SBNation.com User Blog: Rock Creator

Speculation on the canceled Gasol trade

Rock Creator — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:08:15 -0000

If anyone hasn't seen it yet, and I always recommend him, but Bill Simmons articles are usually pretty good reads, especially when they're about basketball. Anyway, what I'm assuming is a Rocket's fan made it in to the Jeremy Lin mailbag that just came out today, or maybe yesterday. Here's the exchange between the reader and Simmons...

Q: This just hit me: If Stern doesn't veto the Lakers/Rockets/Hornets trade Jeremy Lin would still be a Rocket. Houston couldn't keep Lin because they already had 3 PG's with fully guaranteed contracts (Lowry, Dragic, Flynn). If the trade is allowed to go through, Lin would have been able to take Dragic's spot on the roster. Instead Stern vetoes the trade, and now Lin is singlehandedly saving the Knicks season, and keeping them out of the lottery. Oh ya, Houston owns New York's first rounder (top 5 protected). Is it possible Stern knew all this, and this was his actual reason for vetoing the trade? Also is this Stern's way of getting back at Houston for booing him after Game 7 of the NBA Finals? Let's be honest, the man isn't above grudges.
— Adam Spolane, Houston

SG: I love when Daryl Morey writes me with the alias "Adam Spolane." And yeah, you're right — if the Gasol trade goes through and Houston follows that up by signing Nene (something the Rockets believe would have happened, even if the rest of the league is dubious), here's Houston's team right now: Kyle Lowry, Courtney Lee, Chandler Parsons, Nene and Pau Gasol (starters); Jeremy Lin, Marcus Morris, Patrick Patterson, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Free Agent 2-Guard to Be Named (bench). Pretty interesting. Daryl will now light himself on fire.

(PS: Did you notice Houston was awarded the 2013 NBA All-Star Game last week? My buddy House is convinced that was Stern's way of apologizing for screwing the Rockets over. It's like Warden Norton letting Andy Dufresne shine his shoes right after he killed Andy's buddy who could have testified that Andy was innocent, and throwing Andy in the hole for two months for calling him "obtuse." Sorry about what happened, Houston — here, shine my shoes with the 2013 All-Star Game!)

Anybody think that's out of the realm of possibility? I know it seems kind of wild to think that level of corruption could be in the front office of the league but it does follow a peculiar pattern of shady, hush-hush type behavior from the commissioner and some of the things he's been rumored, and even accused of doing. The Ewing draft, the sonic's sale, etc...

It makes me a little sick to think of this being possible and not even because Lin is proving himself as a viable starter in the league, at least for the moment. I hate that the commissioner of a league that we all love could conceivably control the destiny of our favorite team. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

Q: This just hit me: If Stern doesn't veto the Lakers/Rockets/Hornets trade Jeremy Lin would still be a Rocket. Houston couldn't keep Lin because they already had 3 PG's with fully guaranteed contracts (Lowry, Dragic, Flynn). If the trade is allowed to go through, Lin would have been able to take Dragic's spot on the roster. Instead Stern vetoes the trade, and now Lin is singlehandedly saving the Knicks season, and keeping them out of the lottery. Oh ya, Houston owns New York's first rounder (top 5 protected). Is it possible Stern knew all this, and this was his actual reason for vetoing the trade? Also is this Stern's way of getting back at Houston for booing him after Game 7 of the NBA Finals? Let's be honest, the man isn't above grudges.
— Adam Spolane, Houston

SG: I love when Daryl Morey writes me with the alias "Adam Spolane." And yeah, you're right — if the Gasol trade goes through and Houston follows that up by signing Nene (something the Rockets believe would have happened, even if the rest of the league is dubious), here's Houston's team right now: Kyle Lowry, Courtney Lee, Chandler Parsons, Nene and Pau Gasol (starters); Jeremy Lin, Marcus Morris, Patrick Patterson, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Free Agent 2-Guard to Be Named (bench). Pretty interesting. Daryl will now light himself on fire.

(PS: Did you notice Houston was awarded the 2013 NBA All-Star Game last week? My buddy House is convinced that was Stern's way of apologizing for screwing the Rockets over. It's like Warden Norton letting Andy Dufresne shine his shoes right after he killed Andy's buddy who could have testified that Andy was innocent, and throwing Andy in the hole for two months for calling him "obtuse." Sorry about what happened, Houston — here, shine my shoes with the 2013 All-Star Game!)

I'm just gonna leave this here

Rock Creator — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:23:50 -0000

Karl Malone Sucks

As you can gather from the link, which really has nothing at all to do with the rockets and everything to do with mocking the Jazz and their most renowned player, it's a story about how Karl Malone had to buy a scalped ticket to go to a Jazz game. Hopefully this brought a smile to some of your faces. I know I chuckled a little bit at it when I saw the story.

Karl Malone Sucks

The feel about Yao moving forward

Rock Creator — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:36:59 -0000

Hey guys, I haven't been on the boards much lately but I was wondering what the feel is here at TDS about Yao moving forward? Now that we have a new coach and we're moving toward the draft, what are everyone's expectations or hopes regarding a guy that at one point or another we have all loved and pulled for because no one felt worse when he got injured than he did. Sorry if this has already been talked about, just trying to see what everyone's thoughts are?

Flying under the radar again. Would we have it any other way?

Rock Creator — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:29:36 -0000

This fanpost is meant to be a gauge of how everyone is feeling leading up to the season opener. It's also me getting into basketball gear and getting pumped up for what could be a great season for the Rockets.

First of all how is everyone feeling about the team we have right now? Was everone encouraged or discouraged by the moves we've made in the off-season? What about pre-season play, good or bad? I think we've kind of stood pat even with moving Ariza and acquiring Lee. Our depth is as good as it's been in years especially with getting Yao back and even with him in a limited role.

Where does everyone think we'll finish? Seems like the consensus of the analysts is that we're about the 6th-8th best team in the West. I think that's a little low. After everything is said as done I think we'll end up being the 4th-6th best team in the West going into the playoffs. The way I see it is barring any injuries we have the talent to win every game we play and we'll never be that out of a game unless it's just a bad night. I'll put us at the 5th seed going into the playoffs with about 50 to 55 wins. I think between us, San Antonio, and Dallas it might be a toss up as to who wins the division but San Antonio could start declining this year. Dallas will probably be in the hunt for the division title.

What about mid-season trades? Anyone want to see something big go down? Anyone want to see us go with the flow and keep our young talent for development and future championship runs? I'm encouraged by our depth at point guard and the trade chips we have there. If Ish Smith can be big for us it wouldn't hurt to lose either ABZ or Lowry. Especially if we get an established scorer to compliment Martin somehwere else. I don't care if that's Melo or someone else. Just saying. In addition to that we've got good depth at PF too, but if it were me I would keep our talent there and develop it. We could get by with giving up Patterson or Hill, although if we're grooming Hill to be a C then we have to keep him. There's no guarantee that we'll have Yao after or even during this season especially if he get's injured. I would like to see some improvement at SF. I'm big on chemistry and I think Battier is an invaluable piece but only for this and maybe next year. After that I believe he won't be as big of a trade piece and will begin to really decline even if I really like him as a player. I love Bud and I hope he continues to blossom into a great player. I was happy to see Ariza go as I thought he was a little overrated. I don't know if Lee was as good as Ariza but getting quality depth at SG is good for the team as a whole.

Lasty does this team make a run at a championship? Given that we've seen them play with big heart the last two seasons, I don't see any reason for that to change and I'm encouraged by our ability to rise to the occasion. Even if we were the eighth seed playing the Lakers or whoever in the first round you gotta feel good about our chances when we're always the team that's not supposed to be there. That shouldn't be competing with the big dogs. I don't know if this is our year or not, but as long as we get to the playoffs we have as good a shot as anyone regardless of seeding.

So Let's Go! It's the freaking start of the NBA season! Beat the Lakers on Tuesday and let's start this season out right! Go Rockets!

The Sports Guy on CP3 trade speculation

Rock Creator — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:41:36 -0000

Here's the link to the mailbag: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100722/mailbag2

It's about halfway down but the gist of it is us doing this: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2dcg6na

Don't freak out about Yao being included in the trade, he states in the article that it would only work for us under the assumption that NO buys Yao out and he re-signs with us a la Ilgauskus and the Wizards.

We'd still be giving up what most of us thought we would in Brooks, Battier, and Hill as the major pieces. What does everyone think about this scenario? Would you pull the trigger?

Here's the link to the mailbag: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100722/mailbag2

It's about halfway down but the gist of it is us doing this: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2dcg6na

We'd still be giving up what most of us thought we would in Brooks, Battier, and Hill as the major pieces. What does everyone think about this scenario? Would you pull the trigger?

I was curious more than anything.

Rock Creator — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:39:55 -0000

Now that I've had NCAA Football 11 for a couple of weeks and basketball stories are kind of dying down, with the exception of trade speculation, I started to wonder what college football and professional teams our Dream Shakers pull for. I know I've seen Rocket's fans from all over on here and even some overseas. So let's let everyone know who you're pulling for this fall. I'll go first.

I'm a Texas Tech Red Raider, and Dallas Cowboy fan. I also enjoy the Texans.

And with the #1 pick... In all honesty it took me many times to get this screen, but just imagine...

Rock Creator — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:15:03 -0000

And with the #1 pick...

In all honesty it took me many times to get this screen, but just imagine it dream shakers. Wouldn't it be glorious?

This is way way way premature...

Rock Creator — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:37:39 -0000

But I was over on Sactown Royalty and saw a post where they were debating if Landry would re-sign with them after next year in the 2011 free agency. Considering this years free agency and the changes that might happen to our team, talking about next years free agency seems kind of stupid. However, knowing how much this fan base likes Landry what do you think the chances are of him coming back to Houston next summer? I'd like to think that it's a real possibility depending on how much we're contending and if we have an MLE available. Thoughts?

Which team do you hate the least?

Rock Creator — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:41:53 -0000

Everyone's going to have their own hates and likes, but I thought I'd poll all you dream shakers to see which team that's relevant, at least right now, you hate the least. Seems to me that our fan base favors the Trailblazers but it's hard to be sure. Like I said everyone has their own opinions. Personally I think I'm leaning toward the Suns but that might be only because they're about to play the Lakers. I think we all know which team Rockets fans want to win that series.

Poll

Out of the relevant teams, which team in the West do Rockets fans feel the least animosity towards?

Portland Trailblazers

91 votes

Phoenix Suns

129 votes

Oklahoma City Thunder

366 votes

Los Angeles Lakers

23 votes

Utah Jazz (just kidding, the Jazz have never been relevant)

20 votes

Dallas Mavericks

14 votes

San Antonio Spurs

50 votes

Denver Nuggets

35 votes

Other

17 votes

745 votes | Poll has closed

Questions about Summer League

Rock Creator — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:55:53 -0000

Why is it that only certain teams participate in the NBA's summer league?

Seems like it would be better if they had every team in and as long as I'm asking that question why don't they have any kind of playoff system in place after playing the games.?

It would be really cool if they put teams in divisions just like the regular season but switched it up kind of like an alternate reality thing.

It just seems like a real shame that our young players came out of this thing 5-0 and don't get a chance to really win anything or enter into a playoff system that, while the competition is not as fierce, would give them some semblance of a playoff experience.

Also there's a good chance that they'll be the only team this year to come out of it with a perfect record. Thanks Toronto.

Anyway I'm interested to hear everyone's take on the summer league. Seems like a good opportunity to keep the NBA in the public's day to day sports eye is lost here.

Why is it that only certain teams participate in the NBA's summer league?

Seems like it would be better if they had every team in and as long as I'm asking that question why don't they have any kind of playoff system in place after playing the games.?

It would be really cool if they put teams in divisions just like the regular season but switched it up kind of like an alternate reality thing.

Also there's a good chance that they'll be the only team this year to come out of it with a perfect record. Thanks Toronto.

Anyway I'm interested to hear everyone's take on the summer league. Seems like a good opportunity to keep the NBA in the public's day to day sports eye is lost here.

Is it always this bad in the offseason?...

Rock Creator — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:36:02 -0000

I guess I'm asking Grunge, Orange, and Tom this question. It seems like we've got a bunch of people who want to "shake things up" and don't really know what the consequences could be for those actions.

If you look at any of the bottom feeders in the league you know they have problems and what is the result of those problems? Bad chemistry due to trades, coaching changes, and unhappy players. I can't understand how after losing in the first round for the longest time these people want to all of a sudden jump ship and get a new coach, get a new gm, and all this other bs when so far they have not only done their jobs well, they've actually exceeded expectations that everybody has put on this team.

Nobody thought we'd compete in the second round against the Lakers but guess what? We did. When Yao went down everyone thought we were done. The ONLY reason we were able to compete after that was because of hard nosed play, young athletic talent, and good coaching. Yeah we didn't win but 7 games with the eventual champion and THE ONLY TEAM TO TAKE THEM THAT FAR is pretty good in my book.

All of the things that made that possible came through the trades made by Daryl Morey. Aaron Brooks became one of our main scoring threats. Could Rafer Alston have done that? Maybe for a game but I wouldn't bet on it. So please tell me that these trolls always come out because I'd hate to start blasting these people if it happens annually. If this is a first then I applaud all of you in dealing with these vagabonds because I could not.

I'm not sure how this would work out but...

Rock Creator — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:09:19 -0000

What are the realities of making a trade with Boston for Rondo and Allen? Could we make that work? Would we want to make that work?

I know Allen got cold in the second round this year but he's arguably the greatest shooter ever in the NBA and Rondo showed alot of promise by almost averaging a triple double in the playoffs.

I for one think that would be a steal if we could make it work but who do we give up?

McGrady? Brooks? Landry? Hayes?

I'm not too up to snuff on this kind of stuff so I thought I'd see what the our pulse is on a deal like this.

What are the realities of making a trade with Boston for Rondo and Allen? Could we make that work? Would we want to make that work?

I know Allen got cold in the second round this year but he's arguably the greatest shooter ever in the NBA and Rondo showed alot of promise by almost averaging a triple double in the playoffs.

I for one think that would be a steal if we could make it work but who do we give up?

McGrady? Brooks? Landry? Hayes?

I'm not too up to snuff on this kind of stuff so I thought I'd see what the our pulse is on a deal like this.

Let me be the first to offer this. (hopefully)

Rock Creator — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:26:34 -0000

With the big trade the Cavaliers became even more dangerous. They have shaq in their front court now and no matter what you may think about his inside game these days - Is it dwindling? Is he getting old? - The fact remains that Shaq cannot be ignored down low. the only thing missing from this team is consistent play from Mo Williams and Delonte West. If they had performed in the playoffs we may be talking about a pretty much locked repeat.

We also know that Shaq is huge on nicknames. He gets them everywhere he goes. Now I hate to build up to something if it's not going to have any punch, so I apologize if this has already been said. I'd like to propose Shaq's new nickname for the Cavaliers.

The Big Shaqalier

It's pretty obvious but when I thought of it I thought it fit pretty well with the nicknames he's had in the past. Sorry again if this seems to corny or someone has already suggested it.

The Big Shaqalier

It's pretty obvious but when I thought of it I thought it fit pretty well with the nicknames he's had in the past. Sorry again if this seems to corny or someone has already suggested it.

Anybody worried about this?

Rock Creator — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:25:09 -0000

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"We'll be back here for Game 7."

-- Cavs guard Daniel Gibson, making a vow to the Cleveland crowd

Does that worry any of you guys? Or should anything he says be overlooked since he comes off the bench? (Pending West's hip, of course.)

Good win btw. Rafer Alston is your best friend right now. Keep letting him shoot. He'll win the game for you. I gotta say that I'm getting excited about the possibility of this one going seven games. If anyone can do it it's gonna be you guys even if I am a Magic fan of old.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"We'll be back here for Game 7."

-- Cavs guard Daniel Gibson, making a vow to the Cleveland crowd

Does that worry any of you guys? Or should anything he says be overlooked since he comes off the bench? (Pending West's hip, of course.)

Totally random and unrelated to basketball....well sort of.

Rock Creator — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:10:49 -0000

Imagine you are a young boy or girl and you have an aging grandfather. Not too old but old enough that you know he's your grandfather. Now imagine that you don't know anything about what he did for a living and you never see him but when he's over to visit or you go to visit him.

Now imagine that man is Charles Barkley.

Am I the only one who thinks that would be awesome?

Now imagine that man is Charles Barkley.

Am I the only one who thinks that would be awesome?

Couple Questions for Cavs Fans

Rock Creator — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:56:28 -0000

First off I should let you all know that, as you can see, I'm a Rockets fan first. I've watched a little of what I could catch of the Cavs this season and I think I would like to count myself as a fan. ( I think I need to see more games before I can honestly say I'm a fan though)

I'm also a Magic fan. I've been with them since around 1993. Penny Hardaway used to be my favorite player.

Also I'm not here to tell you why Orlando will win or why their better. I think anyone that looks at playoff games like this and sees that each one was basically decided by a posession can see that either team is not clearly better than the other. Having said that I'll give you my questions.

1. If Orlando does win the series who would you guys root for in the Finals? Of course you'd like the Cavs to be there but any true basketball fan will still watch the games and root for one team over the other, as I'm doing now that the Rockets are out of it.

2. If the Cavs pull off the miracle and take the series, which I still believe to be possible, who would you guys rather play? Of course the media wants Kobe/Lebron but I'm not convinced that Cavs/Nuggets wouldn't be a great series either.

3. What do you guys attribute to the Cavs not being able to hold on to built leads in the second half against the Magic? Is it the 3 point shooting? Laziness? Seems like you guys never gave up a lead in the first two rounds and comes off as uncharacteristic of this team.

Thanks for any feedback from you guys and best of luck from here on out. I can't say that I'm rooting for you to win it (unless you make it to the Finals) but I'm definitely not rooting against you.

I'm also a Magic fan. I've been with them since around 1993. Penny Hardaway used to be my favorite player.

Thanks for any feedback from you guys and best of luck from here on out. I can't say that I'm rooting for you to win it (unless you make it to the Finals) but I'm definitely not rooting against you.

Rockets fan here

Rock Creator — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:09:37 -0000

Now that my guys have been bumped from the playoffs I'm turning my basketball alliegances to the Orlando Magic.

I've been a Magic fan for awhile starting with Penny and Shaq. I"ll admit I've been a little out of touch for awhile but I've been playing close attention to the game this year and my two favorite teams are making huge strides in the playoffs this year. So I hope you guys will have me over here at TQC. Go Magic!

Now that my guys have been bumped from the playoffs I'm turning my basketball alliegances to the Orlando Magic.

I want everyone to just imagine...

Rock Creator — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:43:50 -0000

Forget all the injuries, and let's think positive here. Fast forward to next year opening round in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. Your Houston Rockets are the number one seed in the West and our starting lineup for the first game is:

Aaron Brooks - PG

Shane Battier - SG

Tracy McGrady - SF

Ron Artest - PF

Yao Ming - C

I know the probability of this lineup staying in Houston for next year is up in the air. I know the speculation of us being the number one seed in the West is unlikely given the nature of the game. I know that we've had so many injuries to these guys that it's hard to be optimistic that they're all healthy throughout the season, much less going into the playoffs. I don't care.

I like to imagine this exact scenario happening. As much as it may be a pipe dream. I know that if we were fielding that starting 5 with everyone healthy the possibility of a championship in Houston is very likely. For now we'll just have to wait and imagine.

Aaron Brooks - PG

Shane Battier - SG

Tracy McGrady - SF

Ron Artest - PF

Yao Ming - C

Hey Rockets Nation!

Rock Creator — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:09:19 -0000

I live in Waco and I have trouble getting info on my rockets from time to time. I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on internet radio stations that are dediacated to Houston sports and/or the rockets. All I get over here are Dallas stations and I get tired of hearing Dallas whine about the mavs. I even tried to call in and see if they'd turn their temporary alliegances toward the Rockets since they're the only texas team left and the guy was a dick about it. So I'd like to find a quality station where I can hear some people talk about a REAL basketball team. Thanks in advance.

Elitist L@kers?

Rock Creator — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:56:47 -0000

“Yeah, we had a great opportunity,” Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant said. “I’ve been on teams who have made this dumb mistake before. It’s important for my guys to stay up and get ready to play and understand that come Tuesday we’re going to face a really hungry Rockets team that believes they can win this series.”

“If we want to be a championship team we have to go after it every single game,” Gasol said. “We can’t take for granted that because we’re better individually or maybe collectively that we can play 70, 80 percent. We have to play 100 percent from the get go.”

Is it just me or do these quotes come off as arrogant as hell? Seems like even these two aren't giving the rockets credit for anything. All they give here is player speak, and what seems to be some telling statements about what they really think about the rockets and themselves. It's funny, you'd think they were up 3-1 or something.