[NY Times] Bad by Design, Rockets Gamble on Payoff Later

a max contract is a max contract.

dont believe all the hype about not wanting to sign with a bad team or i want to play in miami or LA etc...

at the end of the day, a max contract is a max contract.

 

1) After Boston got Garnett and Allen, they immediately went from having the 2nd worst record in the NBA to having the best record and winning a championship. One season turn around. This is specifically what the article was referring to.

2) Even though they've gotten old, Boston still won their division and went to the conference finals this season.

 

And a good team is a good team. If Dwight played with Kevin Love or if Lebron had Monta Ellis, neither leaves their team.

 

Yeah kind of weird that they're saying Morey is following Ainge's plan when it was Morey's plan in the first place. That was partly why Alexander hired him.

 

Serious?

 

Lol. Boston is a great team. Rondo is a walking triple double machine. They will be a top 3 team in the east.

 

Good chance for them to be number 3 with the Bulls losing Rose.
East will probably be something like this:

1) Heat
2) Celtics
3) Knicks
4) Nets
5) Pacers
6) Bulls
7) 76ers
8) Hawks

Knicks no longer have Jeremy but they went on a 18-6 run under Woodson when facing tougher teams than before. They also had a depleted roster for part of the run. Nets have gotten a lot better. They have one superstar, one star, and some potential stars/solid players. They can become better than the Knicks but it will take them time to jell. Not sure if the Pacers really did anything this off season. Bulls got worse and so did the Hawks. 76ers haven't done much so far except get rid of Brand.

 

I think it has subtle undertones of condescension. It is the NY times so they are typically relatively tame, but I felt that way.

 

It's going to be interesting to see if Lamb or D-Mo start out strong, and Orlando rings up Morey. Dwight Diva has reportedly told Les and Morey to back off, and it will be very ballsy to trade for him anyway. Even if the Rockets have leverage, there are ways Dwight could punish the Rockets if they "forced" him to sign an extension.

 

As a lieutenant once said...

Heavy risk, but the priiiiize...

 

Anyone else tired of having this team referred to as "bad"? How they can be called "bad" when so many players on there are rookies or young unproven players? The Rockets are an "unknown" team, because there is very little basis to judge them off. Will they have a bad record? That is likely. But they are not a team that has proven to be bad, like the Bobcats or Kings. And it's always better to be an unproven nobody than it is to be a proven loser (like the Knicks, who will be paying the luxury tax to win the 8th seed and get swept for the next 3 years).

 

blah blah blah, I'm just ready to see the team play already! I will also root the day McHale is fired.

 

That is the media for you. Bad is a negative speech verb so it is more effective at engaging readers, as opposed to unproven.

 

The Rockets are going to be bad because they're full of young, unproven players and will likely have a losing record.

However, Morey's "being bad by design" strategy could pay off for us after a few seasons.

I don't see what's wrong with this assessment.

 

Uh, that didn't matter when LeBron and Wade and Bosh took less money a couple years ago to go to Miami. Kevin Love extended for less than the max as well.

These players don't need max money. They figure they can make it up in endorsements, which is why location is so vital.

As far as the article, I understand Morey's plan. However, it goes against all he's stood for. Morey has been ecomonical in his moves, building a team with wise contracts and flexibility. I seriously don't think he understands the magnitude of backfire this could do. Howard simply doesn't want to come here. So we can forget about him. Bynum makes some sense, but he's not a sure deal either. If I'm Bynum, and assuming the Lakers land Howard, I would much rather play with Kyrie Irving and Byron Scott than Jeremy Lin and Kevin McHale. Even then, is it really smart to give a max deal to an injury-plagued center with mood issues?

And, if Boston is indeed the model, we are seriously understating the fact of how incompetent of a GM McHale was - and not to mention how loyal of a Celtic - that he was a central figure in helping Garnett head to Boston just as Ainge's planning was.

 

The assessment is pretty spot on. I am just surprised that the NY media is writing about it. Actually I am not surprised they have absolutely no shame and they will continue to right about Lin and the Rockets for the foreseeable future. I don't recall ever reading an article written by the NY media about another team that the Knicks were not currently facing. Or am I mistaken.

 

I don't know about the other NY papers, but The Times has always written about non-NY teams. They've also had a few articles on Daryl Morey and, of course, they had that great piece on our favorite No Stats All Star, Shane Battier, a few years back.

As for the Post and Daily News, I'm sure they'll keep their tabs on Lin because their readers will probably remain interested in how he does next season. It's only natural, I think.

 

I was referring to the Post and Daily news, not the times. My mistake should have been more specific. But yeah they will surely keep tabs that is for sure.

 

On the heels of losing over 100 games last year, now watching the Astros lose 12 in a row on the way to a 108 loss season, I'm not getting real fired up about watching the Rockets tank for the next 3 seasons.

 

But you'll do it anyways.

Admit it, watching a crappy Rockets team led by Jeremy Lin And a bunch of rookies with upside will be a LOT more fun than watching the Astros. Even if the Astros are being run well, all their talent is in Greenville or Oklahoma City or something. The Rockets will be showing you the future in front of your very eyes. And this ain't baseball; it won't take three years.