PG-
Kyle Lowry
Goran Dragic
Johnny Flynn

SG-
Kevin Martin
Courtney Lee
Terrance Williams

SF-
Chase Budinger
Marcus Morris
Chandler Parsons

PF-
Luis Scola
Patrick Patterson
Jordan Hill

C-
Chuck Hayes
Donatas Monteijunas
Hasheem Thabeet

Obviously there will be moves made before next season but we clearly have plenty of young talented players. I'm excited to see what Morey will do with the excess talent. He's had us waiting for a big move for two or three years and it's getting to the now or never point. Let's just hope that by the end of this season we actually have an idea what the direction of the franchise is.

Well considering they can only have 12 active players at a time I really do hope Morey is working on a trade. (If not, a few of these guys will be spending time in the Rio Grande Valley system.)
This list doesn't mention Yao, and although he is a FA I could see them keeping him around if he will stay for substantially less money than what he is used to. (ticket sales, marketing)
I am hoping he puts forth a hard-pressed effort for Dwight Howard, but would also be more than happy with DeAndre Jordan or Marc Gasol.

lolz poor houston, do you really think someone is gonna trade you a superstar for a bunch of spare parts? morey is the most overrated gm in nba history

Morey isnt even praised anywhere outside the 610 loop so I'm not sure where you're getting that info from JJ. You're a mavs fan so I guess its fair if I deduct myself 100 IQ points Then I could get on your level.

Morey has been keeping this team FULL of role players since his arrival. It is NOW or never, we are too deep at PG and PF, you must execute a trade for a 5 or unload some of these guys and make a HARD push for a 10-13 million dollar a year deal towards DeAndre or
Gasol. This team will never succeed with the current lineup, an all star and/or a SOLID 5 has to be brought in for this team to win.

[This message has been edited by Mr.Bond (edited 6/24/2011 4:07p).]

If I had to guess before the season starts

Flynn - Will be traded if we can get a good deal. May keep in attempts to raise his value by deadline.
Martin/Lee/Williams - One of them will be traded
Parsons - Starts off in D-League unless Budinger gets added to a trade
Scola - Will be traded
Hill - May be included in a trade
Monteijunas - Will end up at PF

Key additions I could see us adding via trade...

SF - I know we drafted Morris as a SF but wouldn't it be nice to get a vet who can fill the gap while Morris adjust to both the NBA and SF. My personal pick would be Gerald Wallace.
C - I think Dontas is a PF. We need a C. May retain Yao if healthy but he will be a good backup C at best at this point. I've heard that Morey plans to go hard after Marc Gasol, DeAndre Jordan or Samuel Dalembert. I would be ok with any of those.

My preference would be to sign Yao to a reasonable deal, and just look to make a trade for a guy along the lines of a Josh Smith. We need a good two way player and someone that is a somewhat high profile name in the NBA if we want to be able to lure any top flight guys.

Smith would be perfect because he would increase our chances of at least having a decent shot at signing Dwight Howard. (Josh Smiths best man at his wedding)

As much as I'd love to see Jordan or even Gasol in a Rockets jersey I'm sure the price will be steep and I'd rather have money to pursue Howard next year.

Why do people keep saying Morris will be a SF?

Morey came on 1560 in Houston today and said that he will be playing PF.

I am almost 100% sure we are going to deal Scola. Patterson, Morris, and Hill will be our PF's with Hill getting time at the 5.

We really need to get a C in free agency.

I'm not understanding why there is so much dislike of Morey. You need a star to win in the NBA, and to get one, you have to get lucky.

Also, how good do you think Deandre Jordan and Gasol are? Deandre has almost no offensive game. And even Gasol's much better brother couldn't win a playoff series as the primary player. So if we trade our offense (both Scola and Martin) then we might have a worse season than we've been having.

There's only a few real options:
1. Tank and get a 2012 top 7 pick. 2012 draft looks unbelievably strong. Any top 7 pick is probably all-star potent.
2. Wait for a trade to get an established star.
3. Wait for 2012 free agency

Morey done what he can without completely going all-in on something unproven.

In regards to Marcus Morris, he is most likely going to be bouncing around between the 3 & 4 position. There is a lot of value in having guys that can play more than one spot. He is a good ball-handler for a big guy and has pretty decent range. Morey was saying on 610am they will be trying him out at both spots in the pre and regular season.
In regards to Pascal's question I don't think there is a really clear answer at C outside of Dwight Howard. If you bring in DeAndre the obvious question will be how he is going to handle more minutes, and will his defensive capabilities make-up for the offensive game. Although, multiple times last season he made ridiculous plays on smooth lay-ups, dunks, and put-back dunks on the O-Board. Gotta think he would like to get out of Blake Griffin's shadow.
Marc Gasol is a little more balanced between his offensive and defensive game, he is a good rebounder and averages somewhere in the 12-14 point range seeing a little over 30 min./G

It is going to be an interesting off-season to say the least, and a BIG +1 for Mr. Bond!

We'll let you guys have Haywood if you want.

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BIG +1 for Mr. Bond!

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Appreciate that brother, solids points from you as well.

Any chance Battier returns to Houston?

He kept his family there and wants to stay in warm weather.

Is he wanted?

Nope ^^^^^ zero chance. It's time to move on and get younger

quote:

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Rockets came close to trading for Golden State C Andris Biedrins last night and will continue discussions in the days ahead.

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http://twitter.com/richardjustice/status/84266740116242432

Why does everyone say we need to trade Scola?

Really was hoping we would keep Flynn but everything I'm reading says its pretty much a done deal that he'll be dealt

I like scola I do, but face the facts the can NOT play defense and we have two very talented up and comers in Patterson and Morris. Scola has a bad contract and if we can move him we could make a serious push for a solid 5. Plus scolas stock is going to do nothing but decline from now on, he's at his peak. What's the point of having a guy at his peak if we aren't going to be successful during that time?

This is Morey's 3rd try to grab Flynn... he's staying and will play a lot next season. I have a feeling Scola and Lowry are out the door.

You're insane if you think Lowry is gone.

Rockets won't be getting Marc Gasol (this year, at least).

Likewise with DeAndre Jordan.

Also, they will deal one of those point guards or none will be happy.

Nothing about that roster excites me. Several draft busts from other teams, lots of role players.

I would honestly be fine with tanking next season to get a high pick in what will be a much better draft next year. Hovering around .500 every year and ending up with the 14th pick is doing nothing to help this franchise move forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFqK-YXlsHs

This guy has some serious offensive ability, hopefully McHale can polish him up and he can gain some weight. Watching him use both hands so confidently is very exciting and then throw in the fact he has three point range and he has a very rare combination of offensive skills. I also like the running hook shot he throws in there.

[This message has been edited by CFTXAG10 (edited 6/25/2011 3:48p).]

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You're insane if you think Lowry is gone.

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Why? He has outstanding value right now, but he's by no means a superstar. Absolutely nobody on this team is untouchable... and the fact that the Rockets were willing to part w/ a 1st round pick in that trade overall tells you they obviously feel Flynn is worth a lot despite his awful season last year.

Sucks, but if the Rockets want to land the superstar, or even an all star, Lowry's probably going to have to be involved. Scola's got value and is great, but there are lots of great PF's in the NBA today... Lowry's closer to a 'plus' player for a team who needs a PG than Scola is for a team that needs a PF.

Bottom line is that they are still not even a playoff team w/ the roster they have now. The Rockets have a bunch of very good role players... no stars though... and they simply aren't going to get one by packaging anything that doesn't involve Lowry at this point.

[This message has been edited by ATM9000 (edited 6/25/2011 4:18p).]

That's a lottery protected pick that converts to a 2nd round if not used in three seasons.

I have followed the Rockets closely since the Elvin Hayes days.

Morey has been a really solid GM. If anything he has been too good. The NBA is a stars league it and Morey inherited a team that it's top two stars both went down to career ending injuries.

Think about that a minute. I don't know of any team that has lost it's main guy let alone it's two main guys for extended periods of time and maintained any sort to winning program at all.

One forgets the Rockets are in the West and in arguably the toughest division in the NBA year in and year out. If they were in the East they would be perenial upper level seeds WITHOUT their main guys that Morey was charged with building the team around.

Here are players the came in under is watch that he got for little to nothing.

1. Scola, he got Scola for nothing from the Spurs.
2. Lowry, he get Lowry for Alston. Alston was a half season rental.
3. Darfted Brooks late and then parlayed Brooks for Dragic (I like Dragic) and 1sd round pick that he has now parleyed into getting the Kid form Lithuinia that is going to take me a while learn how to spell not to mention say. The kid is 19 and has boat load of skills. Who knows how he will turn out but again Morey has done a great job moving people. He got Dragic for Brooks and they are pretty close in talent and got a first rounder to boot.
4. Traded a used up McGrady to the Knicks for Hill and a number one pick. Thats something for nothing.
5. Signed Ariza as an FA, parlayed that in to Courtney Lee. (I really like Lee) Something for nothing.
6. Drafted Buddinger in the 2nd round, Budd is a steal at that pick.

Remember that in Morey's tenure until this year he has only had two first round picks and none greater then 14th. With them he has picked Brooks and Patterson ( I LIKE PATTERSON A LOT!) Those are really solid picks. Now he has picked Morris and DM. I think that is about as good as he could of done in this draft.

Also remember he inherited a salary cap hell and a mandate from Alexander to try to win now while rebuilding and work around the loss of the teams two key players.

Yet through it all the Rockets have never had a losing season and have remained competitive.

That's a problem because staying in the middle makes it hard to get a star player. Star players come one of three ways.

1. Early draft picks, the overwhelming majority of 'super stars' in this league is a top 5 pick if not earlier.

2. Free agency and the super star pretty much controls that.

3. Developing a hidden gem.

Well at this time the Rockets have really one viable option. That is number 3.

I really don't see how Morey could of done much better with the cards he was dealt. He's done a magnificent job.

The only two 'misses' that can be pegged on him that I see is:

a) Morey picked Dorsey in the 2nd round instead of Jordan (I liked the Dorsey pick but I would have chosen D Jordan due to his height and defensive ability and I thought he was a better fit being that the Rockets already had Chuck Hayes. They needed athletic length in my mind.)

b) It's looking like he basically gave away Battier as Thabeet is looking like a true bust. He couldn't even dominated the D league. Now the only question I have there is if Thabeet's confidence is shot or if he just not good and lacks work ethic and IQ

Other then these two I can't really find any legitimate missteps that Morey has made. Please spare the hind site comparisons, that can be done by anybody.

Bottom line. Morey's legacy as a GM really is going be determined now in the next couple of years under McHale. Up to now he has done well but now this club is totally his from top to bottom.

This is an exert from Feigan's article from the Chronicle. Feigan is the beat writer for the Rockets. I think he is actually the best of the lot for the guys who covers the local teams.

quote:

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But since it has become apparent that the picks did not bring the hope that many want from draft night, I’ll offer the comments of David Thorpe on Morris.

Thorpe is a friend, ESPN columnist and a personal coach for NBA players, including the Rockets’ Kevin Martin and Courtney Lee. He called me Friday morning to talk about Morris, initially asking what I thought.

I said I like the pick, especially if Morris can defend small forwards. That part of the conversation lasted about 15, 20 seconds. My first question came 71/2 minutes later. Keep in mind, David does not work for the Rockets or always agree with them. Though he is intensely loyal to his guys, as he quickly points out it is a little early to consider Morris one of his guys. The Rockets certainly did not consult with him on their choice of Morris, but this might give a good idea of what they see in him – and a reason for the hope.

“I definitely, typically fall in love with my players. I don’t think I lose objectivity, but I’m always accused of it. In this case, he spent just a week in my gym. It was just a glimpse. It’s not like we’re buddies. I feel like I’m 100 percent objective based on the fact I had him for six days.

“I was skeptical before Day 1 when his high school coach (Dan Brinkley) who is one of his managers and his agents were telling me he is a three. I said, ‘So many times we hear about these guys who think they’re small forwards, who played power forward and think it is so easy to move down. It so rarely works. And I’m skeptical.’ But he’s been a small forward his whole life. He was a three in Philadelphia when they won back-to-back city championships. He goes to Kansas and they wanted to move him to power forward to make room for Xavier Henry.

“For the team, Marcus said, ‘Sure, if it’s better for the team, I’ll play the four.’ Xavier Henry comes and plays the three. Because Marcus was so good playing the four, they left him there.

“Marcus was the no. 1 points per possession in the post player in the entire draft. That tells you can score in the low post.

“When he was with me, we did everything as a small forward because I wanted to evaluate whether he could handle that position. What I believe is, while there is a need to be quick and fast and agile to play small forward in the NBA, having that doesn’t mean he could be an average to a plus defender. It’s not just physical ability that allows you to defend NBA small forwards. You have to have mental agility. You have to have a comfort level with defending out in open space. That comes with experience. When you tell me you’ve been a three your whole life, in a city like Philadelphia, some of the best basketball in the country, and you’ve been defending basically guards, you have that mental agility.

“You’re used to going over and under screens, guarding the guard, not the big, flying down the floor to defend shooters, having to defend herky-jerk ball handlers. You are comfortable doing it because you’ve done it before.

“What I saw the week with Marcus was exactly that. He’s very comfortable out on the floor in space on both ends. That’s because it is what he has always done.

“He has a fantastic looking 3-point shot. As he shoots more and more of it, he’ll be a strong player in that regard. I think he will be a 38 to 42 percent 3-point shooter. He’s very good coming off pin downs, very good coming off flares and other cross screens on the perimeter. At 6-8, he’s not an easy guy to close out on. And he’s very good at shot-fake attacking you when you do. He gets his hips down. He needs to get his hips down lower, but he can fake and get by people.

“He’s a very tough minded kid. The thing I liked about him was his ambition to be great. This is a guy who wants to be great. I would not say that about a lot of guys I’ve trained. A lot of guys want to get drafted. Marcus wants to be the best player on his team. I think he has the potential to be close.

“Now, you factor in that he is a prolific low post scorer and you start thinking about the match up problems of threes trying to defend this cat in the low post. And you start thinking you have the most efficient scoring shooting guard in basketball on one wing and you have a 6-8, tough, rebounding, athletic, defensive-minded, elite scorer who can post up and shoot outside. You have Kevin’s ability shooting and getting to the line, and Marcus’ ability to hit outside shots and score paint buckets. You are talking about a team already No. 1 in offense last year after the trade, I think this is an upgrade.

“I thought he was a top five or six talent as a three. I think he played three at Kansas, he would have been even better than he was. I think he’s got the size and strength to defend elite small forwards. I’m not telling you he’s going to shut them down, but he’s not going to be a fun guy to defend on the other end because he’s going to post those guys up. That wears a guy down when you have to defend a guy like that.

“I think Patrick Patterson was the steal of the draft last year and I think Marcus Morris has absolutely the potential to be the same, with toughness and rebounding, too.

“He was super professional always early, took stretching seriously, lifting seriously, working seriously. He’s even more motivated now.

“He’s a home run.”

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http://www.iamagm.com/news/2011/06/23/rockets.trying.trade.jonny.flynn.and.they.just.acquired.him

Looks like the Rockets are trying to flip Flynn, so there might not be an issue with 3 PGs after all.

Also, the Rockets picked up a 2nd rounder in 2012 due to concerns over Flynn's hip injury.

quote:

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After the Timberwolves agreed to send guard Jonny Flynn in a package to the Houston Rockets for Brad Miller(notes) and the 23rd pick on Thursday, the trade hit a snag on Friday when the Rockets’ team doctors raised issues with Flynn’s hip injury, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

To keep the deal from falling apart, Minnesota sent a 2012 second-round pick to the Rockets, league sources said. The issues wouldn’t have kept Flynn off the court, but did raise some concerns for the long-term. Whether Minnesota had been forthcoming with the information prior to the trade is unclear.

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http://www.iamagm.com/news/2011/06/25/minnesota.forced.send.another.draft.pick.houston.due.jonny.flynn.injury


And one more on a potential roster move...

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Was able to confirm reports by the Houston Chronicle that the Rockets are indeed interested in acquiring Warriors center Andris Biedrins. ... While this may seem the perfect answer to the Warriors’ ills, Golden State, according to multiple sources, are not at all enamored with the Rockets’ offer thus far.

I’ve been told the Rockets have offered Hasheem Thabeet and Jordan Hill. Haven’t confirmed if they were offered as a package, but the figures add up.

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http://www.iamagm.com/news/2011/06/26/rockets.offered.hasheem.thabeet.and.jordan.hill.andris.biedrins

[This message has been edited by Basketball & Chain (edited 6/26/2011 10:08a).]

mazag, Morey has said they drafted Morris as a SF, not a PF. He may play PF this year, but ultimately they view him as an elite SF, as you can see in that article by Feigen. He's amazing in the post, has great size for SF, and they think he can shoot from and defend the perimeter required of that position.

Donatas is a PF, not a C. I really like his long term potential, but don't think we need another "long-term" guy. Hopefully McHale can do some work with him.

Flynn is rumored to be on the block, but I doubt we can trade him. Minny was trying like heck to trade him, and he looked terrible last season.

The Rockets will trade any player they have right now to get a legitimate super star. Really the only guy close enough to being untouchable is Kevin Martin, and I think we'd even part with him if it meant Dwight Howard or the like.

We need any defensive center. We don't need a center who can score with our current roster because we have plenty of scorers. We need a guy who can protect the paint/rim and eat up rebounds. DeAndre Jordan would fit nicely. Nene is also a FA, so we'll likely go all-out for he and Gasol, and likely come up short again. Dalembert is a FA, but not sure about him.

I think Morey has got to be working his ass off trying to get a big-time trade. We have too many players right now. Don't think he'll be able to get a good trade until after the lockout though.

Right now, the Rockets are just making small strides. I do think we got better from that draft, but not enough to legitimately contend. I think we're still a 7 or 8 seed at best right now. A guy like Nene or Gasol would drastically change that though. Howard would be the perfect fit (but what team wouldn't he be a perfect fit for).

I like Battier a lot... but trading him for Rudy Gay straight up needs to be considered a huge miss for Morey in my opinion.

I don't dislike Morey, but accumulating a bunch of role players at a time when so many teams are in financial dire straits, it's common sense. Sad that NBA management is so bad that all you have to do is the common sense thing to considered a genius. I do agree he's got a great track record drafting talent... but on the other side of things, he's 4 or 5 seasons in and nobody on the current Rockets roster could be any better than a #3 on contending squad. I don't like that. Morey's a safe guy... and I'm not sure he'll ever overpay for a superstar or outright gamble for one like Ainge, Riley, and many top notch GM's do. That's my problem with him.

That was not Morey. He inherited Battier.

Totally disagree on that Martin could be number #2 scorer on almost any team in the League with a few exception. The guy can score and if the Rockets had a true #1 option he would even be better. The problem Martin had was that Aldelman would use his main guys too much and they were gassed in the fourth.

Was reading somewhere the other day that the Grizzlies extended an offer to Gasol, and will have the option to match any offer he receives. Gonna be very pricey. I agree they should concentrate on Nene or Jordan. Howard is a long-shot.

2nd best scorer? Sure... 2nd best player? Nope. That's the problem... the Rockets have a lot of 6th and 7th men and 3rd or 4th best players on contending teams. That's nice, but they are a LONG way away. Even with what happened to Yao and T-Mac, that's just not a good enough team for me to annoint Morey anything but decent as a GM.

Re: Battier, Dawson might have still been in charge, but it's pretty common knowledge that Battier was pretty much driven by Morey and his statically-based process.

As it is now, I think he's going to consistently field 40-50 win teams in Houston. He's yet to make a splash move or such an amazing trade for me to think they'll upgrade their talent unless a superstar lands in their lap via the draft. Morey's clearly incredibly risk averse and you can't be that way in the NBA and expect to contend without getting extremely lucky.

[This message has been edited by ATM9000 (edited 6/26/2011 5:58p).]

Kevin Martin is a legit #2. I'm sorry you disagree. He's an amazing scorer. Only Kobe had more points/minute, and Kevin led 75%+ of the year in that category. He would be amazing with a dominant post player who commands double teams.

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2nd best scorer? Sure

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He's the second best scorer in the league statistically.

[This message has been edited by Ryan34 (edited 6/26/2011 7:18p).]