this one point I must concede...................Pringles has a history of turning average PG's into really good ones within his system and as I said in another tread if you can transform J Lin you are no slouch in that area. so it's not unhinged that this kid could blossom into something other than a trade fill in, but the jury is still out 

[clydesmoustache]

I don't mind the Beasley trade but I was kind of hoping to package him with Brewer or McDaniels in a trade for something that would help the team now. I'm encouraged about the low turnover rate and Ennis couldn't ask for a better mentor in Prigioni how to play within his abilities.

Only watched the highlights of the game but man Fredette made McDaniels's D look terrible. In the context of the game maybe he could afford to gamble but was thinking D was McDaniels saving grace! Wowzers!

[HardenOwnsCurry]

is this website jeremylin.net part 2

 

whats with the bashing our best player, makes no sense

 

Harden will NEVER be traded, hes not a quitter like dwight and tmac