SB Nation User Blog: ak2themax

T-Mac Activated for Tonight's Game

ak2themax — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:38:51 -0000

T-Mac Activated for Tonight's Game

According to Jason Friedman, T-Mac will play in the first half tonight.

Tech Basketball Moves Up to #16 in AP

ak2themax — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:24:31 -0000

Tech Basketball Moves Up to #16 in AP

Texas Tech, which beat Texas Christian 80-70 in its only game last week, had the biggest jump of the ranked teams, moving from 23rd to 16th.

McGrady unsure whether Rockets want him

ak2themax — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:12:41 -0000

McGrady unsure whether Rockets want him

Tracy McGrady and coach Rick Adelman engaged in an emotional and sometimes loud closed-door confrontation about the star’s uncertain status on Wednesday night, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Morey signed on through 2012-2013

ak2themax — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:18:41 -0000

Via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:

After three years of a largely successful retooling of the Rockets' roster and the team's first playoff series win in a dozen years, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has signed a contract to remain with the team, multiple individuals with knowledge of the deal said Thursday.

The contract will keep Morey, 37, with the Rockets through the 2012-13 season, according to one of the individuals familiar with the contract.

Morey's initial contract with the team had expired after last season. He and Rockets owner Leslie Alexander reached agreement after the season on a new deal, which was finalized this week.

Well, that's nice to hear. I'm glad we get him back for at least four more years. I like him a lot and think he's one of the top GMs in the league by far.

The full article is here.

Rockets leadership

ak2themax — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:17:53 -0000

It's a topic that's been discussed ad nauseum over the last couple of years, so naturally, it's time to bring it up again.

The Houston Rockets have not had a vocal leader since Steve Francis was in Houston. Now, whether you loved (apparently all of my friends) or hated (me) Steve Francis, he was indeed the outspoken player on the roster in the early part of the decade, with Cuttino Mobley also doing his part.

When those two (along with Kelvin Cato) were traded to Orlando, we had a tag team of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, two superstars. Surely, one, if not both, would take over the team and bend them to his attitude. Alas, it wasn't to be. Then, there was the Ron Artest experiment, but he wasn't really a leader, either.

Now I know what you're going to say: leadership is overrated. We don't need one vocal guy. We just need each player to play hard and things will work themselves out in the end.

I disagree wholeheartedly.

A leader doesn't have to be a player, though those are usually the manifestations we see. I would argue that the leader can just as easily be a head coach. Want proof? Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown were the true leaders of their teams. You can even make a case for Pat Riley/Stan van Gundy and the 2006 Miami Heat.

But the player-leaders are great, too. As much as the media loves to crown Phil Jackson as some kind of guru in the leadership department, it was apparent to me that Kobe Bryant has been the leader of the Lakers. In 2008, it was the GAP gang in Boston. Going back, Jordan and Olajuwon, then even throw in Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird.

Having a vocal leader is not just for the sake of having someone talk. Teams tend to take on the personalities of their general. The intensity of champions is borne through one man, whether it be coach or player.

Do these Rockets have that intense leader this year? Would signing Joe Johnson (unlikely now) or Chris Bosh change that next year? We already know Sleepy can lead no one, unless it's in a thrilling game of count the sheep. It seems to me this Rockets team is very quiet. That won't help a young team with low expectations next year.

Crabtree likely won't sign until September

ak2themax — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:08:37 -0000

Crabtree likely won't sign until September

A highly placed NFL source tells The San Jose Mercury News that the contract stalemate between the 49ers and first-round draft pick Michael Crabtree is likely to drag on until at least shortly before the season opener at Arizona.

Rockets fined by NBA

ak2themax — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:11:25 -0000

Rockets fined by NBA

The NBA has fined three teams (including the Rockets) an undisclosed amount for leaking details of their schedules before the league released them. The other two teams were the Cavs and T-Wolves.

Thanks a lot, Clutch Fans.

Crabtree a no-show at camp

ak2themax — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 01:12:16 -0000

Crabtree a no-show at camp

Not a surprise, but Michael Crabtree is officially holding out of 49ers training camp, which started today.

When do we raise another banner?

ak2themax — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:12:26 -0000

Ok, so I was wondering to myself yesterday at work. Obviously, work allows for plenty of deep thought when bored, and I was thinking of the goal of any NBA team. That is, to hoist a banner when the following season starts. Coming off a season where we (finally) got out of the first round, and an offseason that offers little hope for the coming season, I asked myself: when will the Rockets win another title?

OK, so obviously there are a lot of "what ifs" in the whole scheme of things. Of course, if the had stayed healthy during the Yao-T-Mac era, they could have competed for a title every year. Same goes for this year, with Artest in the fold. There's "what if the Rockets trade for a superstar?" or "what if in two years the whole team looks different?" Both are reasonable questions, but for the sake of this question, including all of the chances for injuries and trades, when can we win another one? Not just contend, but when do you think the Rockets will have another championship? The difference is important. Think carefully.

Also, keep in mind certain things, including age. The Rockets are relatively young now, and a core of Aaron Brooks (24), Trevor Ariza (24), and Carl Landry (25), just to name 3, could lead the Rockets to an elusive banner. However, remember this: LeBron James and Chris Paul are 24, Dwight Howard is 23, Chris Bosh, Brandon Roy, Carmelo Anthony, and Deron Williams are 25, Danny Granger is 26, Dwyane Wade and Tony Parker are 27, and Kevin Durant is 20! There's others, but you get the point. There are a lot of young players with a ton of potential. Tons of guys looking for a title to obtain a legacy. Oddly enough, the two oldest guys on the list are the only ones with titles.

So, here's how I see the poll options working out.

Next year: look, we would all love for the Rockets to even contend next year, but let's be honest. Barring a spectacular trade, we won't even be touching a second round (if the playoffs at all) next year. Only choose this if you think Morey will pull off the unthinkable, or that the youth of the Rockets, despite a lack of a star, can win a title.

In 2 years: this option looks possible. The young players of the Rockets develop next year, and the Rockets get back Yao and maybe a big-time free agent (Bosh, Joe Johnson, etc.) and have a realistic shot at a title. But, can we for certain say they will beat out other teams with title hopes?

In 3-5 years: you could say here lies a good window. I lumped them together because it's pretty similar. The youngsters will be entering their physical primes, Yao is just into his thirties, and other free agents or trade pickups have had time to gel with the team. Also, draft picks from seasons' past may become good.

In 6 or more years: here's where there are too many questions to keep a specific time range. It's depressing to think about our title hopes being on hold for more than five years. We hate to lose and think, "There's always next year," much less, "There's five years later." However, it's a viable option given the youth of the aforementioned superstars and the bad karma the Rockets experience every year.

I know there are a lot of possibilities and that it's impossible to see the future, so don't leave a ton of comments along those lines. Of course there are a lot of intangibles: young players, the draft, injuries, trades, free agents, coaching changes, and many, many more. Just humor me and yourselves. Pick an answer, and by all means, leave a comment or two.

Poll

REALISTICALLY, when will the Rockets win another title?

Next year

7 votes

in 2 years

45 votes

in 3-5 years

76 votes

in 6 or more years

24 votes

152 votes | Poll has closed

Are teams scared of Morey?

ak2themax — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:12:42 -0000

I was talking to a friend today and we started talking Rockets and the draft (obviously, since I'm posting here).

We were talking about the potential lack of suitors the Rockets could have to make similar deals to last year's draft-night orchestrations by Daryl Morey. The question that came up: is it possible that teams don't want to deal with the Rockets because they know Daryl Morey seems to only make good moves?

Yes, there's the signing of Steve Francis, but everything that the Boy Genius seems to touch regarding the draft turns to gold.

Luis Scola, Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, and even the Batum/Greene/Artest moves have all made the Rockets contenders, and each player contributed mightily to the Rockets' 2009 playoff run and at least the former four will be integral parts of a 2010 run (Artest as well, should he re-sign). And yes, I know Scola was not a draft-day thing, but it was an offseason move in July, so close enough.

The point is, Morey is magic on draft deals. Do teams want to mess with fire with this ~~guy~~ genius? I can't see the Rockets getting any major steals this year, but I can see teams only coming to the Rockets because they need the help financially, which probably won't help us moving forward. All of this because of Morey.

I'm not saying he should be fired or anything, and if I ever did, you have permission to shoot me in the face. Teams should absolutely be scared of him. What I'm trying to get at is this: is Morey "too good" at being a GM? Are teams afraid to go near him now?

What do you think?