Hey, Carl Landry - stop listening to Ben Gordon!

Allow me to rant and rave for a little while...

Hey, Carl Landry!!! Get your shit together, sign your contract and quit trying to play hardball with boy genius Daryl Morey!!!

I mean, if you know what's best for you, that is. (And, no, I do not think your agent knows what is best for you... right now he strikes me as the inverse Jerry Maguire. Only one client, but no contacts or connection to the industry.) Dammit, I want to make sure that the other 1/2 of Luis Landry is ready to go during the 2009 Championship Season!!

Things we know to be true:

1. You are not worth $10M a season, Carl.
2. You aren't even worth $8M a season, Carl.
3. The Rockets have every reason to be concerned about your injury history and the current status of your knee. It's what we call doing "due diligence."
4. You are in a good situation where you can thrive right now.
5. Europe ain't that fun. Ask Kumar - Eurotrip kinda sucked.
6. Europe ain't giving you $10M a year, either, anyway.
7. Your agent just might be an idiot.
8. Daryl Morey is a genius and is not going to be out-leveraged by you or your agent.
9. Luis Scola is making $3.1M this year. He's better than you and is the starter. He should be making more. Do you see where I am going?
10. If the Rockets offer you anything approximating $3M a year over 3-4 years, you should freakin' take it. Like, yesterday.

Things that somehow confuse me:

1. Why the f--k have you not signed a contract with the Rockets, Carl?!?

Hurry up, Carl! Make up your mind and commit to your team! Randal "Pink" Floyd you are not! Stop hanging out with that loser agent of yours and let's play some basketball!!!

Umm, Mr. Morey - could you please explain this?

The Rockets traded Patrick Ewing, Jr. Hey, cool, he wasn't really going to help us, so I have no real complaints about that. Plus his dad belongs in that category of players I despise along with Malone and Stockton...

Alas, who did the Rockets acquire for Ewing the Second?

This guy.



and no, not that pansy Vince Carter... no, we traded for the guy who got tea-bagged in the above video. Who has never done anything in the NBA. Ummm, why did we make this trade???

Mr. Morey? Please explain?? Help???

"... we have a trade!"

Yes, the Rockets made another trade last night...

acquiring D.J. Strawberry for Sean Singletary (who?).


Hey, maybe Darryl Strawberry will show up for a few games now. Then I could break the "Darrrrrrryl! ... Darrrrrryl!" taunt!



Oh, and I hear D.J. is kinda good, too...

Welcome, Crazy Pills!

Ron Artest... a Houston Rocket?

If the rumors are correct, that means we get a 20+ ppg player who is also a former DPOY to match up with Yao, Shane, Scola and Battier. All this because we sneakily drafted/acquired a rookie who put up 40 in a summer league game. I don't think one single meaningless game has ever had such a profound potential impact on the future of our franchise.

This. Is. Awesome.

The only problem is that Ron and Shane basically play the same position. And that position is not point guard. Which means we still have guys named "Rafer" and "Luther Head" on our roster. And not Bobby Jackson. Which means we don't have a point guard. Hmmmmm... awww, the hell with it. Daryl Morey once again showed tonight why he's a genius!! He'll figure something out.

Damn, I am for the first time this offseason really (really) excited for basketball season again! I can't wait to face Utah again now. Just try those bully tactics with Crazy Pills to deal with. It won't work like it did against Tracy. The other added bonus is when T-Mac starts to whine and moan, we are going to have a locker room enforcer to tell him to man up and quit being an Initech employee.

Again - This. Is. Awesome.

We now welcome to the family a Tru Warier.

There are people who doubt Daryl Morey?

/beginning rant... NOW.

The NBA draft came and went a couple weeks ago... with the Rockets picking up a couple of players likely to contribute in the near future... and a third player who we'll all forget about this time next season. Today marks the true beginning of the Free Agency period. Or at least the "official" beginning to Free Agency.

The Rockets, not surprisingly, have been minor players in this market.
Very, very minor.

So, stumbling around the Chronicle this morning, I saw this interesting little post. Apparently, some people don't trust Daryl Morey to get the Rockets moving in the right direction. More specifically, I saw this quote in Mr. Campbell's column:

"a lot of fans are skeptical or downright pessimistic Morey will deliver. Is that indicative of the sentiment of thinking Rockets fans, or are you willing to wait and see?"

Really? There are legitimate, intelligent Rockets fans who think Morey is not capable of delivering?? Who are these people so I can interview them and expose them as frauds?!? We're talking about Daryl Morey... the man who brought us Aaron Brooks and traded up to get Carl Landry in last year's draft. The GM who shortly after the draft brought us this wonderful image:

Yeah, Luis Scola is a badass. And he was acquired by a badass GM... and Morey did all this in his FIRST season as GM. In a city where we've had to watch Tim Purpura and Ed Wade destroy the talent level on the Astros, I can't believe there are people out there who question and doubt Morey.

Sure, the T-Mac/Yao combination has yet to produce a playoff series victory. That's more of an unfortunate bit of timing and scheduling than a lack of talent. Does anyone doubt the Rockets would have won at least a couple playoff series if they were shifted over to the Eastern Conference?

Along those lines, what is it that we can reasonably expect Morey to do? The Rockets had the 25th pick this year -- they were actually willing to trade *up* to acquire Donte Greene (according to all reports). Instead, Morey did his homework... traded *down* in the draft... still acquired the player he was targetting AND got more players/picks in the process. That's genius-quality stuff there. I just wish more people noticed and appreciated it!

And yet...

"How much do you trust the GM who got Landry as a second-round steal — and whiffed on his acquisitions of Steve Francis and Mike James?"

Let's break this down. Francis and James were acquired for next to nothing. We dumped Juwon Howard to get James. And we gave Francis as close to the minimum contract as possible without insulting the guy. They were calculated risks... which didn't pay off exactly. Though we did turn James into BobbyJ, and when Francis was healthy last year he had some very good moments in the 4th Q. One game against the Knicks he practically willed us to victory. And Francis is still on the roster... we have nothing to lose there. It's a complete freeroll.

But I guess the simple-minded fan is just sick of seeing this:

sure, yeah, from a macroscopic viewpoint, it sucks that the Rockets haven't delivered in the playoffs. It sucks that Morey isn't exactly the Wizard of Oz who can deliver T-Mac a heart. Or courage. And it sucks that Morey isn't a doctor who can magically heal Yao's freak injuries.

To that I say: be patient. Dynasties are not built overnight. The best transactions are the trades that don't make big headlines. And sometimes the smartest thing to do is to not make rash decisions that decimate the quality and character of a team and have decades-long impacts (see, e.g., Thomas, Isiah - New York Knicks 2003-2008). Our boy wonder GM is like a genius or something. He has given us every reason to believe he is trustworthy. The Rockets are going to make the playoffs barring another unexpected fluke series of injuries. And any "moves" to be done might better be completed in February than in July.

training camp starts in a few months... and I'm certain we will like what we see come November.

/end rant.

Hope springs eternal: it's Draft Day!

Pursuant to NBA Blogger Law section 1995.4(a)(ii)(D)(3)... I'm informed that I am required to at least make a token entry/post regarding the 2008 NBA Draft.

Yeah, it's true - the NBA Draft is tonight!!!

For those that are really into the draft... and mock drafts... and trade speculation... and more mock drafts - I can only assume you've been visiting Ridiculous Upside with regularity and also waiting with baited breath each week for the next version of Chad Ford's guaranteed-to-be-wrong mock on ESPN.com.

(I only mock Mr. Ford because he keeps assigning the Rockets some random french dude each week as our likely pick... even though reports are that said french dude has heart issues. Yeah, that sounds like a smart 1st round pick to make to me. Even though I fell for it in the mock draft we participated in...)

Here are some goals I can only hope the Rockets have heading into tonight:

1. Trade Luther Head.
2. Do not draft Pip.
3. Find the next Carl Landry.
4. See what the market might be for T-Mac.
5. Do not use a 1st round pick on a tall, white center.
(Those guys never work out).

In addition, when the Rockets are on the clock with the 25th pick (which, I'm guessing will be around 8:30pm or so CST)... here are the players I can only hope are still on the board and available for us to pick:

1. CDR.
2. Roy Hibbert.
3. Donte Green.
4. Brandon Rush
5. Mario Chalmers.

Look, I do not expect the Rockets to stumble into the next Kobe... or T-Mac... or Monta Ellis... or even the next Sam Cassell (24th pick in 1993!) with this draft pick. I only expect Daryl Morey to maximize the value of the draft. Trade up if you can. Trade down if necessary. Find a diamond-in-the-rough in Round 2. Morey is like a genius or something, so I'll trust that he can meet these simple guidelines.

Of course, I must include the disclaimer that this time last year I was pissed that the Rockets passed on Big Baby and Nick Fazekas to draft a midget. That midget turned out to be Aaron Brooks - who turned out to be a decent player as a rookie. Not bad for a Chris Rock look-a-like. I can at least admit now that I was wrong to be angry with the pick (and hey, how was I to know Morey was going to acquire super-badass Luis Scola just a few weeks later?!?!?). Like I said, Morey is a genius or something and I've learned to trust his instincts.

I guess I am just anxious to see what 18-22 year old future millionaire will be wearing the Rockets jersey in October. Hopefully the next Robert Horry (hey, I need a new favorite player since Horry is probably going to retire!).

Did the Lottery results help the Rockets, too?

Tuesday night, there were some clear winners following the NBA's annual Draft Lottery:

The Chicago Bulls (1.7% chance pays off huge)
The Miami Heat (because the decision is now made easy for them)
David Stern (suck it, conspiracy theorists!)
The Eastern Conference

... and maybe, just maybe -- the Houston Rockets.

Yes, I'm being serious.

Let's break it down. The Houston Rockets have a few basic goals to accomplish during this offseason: (1) find a taker for Luther Head, (2) solidify the point guard position, and (3) get more athletic at the swing-positions. I think we can all agree on this, right?

Now, let's look at the Chicago Bulls. They have their choice between Derrick Rose - the supposed can't miss PG who also happens to be from Chicago, or Michael Beasley - the low-post presence Chicago has never really had before. They can't go wrong here. BUT... the fans, bloggers and media are already begging the Bulls to bypass Beasley and draft Rose.

So, let's say the Bulls settle on Rose.

Enter Daryl Morey...

If the Bulls take Rose, that is a clear signal that they have no use for Kirk Hinrich anymore. There's a fan petition out to get rid of him already. Which sounds too much like my initial Rafer petition. Hey! Idea!!!

ESPN is killing me by not having the Trade Machine already operational for the offseason, so we'll have to wing it here......... but don't the Rockets have to at least consider a big trade with Chicago if the price is right? T-Mac still hasn't gotten out of the first round. He's about to be a very, very old 29 year old with a bad back and lots of mileage. Luther Head sucks. Rafer sucks less than he used to, but he's not exactly CP3 or Deron Williams.

If Chicago is at all interested in the concept of Rose being paired with McGrady -- wouldn't the Rockets also be interested in a lineup of, say:

C: Yao/ Mutombo (or Hibbert??)
PF: Scola/ Landry/ Hayes
SF: Battier/ Luol Deng / Mike Harris
SG: Ben Gordon / Battier / Deng
PG: Kirk Hinrich / Aaron Brooks / Bobby J

while you could never replace the intangibles McGrady brings... I think it's fair to say McGrady hasn't exactly been bringing much of 'em to the table lately. Furthermore, McGrady has two years left on his contract at $20M each year. Deng was a potential all-star a year ago. Hinrich is coming off a down year but the dude can ball. And he's clearly better than Rafer/Luther. Gordon is going into his 4th year and is instant offense *plus* he can actually shoot free throws.

Isn't this the very definition of "buy low / sell high"???

The only real issue would be getting the contracts to match for salary cap purposes, since Hinrich is a base-year player right now and Deng and Gordon don't exactly have contracts just yet. But Daryl Morey is a genius and he could figure it out.

This trade would make the Rockets younger, faster and more flexible at each position almost immediately. Yao would still be the Man, but he's get many more open shots with Scola on the post and Deng able to hit the mid-range J with regularity. The Rockets could be scary good.

Am I wrong, or could this really work!?!?

"I don't want money and I don't want medals"

What is better... being part of a team that is on a 22-game winning streak? Or receiving an individual award? (MVP, ROY, most improved, DPOY, etc.)??

This is a great article from SI.com discussing how the Streak has given the Rockets enough exposure that we might get to reap in some individual awards. T-Mac for MVP, Ricky for Coach of the Year, Scola for ROY, Battier for D-POY, Daryl Morey for Exec of the Year (hey, I already covered this!) ... and even Rafer freakin' Alston for Most Improved Player.

Two months ago, none of these guys were even in the discussion. Today? Adelman and Morey have to be serious contenders, while T-Mac, Scola and Battier will definitely finish in the top 5 of voting for the respective awards. Rafer... well, I just don't see how he could legitimately be "most improved" - he had a damn fine season in Toronto three years ago. I don't think he's "improved" on that season. But, hey, national recognition is always a good thing!

I'll take it! Though I'd still prefer we keep the Col. Jessup mindset and continue to order Code Reds on the rest of the NBA. No need for medals or awards just yet. We do like rings though.

How is Daryl Morey not Executive of the Year?

During my normal course of interwebs browsing on Monday morning, I stumbled upon this random nugget of Laker propoganda on SI.com. Seems our esteemed writer here believes that Mitch Kupchak is or should be the Executive of the Year in the NBA.

Yes, that Mitch Kupchak, aka Kobe's bitch.

Now, granted, we did place a vote for Mitch Kupchak in a recent Blogger MVP vote. And I do not stray from this opinion. Kupchak's Gasol trade/theft caused a huge ripple effect that helped teams ahead of the Rockets sabotage themselves. It was awesome.

That does not mean that we think Kupchak is the GM of the year. Not at all.

Yes, Kup made the one huge trade. He also somehow made Kobe temporarily happy. He also did the smart thing in not trading Andrew Bynum (though my guess is that he wanted to, but he just couldn't do it). All these are valid points taken into consideration.

But where is Daryl Morey in all this talk?

The SI.com writer, Steve Aschburner, puts a side-panel list of candidates for the GM honor. You have Kupchak, Danny Ainge, Danny Ferry (what??) and a couple others... but nary a mention of Mr. Morey. Must be some bias against guys who are good at math. I'm quite familiar with such attitudes. Doesn't make it right though.

I don't know what Danny Ferry and Joe Dumars are doing on that list. Dumars is great, but has done nothing of substance this year. Ferry only added to the cap problems Cleveland had. Yeah, he got rid of Larry Hughes, but he added Ben Wallace. Not exactly an improvement on overpaid used-up players. I hate cliches, but the "re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" line seems appropriate here for some reason.

All the while, what has Morey done?

1. Draft Carl Landry. Trades up with Seattle to select/steal Carl Landry as the top pick in the second round of the 2007 draft. All Landry has done since is be the most productive rookie in the entire league. Yes, even more productive than Scola, Durant or Horford. Check out the PER. It's like high and stuff.

2. Trade for Luis Scola. So, last year the Rockets had, uh, "issues" with the power forward position. Solution? Trade Juwon Howard. Draft that Landry guy. And then make sure we get it right by acquiring Scola from a division rival. In the process we only gave up a greek forward who didn't want to play for us anymore. So we took on the Butler contract... so what. It really didn't cost us anything. In exchange, we get our best power forward since Otis Thorpe (according to Morey). Scola is a badass. This trade ruled on a thousand levels.

Boom - we have "Luis Landry!"

3. Dump Bonzi and Mike James! Bonzi was lazy and out of shape all year. He didn't really like playing defense much either. Nor could he make a layup. Mike James, meanwhile, sat at the end of the bench and collected huge paychecks. Solution? Trade 'em both for someone we can use who is also familiar with Rick Adelman's system. Score!! Final tally? Save money, get rid of character problems... clear up the rotation for Ricky... and acquire a sorely-needed backup PG for the playoff run.

4. Not trading T-Mac. Yeah, we discussed this theoretical trade on this blog before. We also said it was never going to happen and that most of the deals just did not make sense for us. The reward? Tracy has taken the trade talks as motivation, and we are now enjoying the fruits of his labor in the form of an 18-game winning streak (and counting). Plus, he's going to win a playoff series this year. Just watch. He will.

5. Draft Aaron Brooks. Okay, so the Aaron Brooks success story doesn't sell as many papers as the Carl Landry "coming from nowhere" story. Plus, I wasn't exactly a fan of this pick last June. I admit it. But Aaron Brooks is going to be huge for us. He's super quick in a guard-oriented league that rewards such quickness. He may be a work-in-progress, but he is practically an untouchable on our roster because he's in the mold of a Tony Parker/Devin Harris. And for a mid-20s draft pick? Pretty freakin' awesome.

6. Sign Rick Adelman as Coach. Okay, I'm an unabashed JVG fan. I still think we'd be successful if he were here. But the rumors are that he wasn't sure he wanted to come back - so quickly replacing him with Adelman was a pretty sneaky and smart move. A winner so far.

We're going to ignore the Steve Francis signing and the Mike James trade... because in the end they really didn't hurt us or the cap situation. Practically non-events.

The Rockets you see today (you know, the team that's on an 18 game winning streak...) are the byproduct of the smart and often under-the-radar moves of their talented boy-genius GM. Who for some reason is getting overlooked by the media. That just ain't right.

Go Rockets! And keep up the good work, Mr. Morey!

Out with the crazy, in with the wins!

Bye, bye Bonzi!

(you too, Mike James!)

Hello, Bobby Jackson!

Trade one former Rick Adelman favorite for another. But I like the one we are getting. For the first time in what seems like forever... we have an actual legitimate 6th man off the bench. I'm okay with Rafer starting so long as Bobby Jackson is the closer. That does kill a lot of playing time for Aaron Brooks, but he'll get over it.

Of course... odds are Bobby will get hurt on the plane flight to Houston. I'm willing to risk it.