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

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by crash5179, Aug 10, 2012.

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apollo33 Member

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They are stuck with Jameer, Hedo and the newly aquired Harrington. Not a good way to rebuild IMO.

Our lineups is now packed with rookies and sophomores with another 2 high picks coming up next year AND cap space flexibility

Shouldn't even be a question who is better prepared moving forward

#21 apollo33, Aug 10, 2012

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Depends on how good Harkless, Nicholson, and Vucevic are. I guess the Magic liked their potential more than the rookies Morey offered?

Plus, I'm betting the Magic will be tanking much harder than the Rockets, giving them a better chance at a higher lottery pick. We look better on paper now, but that may not mean much in the end.

#22 PeppermintCandy, Aug 10, 2012
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If by "moving forward", you mean contending for a championship, then it's the Rockets. With their young talent & 2 top 10 draft picks next year, they're poised very well to rebuild. If you mean 1st to the playoffs, then it's the Magic. Their players are good & experienced and quite capable of making the playoffs next year in the East.

#23 MONON, Aug 10, 2012
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This is actually a good question. It brings up who will end up better record wise and whether that record will be good enough to justify the future or not. (or bad enough) With the Rockets you have to project the future of our players based on potential. With them they have solid veterans with nothing exciting popping out. To me that solid veteran thing is not a good one. Not in the weak East. They could end up taking our place as the perpetual 14th seed in the East. This can only be determined through a full NBA season.

#24 ClKent, Aug 10, 2012
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Happii said: ↑

The priority of the Magic right now is to get a high draft pick to remedy the mess they made and restart their franchise. So obviously they are going to play their younger players more and get less wins. On the other hand us Rockets might not even want to tank. I'll be surprised if we're going to tank this year because of Les Alexander.
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I don't disagree with this point.

But I hate the way you stated this as though you actually know what the Orlando front office is thinking. Its irritating. Yes, I agree that developing what ever young talent they have is in their best interest. But just because they should, doesn't mean they will.

I mean who knows what's going on in the Magic's Owners head, he might be like Les, and not want to go through the agonizing rebuilding process that usually yields low attendances at games. But again who knows!?

#25 Rockets_4_life, Aug 10, 2012
rednation98 Member

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U forgot Gustavo Ayon on the Orlando roster.

#26 rednation98, Aug 10, 2012
crash5179 Member

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rednation98 said: ↑

U forgot Gustavo Ayon on the Orlando roster.
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No I didn't.

#27 crash5179, Aug 10, 2012

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If the DH trade is a good indicator of the skill of this new GM Orlando has then they look like they are taking the LA Clipper rebuilding route.

#28 ThisIsOurCity, Aug 10, 2012
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I don't think it's a fair starting point. Rockets had their superstar leave abruptly 3 years ago, Magic just lost theirs today. They tried their hardest to keep Dwight this offseason but failed, not to mention firing their coach and GM, and signing guys long term in the hopes of keeping Dwight interested. Only time will tell who really won out.

#29 Kruze10, Aug 10, 2012
felixng2012 Member

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Houston Rockets. Magic are a r****ded organization. They had Shaq(freakin Shaq for christ sakes!) and Dwight and they accomplished nothing....

#30 felixng2012, Aug 10, 2012
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Other than the dumb, obvious question, I saw one thing that must be addressed - there will never be another Michael Jordan. Sorry, but no.

#31 RedDynasty, Aug 11, 2012
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David stern shall soon reward the magic for cooperating with the lakers for the D12 trade with a 1st pick.

#32 Sman2k10, Aug 11, 2012
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Houston is. And it really isn't close. At all.

#33 Juxtaposed Jolt, Aug 11, 2012

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Happii said: ↑

By the way the Toronto pick is pretty overrated at the moment. The Raptors aren't a bad team. I can actually see them making the playoffs because the east is so bad compared to the west.
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I wouldn't call it overrated. I think there are 7 teams that are clearly better than the Raptors right now in the east and they are the Heat, Pacers, Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Celtics and the 6ers. Toronto will be battling Washington, Cleveland, the Bucks, and possibly Detroit for the final playoff spot. There is a decent chance that pick ends up being in the top 10.

#34 gmoney411, Aug 11, 2012
crash5179 Member

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Kruze10 said: ↑

I don't think it's a fair starting point. Rockets had their superstar leave abruptly 3 years ago, Magic just lost theirs today. They tried their hardest to keep Dwight this offseason but failed, not to mention firing their coach and GM, and signing guys long term in the hopes of keeping Dwight interested. Only time will tell who really won out.
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The Rockets did not lose the mammoth contract of Yao until last season and then were still trying to win with the veterans they had. The Rockets only started rebuilding this off-season. While there are different moves that I thought the team should make I still think the way Daryl Morey completely cleaned house was masterful.

Because the Rockets were true to Yao and refused to trade him to another team willing to take a chance on his foot, the team recieved nothing for his departure. The Magic had Dwight Howard in his prime to jump start their rebuilding effort.

What gets me about the Magic is that they did not even get one single lottery type pick. Moe Harkless was a 15th round pick while no other player going to the Magic were drafted higher than that and none of the 3 draft picks figure to be as high as 15. Essentially the magic traded Dwight Howard for Afflalo and Harkless as they are the only ones with any sort of chance to be all-star caliber players barring some serious drafting luck. And don't tell me about Vucevic because he is a career role player and nothing more.

By comparison the Nuggets recieved number 6 draft pick Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler (better player than Affalo) along with a 2014 Knicks 1st rounder which will likely be better than any of the 1st rounders in the Dwight Howard trade. For Deron Williams the Jazz recieved Derrick Favors (3rd overall pick), Devon Harris (a 5th overall pick), 3rd overall pick 2011 and another future 1st round pick. The Magic recieved considerably less for Howard than either the Jazz or the Nuggets recieved for Williams or Anthony.

Furthermore, Daryl Morey parlayed Kyle Lowry into 4 million in cap savings and a legitimate shot at a top 10 or even a top 4 draft pick in next years draft. Daryl Morey also traded Jordan Hill for a Mavericks pick that could become a 2017 unprotected pick from a bad team. The best Hennigan could do was Moe Harkless and Aaron Afflalo and some very late 1st round draft picks?

If what Feigen said about what the Rockets were willing to give up is true then the Magic really set there franchise back with this deal. I like Aaron Afflalo and Moe Harkless but the Magic could have been so much further along in their rebuilding process if they had handled the Howard trade better. They could have so many more pieces to try to acquire the next superstar but instead are basically limited to their own draft picks.

#35 crash5179, Aug 11, 2012
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Just reading the thread title makes me angry

#36 Aruba77, Aug 11, 2012
crash5179 Member

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Happii said: ↑

By the way the Toronto pick is pretty overrated at the moment. The Raptors aren't a bad team. I can actually see them making the playoffs because the east is so bad compared to the west.
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The Raptors team is lottery bound and I just don't see much of a chance for anything else. They have some very nice pieces to grow with but not much in the way of proven commodities.

Offensely speaking that team has Andrea Bargnani who is a 20 ppg scoring center but hits less than 45% of his shots. Then you have Kyle Lowry, DeRozen, Calderon and Landry Fields as veterans and Terrence Ross who is a rookie. The Raptors fans better get ready for some low scoring games.

On the defensive end the team has Kyle Lowry and hopefully the rookie Jonas Valanciunas. Rookie centers usually require a lot of adjustment on the defensive end of the floor just to stay out of foul trouble. Bargnani does not provide much on defense.

While the Raptors have some nice pieces, I think anyone thinking that they have a legit shot at a play-off spot are kidding themselves.

#37 crash5179, Aug 11, 2012
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I am the most cynical person on the board and the hardest critic of the Rockets, but even I voted for the ROckets. It is simple for three reasons.

1. D-mo, Lamb, Terrence Jones, Maybe Royce white but I am not a fan
2. Toronto's Lottery Pick
3. Orlando is still stuck with terrible contracts. You can make an argument that Asik, Lin have terrible contracts like I have in the past, but Lin is the only one I think we grossly overpaid for and he only has a three year deal.

#38 The Rock MVP, Aug 11, 2012

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That was terrible deal for the magic. They got nothing worth a damn.

#39 Air Langhi, Aug 11, 2012
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crash5179 said: ↑

The Rockets did not lose the mammoth contract of Yao until last season and then were still trying to win with the veterans they had. The Rockets only started rebuilding this off-season. While there are different moves that I thought the team should make I still think the way Daryl Morey completely cleaned house was masterful.

Because the Rockets were true to Yao and refused to trade him to another team willing to take a chance on his foot, the team recieved nothing for his departure. The Magic had Dwight Howard in his prime to jump start their rebuilding effort.

What gets me about the Magic is that they did not even get one single lottery type pick. Moe Harkless was a 15th round pick while no other player going to the Magic were drafted higher than that and none of the 3 draft picks figure to be as high as 15. Essentially the magic traded Dwight Howard for Afflalo and Harkless as they are the only ones with any sort of chance to be all-star caliber players barring some serious drafting luck. And don't tell me about Vucevic because he is a career role player and nothing more.

By comparison the Nuggets recieved number 6 draft pick Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler (better player than Affalo) along with a 2014 Knicks 1st rounder which will likely be better than any of the 1st rounders in the Dwight Howard trade. For Deron Williams the Jazz recieved Derrick Favors (3rd overall pick), Devon Harris (a 5th overall pick), 3rd overall pick 2011 and another future 1st round pick. The Magic recieved considerably less for Howard than either the Jazz or the Nuggets recieved for Williams or Anthony.

Furthermore, Daryl Morey parlayed Kyle Lowry into 4 million in cap savings and a legitimate shot at a top 10 or even a top 4 draft pick in next years draft. Daryl Morey also traded Jordan Hill for a Mavericks pick that could become a 2017 unprotected pick from a bad team. The best Hennigan could do was Moe Harkless and Aaron Afflalo and some very late 1st round draft picks?

If what Feigen said about what the Rockets were willing to give up is true then the Magic really set there franchise back with this deal. I like Aaron Afflalo and Moe Harkless but the Magic could have been so much further along in their rebuilding process if they had handled the Howard trade better. They could have so many more pieces to try to acquire the next superstar but instead are basically limited to their own draft picks.
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I agree, better options were out there for the Magic. Just one sure fire lottery pick would have been an improvement over their actual haul. I still think it's too early to tell who won out between the Rockets and Magic. As of right now though, I think the Rockets are in a really good spot to improve quickly. I can't wait for the season to start.

#40 Kruze10, Aug 11, 2012

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