After making the trade, you would think Dawson is safe for the next year, probably two. Even if we fail to make the playoffs next year, "its because we have a new team"; "because we are still developing chemistry"; "because we are a young team."
Wow, CD did this deal in a vaccuum? I wonder when he told LA and JVG and the staff about his, or did Jim Grey do it for CD?
I was not aware that CD's job was in jeopardy. as was pointed out before.....even tho he has had his share of mistakes....he has done as good a job (or better) than most of the GMs in this league.
Well he was getting on my sht list, but all is forgiven now. (though truthfully a well trained monkey could have made this deal once T-mac made his wishes known) Now, no more Maloney, Moochie, Rice, contracts. No more tall, "finesse" white boy drafts please. And, I will give this team a lot of time to win. Barring a T-mac or Yao major injury, this team has a core for 5 or 7 years. Plenty of time to add the proper support pieces. Less than an 8th seed next year would be bad but not a panic situation.
God, how many of you guys don't have any knowledge of what CD has done. Drexler trade, Barkley trade, Pippen trade, Francis trade. . . Are you getting the picture yet you CD haters? This guy always pulls bold moves. You can't make bold trades every year.
Sure, just as Ford said, (SF/CM/KC) "sounds like a fantasy trade every other General manager would veto. We know John Wiesbrod is a hockey guy, but even he should know this is a terrible deal for the Magic. If the Rockets pull this off, pencil them in for the Western Conference Finals." Did you mean make a monkey out of Wiesbrod? or Ford? Or?
Wasn't there a poll on this board a couple of months back, and the CD haters outnumbered the CD lovers 2 to 1?
Well i guess every1 in the bbs was frustrated because CD was sitting on his hands all last offseason BUT thats all in the past!
Time for another bandwagon swing?: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2642709 June 23, 2004, 12:31AM Recent deals add pressure to this one By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle There is one thing that should be more worrisome than any part of this on-again, off-again blockbuster trade the Rockets are trying to pull of with the Orlando Magic. Luck had nothing to do with the decision to try to make it. Uh oh. If the Rockets — once brilliant when it came to personnel transactions — have proved anything in recent years, it is that they're much better when good fortune, rather than strategic planning, has been the biggest factor in making moves. Since 1998, we've seen this team's decision makers trot out a succession of players who failed or, in the case of Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato, could be on the way out. We've seen the Rockets make decisions they probably wish they could have back, none more painful than passing on local product Rashard Lewis in the 1998 draft despite having three first-round picks that became Michael Dickerson, Bryce Drew and Mirsad Turkcan. In retrospect, the only good pick in that draft was Mobley, who fell into the Rockets' lap with the 41st selection. We've seen complementary players such as Pig Miller, Moochie Norris and Eric Piatkowski signed and contribute to varying degrees, but ultimately they failed to make the expected impact. Big splashes, little return We've seen a pair of blockbuster trades involving Scottie Pippen, one bringing him from Chicago in 1999 and another less than a year later shipping him to Portland for Stacey Augmon, Cato, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers, Brian Shaw and Walt Williams. Some of those players contributed; none made a playoff difference. All will be gone if Cato is dealt to Orlando. We've seen other big trades, like acquiring the rights to Francis from Vancouver for Antoine Carr, Dickerson, Othella Harrington, Brent Price and a first-round draft pick. We've seen ill-fated draft picks and decisions, from taking Dan Langhi to allowing James Posey to move on. We've seen the Rockets trade the rights to Joel Przybilla for Jason Collier in 2000. We've seen them trade the rights to Richard Jefferson, a bona fide star, for Eddie Griffin, a bust and head case in Houston. Moment of truth That's why this might well be the biggest play in this front-office regime's collective professional life. It has made numerous moves that just didn't work out. Given that the trade became more convoluted Tuesday as Francis tried to whine his way out of another city, these are fateful times indeed for the Rockets' front office. This trade could be the brain trust's salvation, a moment in club history that proves general manager Carroll Dawson, vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey and the scouting staff have only been slumping. Not sliding. Or this could be their last hurrah, another in a line of moves that have simply been bad, ill-fated, spoiled or all of the above. Just imagine what happens if the deal falls through. Imagine the mess Francis would stir up behind the scenes all season long. Never the most even-tempered of employees when the cameras aren't rolling, Francis surely would feel scorned and unloved after being so close to Orlando he could almost smell the funnel cakes. It would be only the latest backfire in so many grand Rockets plans. With the exception of tremendous luck in winning the Yao Ming lottery two years ago, the majority of personnel moves since the inception of this new generation of Rockets have not panned out. If Francis, Mobley and Cato head to the Magic for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard and Tyronn Lue, not a single player will remain from the Rockets' roster of just three seasons ago. That tells us that for the better part of six years it's all been like running in place. All the tinkering, experimenting and planning in search of playoff magic since 1999, when the Rockets last advanced to the postseason prior to this year's early exit, could only be considered a bust. It also would tell us, and the Rockets' decision makers, that this move had better not go sour, too. Leslie Alexander might be a rare breed among club owners in that he has a good eye for talent, often goes the extra mile, and is adept at putting pieces together. Alexander must share the blame in the decision-making doldrums of recent years, but he won't fire himself. Alexander should feel good about this trade because it looks like a good one, at least in terms of teaming a legitimate 40-point threat with the league's unique big man, Yao. But there are holes in the Rockets' game that suddenly would look gaping even with Howard filling the void at power forward. There is the obvious hole — who's going to play the point? But there are much more subtle problems that could prove to be significant. Like, who would be the backup center? For all of Cato's shortcomings with effort and consistency, he was possibly the best backup center in the league last season when he wasn't playing power forward. When inspired, he also defended. And how much would this team miss Mobley's strong defensive presence? His ability to take on the big and small superstar talents, from Kobe Bryant to occasionally Peja Stojakovic, offered coach Jeff Van Gundy a luxury few teams have. Jim Jackson can defend, but at 6-5 and slated to play small forward, he would not figure to be the defensive stalwart Mobley was at the same height. Maurice Taylor would be a drop-off as a rebounder and inside. McGrady would bring average defense and a history of back problems at a young age (25). And the backcourt depth would be a big question. Still, there are many reasons to believe this trade can work if it happens. For those in the Rockets' front office desperately needing to break out of a horrible slump, it had better.
One question: Did Steve have to know that he was being traded in the first place? With all the hush hush over the Expansion Draft list and not hurting the players feelings over that issue, why do players even get the opportunity to know they are being shipped out? Somebody let the cat out of the bag, but I think that the Rockets have a little bit of the blame because friggin' Stevie Franchise gets his chance to share with the media how unfair life is ... This is a crazy scenario obviously, but I get the feeling that this could have been easily avoided if clubs kept a consistent policy of not announcing trades to the public (even players) until OFFICIAL.
Good point, Ron. Players always whine when they first hear about being traded from the media. "No class organization, etc." Perhaps its better to let the media break the news, when its a done deal. Or call the player right before the press conference.
