Is the Hiring of MDA the biggest disappointment in Rockets History?

Except for the 14 teams that picked other people while he was still on the board.

 

If the resources were in place, what happened at the beginning of the season to cause us to deteriorate? What changes do they need to make? Since you seem to think cap space will solve their issues, I'm curious to know what you've discovered/think.

 

Roll eyes all the **** you want but DM, MDA, Les and the Rockets have the same rights as the next team to sign free agents. They have plenty of cap room to sign 2 max free agents.

It's on them to convince free agents to sign. If they can't get it done its on them. No excuse. There simple enough for you.

 

Not by a long shot........history is a long read..not a snapchat.

p.s. How can anyone judge something that hasn't happened yet ? Trixs are for kids.

 

Thats a circular argument and we could go round and round on it. What changed from a WCF team that won 56 games in 14/15 to the team in 15/16 that barely made the play-offs and was ousted in the 1st round? It's mostly the same group of players with the same stars and same starters.

The point is that the cupboard is not bare. Worst case scenario you have one of the top scorers on a team that has turned into a perennial play-off team with cap space for 2 max free agents. Can Les, MDA and DM convince good fee agents to play in Houston?

Best case scenario is that last season was a fluke created by pore coaching and the talent on the team really is 56 win caliber. Remember we won most of our games in 14/15 season without Dwight.

So no excuses for DM, Les and MDA, none. They should be able to add the pieces necessary to return this team to the contender they were in 14/15. If they can't then thats 100% on them either by not being able restock the team with the correct complimentary talent or because of bad coaching by MDA.

By the way, although I have never been a fan of the risk taking defense style that McHale & JB coached, it was defense effort in 14/15 as opposed to the lack of defensive effort in 15/16 that was the biggest difference between the last 2 seasons not talent. That and a complete lack of discipline caused by a lack of adequate coaching.

 

Crash it's going to be very difficult to sign two max players this offseason and we can't forget that James Harden came into 14/15 season in shape with a chip on his shoulder from his poor showing in the Portland series the prior season vs coming into 15/16 season out of shape, making commercials and dating Kardashian. The key to this up coming season IMO will be who they sign as the defensive assistant coach and will MDA allow him to implement his defensive system.

 

Incomplete assessment. He hasn't done anything yet. Who knows?

 

Ralph Sampson injury plus Wiggins and Lloyd drug suspensions are easily the biggest disappointment in Rockets history. MDA hiring is more like the most pissed off moment in Rockets history than disappointing. It makes it clear that Les Alexander has no clue how to construct a winning organization and so we're just waiting the days until Les sells out.

 

Plenty of offense. No defense. No playoff success thats what MDA hiring brings.

 

It was really dissapointing to me because I loved Leonard and was hoping we would trade up for him. When he slipped to us I was literally jumping with joy.

It was just one of my personal dissapointed moments, I wasn't hurt anymore when Parsons panned out, but it hurt on draft night, and now down the road of course.

 

The Wiggins and Lloyd cocaine suspension in 86/87 is up there. Promising run snuffed out.

 

I agree with all of what you just said except for one thing. I don't think there is a key to the defense. MDA is going to do what MDA does. The team will take on his personality on the floor IMO which isn't a stretch from what they are already doing. MDA has a history of good defensive coaches on his staff but he has no history of good defenses.

My point about 2 max players was an attempt to illustrate that we have plenty of cap space to spend in free agency. It's up to the Rockets to figure out how best to use their cap space. They could spend all summer chasing guys like Kevin Durant while other quality free agents get snatched up by other teams. Or the team can make good management decisions and try to sign high quality players that fit around James Harden and the coaching style that we know we are stuck with for the foreseeable future. That decision is up to the Rockets.

Options exist for the Rockets to get back to a 50+ win team that is a contender. Their 1st option was their selection of a coach which I personally think sucked. I hope I'm wrong on that one but I already know I'm not.

Their 2nd option is coming up, Free Agency. With the exception of Dwight Howard they have control of the most valuable assets on the team. DMo is a perfect example of a player they have the ability to bring back if they chose or they could let him go for cap space. They own his restricted free agency rights. They can cut all of their cap holds and rebuild through free agency.

Beverly, Harden, Ariza, Beasley, DMo, Capela along with some high quality free agents could make the Rockets serious contenders providing they have adequate coaching.

There are a lot of quality players that are unrestricted free agents or have a player option for this summer not named Kevin Durant or Lebron James. It's Daryl Morey, MDA and Les Alexanders responsibility to do their job and get two or three of those guys.

Hassan Whiteside
Mike Conley
Al Horford
Chandler Parsons
Nicolas Batum
Al Jefferson
Ryan Anderson
Luol Deng
Joakim Noah
Marvin Williams
Jeff Green
Courtney Lee
Arron Afflalo
Eric Gordon
DeMar DeRozan
Kent Bazemore
Pau Gasol
Mirza Teletovic
Bismack Biyombo

Every single one of those players would improve the team.

 

well, one hypothesis is Harden's $200 million Adidas contract, supplemented by (a) the Kardashian curse and (b) Dwight's decline.

in other words, mostly bad attitude from Harden which led to bad attitude from Dwight and the rest of the team.

Again, "hypothesis." But early on in the season, JET and several others were adamant that it "wasn't the same team."

Why does this matter? if in fact the issue is (at least partly) Harden's superstar status going to his head, it will be very, very difficult for DM, Les, and MDA to overcome that psychological hurdle. Again, I emphasize "hypothesis" -- I do not claim to have an answer to your question in the first paragraph; and it's the right question to ask, also.

But you must allow for the possibility that Harden might be at least part of the problem here.

It will be fascinating to see what unfolds this summer and to see what kind of team they put together for next season.

 

You've pretty much stated what I've been getting at. I've come to the conclusion the players are the problem and not the coaches. You can keep bringing coaches in here until the earth stops spinning and I don't know if it will matter. Who knows. I really don't think McHale was the problem, nor was JB necessarily, and I'm not going to crucify an incoming coach because he can't do any better. People crucify this offense, yet variants of the same offense are being used around the league by teams like the Hawks who also had a good defense with success. The Warriors and Spurs execute similar offenses and have great defenses, as well. Chris Finch said that ISO's are not an inherent part of this offense and when we start ISO'ing, it's because the players are not following the gameplan (paraphrasing). Again, the players... not the coaching. A great offense and a good-to-great defense : it can be done - whether or not it can be done by these players is another question. So to say the problem will be solved by "hey, just add 2 more studs in free agency"? I doubt that will necessarily change the attitude of this team unless those free agents are defensive-minded and take control of this team's lockerroom.

Ironically, what's better for a team that doesn't want to play defense than a coach that doesn't expect them to? lol. Ok, I'm laughing and crying at the same time with that statement...

After thinking about the past season, I've come to the conclusion that this team's success will be decided in phases. The first phase, the D'Antoni change is important, of course. But we've already seen a very good offense with poor defense... we just had it last season. I think more interesting will be if they decide to gut a major part of this team or end up status quo. D'Antoni needs shooters and thoroughbreds. That phase, the second one, will be known over the summer. The 3rd phase will be bringing all these players together and buying into the D'Antoni system. Can he/they do it? Will they be able to do it? Let's face it... early on, it could be ugly if they don't catch on or buy in, so there'll be an adapting period. The last phase won't be until the end of the season : did it work? Was there any improvement? Was it utter garbage and really just make things worse? Then what was the problem? More importantly : now what?

crash5179, I hate to tell you, man, but unless D'Antoni gives up and runs away after the first season, this won't be the only season D'Antoni and Les have (Morey? Not so sure.). Les isn't about to can the guy he probably selected after the first season (will he? ) and he sure isn't canning himself. This is just the beginning... enjoy! (p.s. -- I understand your frustrations, but in reality, we may just be getting started). Now, whether or not you give up on the Rockets after this season is another story. My guess is you'll be back, too.

 

So your saying the talent didn't change so the talent is still there? Thats what I take from your statement. If Harden comes back in shape and motivated and if the rest of the players come into camp ready, motivated and committed then the team should return to 14/15 standard.

That is a sound bite, a statement without context. If the same players are on the team then what does that even mean.

Once again there is nothing in your statement that points to the talent on the team. It's up to the coaching staff and the team to get through to Harden if in fact last seasons disaster did not open his eyes. But the talent is not the issue. I think we are agreeing on that.

I don't argue that point at all. But while agreeing with you I also believe that if you allow your team to exist in an atmosphere without structure and discipline then things like players getting a big head and viewing themselves as above everyone else will happen.

A perfect example IMO is the fact that Harden does not travel on the Bus with the rest of the team while on the road. I think that is a symptom of a bigger issue that points directly back to the leadership at the top and a serious lack of structure and accountability. I think it's reflected in the way the team plays on the floor and I do not expect it to change.

Which takes me back to my original statement. The talent is there and the cap space exists to add whatever talent is needed to get the team back to contending status. Doing that however is up to the leadership and the Coaching staff. My confidence in that group is at an all time low for me.

 

The bigger question than "Will MDA fix Harden?" is "Will Harden fix Harden?" Are the embarrassment and humiliation of last year's record, the playoffs flop, and not even getting mentioned for any of the All-NBA Teams enough to bring about a change of attitude?

My armchair-psychiatrist take on Harden is that he's at his best when things around him are going well. He excels when there's not much friction. Last year he had the off-season ankle injury and conditioning problem, the Khloe thing, then the Dwight attitude to deal with, and it was all too much for him to overcome (though his stats didn't suffer much at all).

Can he avoid such issues this summer, and can DMA and a Dwight-less roster provide him the smooth sailing he relishes? We'll find out.
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- Yao and T-Mac injuries
- Dwight Howard
- Ty Lawson
- The Steve Francis reunion


... no

 

No... however, in regards to our championship aspirations, I can't help but think this line from "Rocket Man," appropriately enough, sums it up:

"And I think it's going be a long, long time..."