RonRon wrote:EnySpree wrote:Foye is going to Toronto too supposedly in a sign and trade....Lowry and Foye will be back together from their villanova days...wtf are they doing in Toronto?
more like WTF is Houston doing.
They not willing to offer Dragic >>> Lin the same amount for Dragic.
They trade their last PG for 1st rounder when there are almost no good PG's out there in the league.
Here's a great read on the Morey/Houston PG situation.....
"The Curious Case of the Houston Rockets Point Guards"
Timeline:
2008/9
Houston's starting PG, Rafer Alston, is traded to the Orlando Magic, replacing an injured Jameer Nelson. Alston helps lead the Magic to NBA finals, loosing in 5 games to the LA Fakers. The Rockets' starting PG job is given to exciting second year prospect Aaron Brooks.
2009/10
Rafer Alston is not resigned by the Magic. During the 2009/10 season, Alston splits time between the Nets and Heat. He is out of the league a year later.
Brooks develops into a very good scoring PG. Brooks starts all 82 games. He averages 19.6 points, 5.2 assists, 2.6 3s per game on 43% shooting (40% on 3s).
2010/11
Just five games into the 2010/11 season, Aaron Brooks severely sprains one of his ankles. He is replaced by super-sub Kyle Lowry. Lowry slowly develops his game and manages to hold onto the starting PG job even though Brooks returns healthy just before Christmas.
Soon after, Brooks is unceremoniously traded to Phoenix for backup PG Goran "The Dragon" Dragic and a #1 pick. Brooks spends the rest of the season backing up Steve Nash.
2011 Off-Season
During the NBA Lockout, Brooks signs with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the China Basketball Association, where he leads his team to finals. The Southern Tigers loose the series, 4 games to 1, to the Stephon Marbury lead Beijing Ducks. Brooks averages 22 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game for Guangdong.
The CBA has a rule that NBA players may not return to the NBA until after their team's season in complete. The Southern Tigers playoff ran long and Brooks never returns to the NBA for the 2011/12 season.
2011/12
Kyle Lowry launches into the strike shortened season like a rocket. Lowry plays at an All Star pace for the first two and a half months of the season, averaging 17 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals per game. In early March, Lowry develops a bacterial infection which causes him to miss a month of time.
During the weeks leading up to the NBA trade deadline, Lowry's name keeps popping up. The main rumor is that he would be part of package which would be sent to the LA Fakers for Pau Gasol. The deal never materializes.
While Lowry was out with the infection, Goron Dragic takes over the starting PG job. He storms the league, averaging 18.0 points and 8.4 assists per game. Like Lowry before him, the Dragon never relinquishes the starting PG job after his predecessor returns from injury.
Near the end of the season, news of clashes between Lowry and coach Kevin McHale start to surface.
2012 Off-Season
Brooks returns from China and is currently a RFA. The Phoenix Suns hold his rights. He is currently hoping for a starting PG or 6th man gig. There is very little if any buzz about him.
Kyle Lowry is still a member of the Houston Rockets, but his name is continuously mentioned in trade rumors, including deals to the LA Fakers, Toronto Raptors, and Phoenix Suns.
Goran Dragic is a FA and rumored to be seeking both $10 million per year and a starting PG guarantee. The Rockets and the Dragon's former team the Suns, are the front runners for his services.
The Rockets also state they want both Lowry and Dragic back. They believe coach Kevin McHale can manage a scenario where both players are on the court at the same time.
*****************************
I remember (mostly b/c of fantasy basketball) the day when Rafer Alston was traded to Orlando, freeing up Brooks to start full-time. This was a bold stroke of brilliance for the young general manager Daryl Morey. Alston was a low-shooting % journeyman PG and Brooks was oozing potential.
I admit, I was a little surprised how good Aaron Brooks was. I never expect him to be a 20 point per game player in his first full season as a starter.
The question is, what happened?
Why was the full-time starting PG job given to Lowry after the ankle sprain? Normally, injured players do not loose their jobs b/c of injury. This is especially true for a twenty-something NBA player who average 20ppg.
Brooks was a beast on the court. I always assumed he must have been a real bad guy, a cancer, or just an uncoachable basketball black hole.
Regardless, not only did Brooks loose his starting gig, but Morey shipped him out of town on the Pitino express.
To Morey's credit, Lowry developed into a very good player and Dragic + a first round pick was good return for Brooks. However, what started to become clear was that Morey has a little (or more than a little) Rick Pitino in him.
The Dragic explosion was not totally unexpected. Suns fans and die-hard fantasy basketball players have been following him for a couple of years. The Dragon has game. He just needed a stage to show it. Morey's souring on Lowry was also not so unexpected by anyone paying attention to the Rockets.
Morey soured on Brooks ~ a season and a half after handing the reigns to him. Morey soured on Lowry ~ a season and a half after handing him Brook's job.
Point guards are not the only players that Morey's opinion flip-flops on. In 2010, Morey traded Carl Landry & TMac+ for Kevin Martin and Jordan Hill+. The following season Martin played a career-high-tying 80 games for the Rockets, averaging 24 points and 2.2 3s per game.
During the 2012 season, Martin fell out of both Morey's and McHale's favor. He was a healthy scratch for most of the 26 games missed. Martin's name surfaces in numerous trade rumors, but remains a Rocket for now.
Then there's Marcus Morris. Morey drafted Morris #14 in 2011, who many thought was the better prospect of the Morris brothers. However, Morris was either in the NBA DL or firmly planted on the bench. While Marcus rode the pine, Markieff distinguished himself during his rookie season in Phoenix.
Morey was once the boy genius of NBA general managers. He fleeced the draft rights to Scola from San Antonio and Carl Landry from Seattle. However, since Yao Ming retired, he seems to have become very impatient. He's shooting for the moon in attempt to acquire Dwight Howard, even though Howard has stated he won't sign an extension with the Rockets.
This reminds me of when a poker player looses a lot of money in a big hand (Yao), tilts, and keeps going all-in (Howard), attempting to get all the lost money back in one hand. This normally ends up with the tilting player loosing the rest of their money. In Morey's case, loosing out on Howard and ending up with a team full of mid-level first/second year players and disgruntled veterans.
Sure, maybe Brooks is a bad guy, Lowry is not a team player, Morris stinks, and Martin is always injured. However, it seems more likely that Morey is doing his best Pitino impression. When the Cs lost out on Duncan, Pinto's plan went out the door. He panicked started flipping his current players for greener grass veterans rather than taking his time and developing what he had(Billups).
Morey at least develops his young players before he sours on them and starts to looks for something shiny and new. It's too bad he is so focused on replacing Yao with Howard and shuffling his own players out the door for the next best thing, rather than building a team with what he had.
If Dragic has any sense, he will steer clear of Houston and sign with the Suns. Otherwise, he may be backing up Ishmael Smith by the end of next season.
Mk
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."
-Michael Jordan
