[ESPN/MacMahon] 'There's too much damn turmoil': An unsettling vibe surrounds these Rockets

Paul is just mad because he played like trash and he's trying to pin the blame on other players. He's on 40m a year, so he's needs start stepping up in the key moments.

 

Is there tension between the two top stars? Sure, anytime a team loses a hard fought playoff series and underachieves (two consecutive losses with the other team's best player is out), there will be recriminations.

Yet, IMO the media is making a storm out of a spring shower, and in the process undermining the Rockets' ability to attract free agents. I'm saying this and I'm not even wearing a tin foil hat. Partially at fault is the way the Rockets handle the firings of all the assistant coaches. I mean, who does that without letting go of the head coach?!?

Still, the media picked up on the above and now it's just running away with this. Hence we have an appearance by Morey trying to do his best impersonification of Iraq's minister of information this morning.

This has been a strange, strange summer, which will be made even stranger if all is good by October.

 

What's the difference between trying to blame others vs. trying to find ways to not play like trash?

I mean, there may not be an answer to the later part given his age, but he doesn't know that nor do we know that until he tries to find ways to not play like trash.

Put another way: let's say CP3 is still here next year. Shouldn't we try to find ways to help him not play like trash?

 

I mean, it's a metric **** ton harder to get a top 5 player in the world capable of winning a title as the best guy on the team (there are like 6 or 8 of those guys at any one time in the NBA) and pieces to fill out around them.
That list goes as follows:

Steph
KD (probably gone forever from this list with the injury- damn- still pissed about that as a huge KD honk- but also rockets are my favorite team)
Lebron (maybe- for like 1 more year- he like KD might be off this list)
Harden
Giannis
Leonard
Davis

Waiting in the wings

Embiid
Zion
Luka (maybe????? but probably not)

Westbrook. Haha. Hahahaha. Hahahahaha. Just checking to see if you were reading that far. That clown thinks hes that guy but he isn't.


That's it- that's the list right now. I'm not sure Davis is even on the list, but talent wise I'm going to put him on there.

Everyone else is just playing with themselves if they don't have one of those guys, or hoping for a once every 15 years style fluke title like the 04 Pistons.

That's the hard part.

Empathy, compromise, sacrifice and self awareness are all teachable skills. I get that it's hard. But the skill level and talent level for guys up there? That can't be taught, learned, created, etc.

 

That team bus situation is hilarious lol

 

It's more than that. There is no way on God's green earth that any coach implements a system in today's NBA not signed off on by the star capable of winning it all. If that gets tried the coach is usually gone before he gets his bags unpacked. You are just being silly if you think someone can come in and implement a system. You need exactly what he said.

 

if it is turmoil then change and tweak get new players

 

That's part of it sure, but Paul is also irritated I bet b/c he's further down the road and sees the bigger picture in a way that only experience and being around the block allow and Harden isn't listening to what he has to say.

That's the thing about youth, though, they don't listen and have to figure it out for themselves. Same as it ever was, for basically every human being ever. Chris needs to get that and chill out a little bit.

 

I agree more with this.

Good is more the enemy of great than bad is. Harden+Dantoni are good. Very good.

Thus I’m not sure they can ever be great.

 

I don't think I saw this posted yet:



https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26993452/rockets-morey-addresses-paul-harden-tension
Morey Addresses Paul/Harden Tension

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said Monday that he looks at any tension between Chris Paul and James Harden as a good thing because it means both stars want to win.

Morey, speaking in an interview with ESPN Radio's Golic & Wingo, also said Paul has not asked to be traded by the team.

"No. No, he has not," he said.

Morey was responding to an ESPN story published Monday that detailed turmoil around the team and tension between its two biggest stars, Harden and Paul.

"We have two high-level competitors, Chris and James, who their only goal in life at this point is to win the title. They've accomplished everything else, they are both going to be first-ballot Hall of Famers. Two competitive superstars at that level, there's going to be times when they are extremely competitive, extremely focused on how do we get to that next level, and when we don't there's going to be frustration," Morey said. "I'm frustrated, our top players are frustrated, Mike D'Antoni is frustrated. We want to take the last step and be the champion and I think it's good that there is tension in the sense that we all want to win."

As for D'Antoni's future, Morey said he is confident the team and coach will eventually come to an agreement to extend his contract beyond next season. D'Antoni announced last month that he has broken off talks with the team after he couldn't come to terms on an extension.

"He's going to be our coach next year. We're hoping to work things out for the future right now; if we don't, we're going to work it out after next season," he said. "We love Mike, he's a favorite of our players -- all our top players love playing for him. We're going to work it out."

Morey said the Rockets will be aggressive this offseason to solidify their status as favorites, in his opinion, to win the Western Conference. He acknowledged, however, that making moves will likely bring more tension.

"We feel like we should be the favorite in the West, and we're going to do moves to show people that we should be the favorite in the West, and that's going to create a little tension when we do that. But at the end of the day, we're going to have at least our starting five back, which again most teams are scrambling to keep it together and we're going to spend midlevel, we're going to spend into the tax. We're going to be one of the most expensive rosters like we were last year and this year and we're going to be right there," he said.

Morey credited owner Tilman Fertitta for allowing him to be aggressive.

"Tilman wants to win. He's spending whatever it takes. He's authorized me to go into the tax for multiple years going forward. We're going to spend whatever it takes to win," he said.

Asked for his reaction to the Los Angeles Lakers' trade for Anthony Davis, Morey said, "Somehow we've been lost in the shuffle."

He also noted that the Rockets were the best team after the All-Star break and said, "We are either going to add a third star or a top midlevel player to our core and be better next year.

"For me, this story is how wide-open the West is and how we are right there in the mix, and probably the favorite going into next year."

 

That will help to some extent, but this team needs young vets. Chris, Tuck and EG are getting older.

 

Huh?

 

Not sure why AD is on this list, can’t even make the playoffs on his current team. Honestly does Steph deserve to be on the list after the performance he just put in the finals? If anything he got exposed, see what happens when you only have 1 Star? Makes me appreciate what Harden does even more.

 

Being best player on a title team does not mean one man show. Steph already did it once. KD twice. Leonard twice. Lebron 3 times. None of them did it alone. Harden could be that guy, but can’t do it alone. Nobody can, except Dream and Dirk.

 

The Rockets have no draft picks! Oh well, not very good at drafting anyway.

 

people actually think like this ? You are legitimately dumb enough to think Chris Paul is huffing and puffing because hes bad now ?

Paul is saying this because he knows hes washed. He knows he can no longer keep up and play the way he did last year. Thats why hes trying to run more plays. Thats how he will be most effective. Run more sets or we will continue to see the cp3s pj tuckers and clint capelas posting up 8 point games after playing 40 minutes

 

Biggest issue is cba rules
With 5.7 million, Morey won’t be able to compete with Lakers in July.

 

CP3 is gonna end up like Charles Barkley in 10 years, on TNT trashing the Rockets.

Bitter that he never won a ring and going on about how Tilman still owes him money (lol).

 

Dirk couldn't do anything without the highly underrated defense of Tyson Chandler. He was a great shooter and could score to some extent in the post, but he wasn't a two way player like the Dream.
I know what you are saying about Dream, but he needed his guys too.