Rockets or Magic, which team is better positioned moving forward?

With the 1st pick in the NBA draft the Orlando Magic selects....

 

So soon do people forget how good Steve Francis was back then. Maybe he turned out to be a wasted talent in the end, but not for the rockets.... They don't end up getting one of the top wings in the nba in a trade w Orlando if not for him. The rockets would be very lucky to have one of their young players turn out to be that valuable in the next two years. If they win 45 games this year then damn the future looks very bright and people will be comparing them to the next OKC.

 

Orlando has the better future because Stern will ensure they get #1 next year.
They are next year's Hornets.

 

Doubtful. The Hornets won the lottery because they were in the lottery. I have my doubts that Orlando will even be in the lottery, and not end up being an 8th seed playoff team/first round exit.

If you took the Rockets of the past two years, added a couple more veterans with big contracts, and threw them in the Eastern conference then you would have the Orlando Magic of 2012/13.

Everyone keeps on talking about how bad Orlando is going to be, and I laugh a little to myself. The Magic didn't make the playoffs last year because of Dwight, they made it despite the Dwight Howard situation and player that really created a huge distraction to what they were trying to do. All those role players will find a way to muster up 40 to 45 wins next season unless they find a way to dump all of those contracts which I doubt they can do.

The Rockets on the other hand, will be lucky to get 35 wins. If they somehow get to 40 or 45 even then that means there is some major talent on this roster and a huge opportunitity to build around whoever steps up and creates a name for themselves on this team. We should be so lucky to end up in that situation at the end of the season.

 

they are very well positionned to have the first pick of the 2013 draft for sure ...

 

All Rockets players are overrated in the original post.

 

Some mention should be made of the fact we owe a lotto-protected 1st rounder to Atlanta. This coming season, it probably won't be an issue, but at some point as we're climbing back to respectability, we'll have to pay it.

 

All you need to know about Magic is Shaq, TMac and Dwight. And Penny could be included, he went from PG of the future, to a journeyman. They just don't know how to breed their draft picks.

 

speaking of those names in 2k for pc theres a team called all time magic legends and the line up was

Penny
T-Mac
Hill
Howard
Shaq

 

So we have a LeBron or a Durrant and Westbrook? NO! If LeBron would have gone to college, he would have been the best player the year he came out. Durrant was the best player in college the year he came out. Westbrook was a top 3 player in college the year he came out. You knew these guys were future stars. I like Lamb and was glad we got him but he is never reaching the level of those 3. I see him being a Rip Hamilton, which would be great. We still need other players. If we make the playoffs this year, it would be a travesty and not a good thing. It would be prolonging the inevitable of us not making the playoffs the year after that.

 

I think your missing the point.

If Im understanding Crash right he's stating that if you have a team that is that young, inexperienced, and you can win 40 wins in your first or second season together with that young core then someone on that team is going to be a new franchise cornerstone.

The Cavaliers in Lebron's second year in the league won something like 40 games, and missed the playoffs if Im not mistaken. Does that mean they were on the mediocrity treadmill??? No, because it was a very young team that was going to make a huge leap forward in the future after they take their rookie lumps and improve.

If the Rockets next year end up having a mediocre 35 to 45 win season(by NBA standards) than that means there is someone or multiple "someones" that are going to be big time in a couple of years after they get some experience in the league.

If you calculate wins by looking at proven talent that is on your current roster vs. proven talent on opposing rosters in the NBA in comparison than the Rockets would have one of the 5 worst records in the league. If they are anywhere near the middle as far as records go then that means someone on the roster took a huge step forward and is destined for stardom.

You obviously dont think that there is anyone on this roster that can be as talented as a Durant, Lebron, or Westbrook, but thats not up to you to decide. Its up to the players who work their butts off in the offseason to improve, and the coaches/scouts/gm's to find that talent however they can.

 

Magic, because I like their odds of a top 3 pick better.

 

Id like to know how you think they are going to be that terrible next season... honestly.

PG: Nelson, Smith
SG: Afflalo, Reddick
SF: Turkaglo, Q. Richardson
PF: Davis, Harrington, McRoberts
C: Vucevic, Ayon

+ Harkless, O'Quinn, Eyenga, Nicholson

That team could end up as the 8th seed next year in the East.

 

It bothers me when people say that this player will never be this or he will never be that. Never understood comments like that. Nobody can see the future.

 

Both of you are living in dream world right now. I love the Rockets but I am also a realist. Non of these players will live up to the dreams that you have for them. Every time the Rockets draft a player in the mid first round, I watch on here as people claim they will be the next superstar and they never are. Comparing the players we took in this draft to LeBron and Durrant growing is honestly wishful thinking. I don't knock you for thinking that way if you want to be positive but i see it for what it is. Of course a team with LeBron or Durrant wouldn't be on the treadmill because those players were young stars on horrible teams. That's why the were #1 and 2 picks in the first place. When have you ever seen the worst team in the NBA make the playoffs the next year? You're comparing apples and oranges. Like I said before, the Rockets making the playoffs or coming close to it and not getting a top pick this year will be a travesty. I would rather waist one season than waist another 3-5 just to start over again.

 

Afflalo is their best player
Harrington is probably their 2nd best

Everybody else is a below average player, IMO.

They would need the young guys to step up in order to be any good, and I don't like their young players very much.

They were 5-12 without Howard a year ago. Are they that much improved?

 

Matter of fact, save what I said like everybody likes to do on here and throw it back in peoples face. We will see who is the better talent evaluate. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly give you an apology. Matter of fact, I hope I am.