It doesnt take a genius to not give your bust a 5 yr max. Adam Morrison, James Wiseman, Killian Hayes etc all didnt get extensions. Not getting a contract extension is the norm for a total NBA bust.
Spurs may have the better fo but you act like the Rockets are the Kings. They have had 50% record and then 2 50 win seasons in the West after only 3 bad years. Prior that was the Harden era where Rox went on deep playoff runs regularly. Just being objective Rockets are one of the successful teams in the West. Silver gave Wemby to the Spurs because it made sense marketing wise. Wemby idolized Tony Parker and has been groomed to be a Spurs since the beginning.
This isnt really any different from the YaoMac or Harden years. In fact relative to the eras this Rockets team is better positioned than those teams. In the YaoMac era, the Rockets were top 4 seed at best and only reached 2nd round once with Yao and none with Tmac. In the Harden era, Rockets only had 1 real year of contention and the rest were dark horses just like Rockets today. Having Wemby and OKC now isnt that different from Suns, Nuggets and GSW back in the day.
I wonder why the Spurs player development didn't work on Sochan or Primo - did they use it all on someone else?
Unless Amen turns into a player who can shoot and becomes a true iso superstar, the Rockets are cooked. This coaching staff ain't it, and this front office doesn't know what it's doing either.
They were saving it for Wemby. They waited to use it on him and didn't use it on the other role players until after he came. It's a sneaky trick that only the top flight organizations understand how to leverage.
Maybe that's why Pop health took a turn, he ran out of Mitichlorians after he transferred them all to Wemby
I actually see Harper being very similar to Cade. If he and Wemby stay healthy, this team is contending for next 10 years. Could also say same with Kneupple though.
We had a window in the Harden years and it slammed shut game 6 against The Warriors. We went through the wilderness and drafted/aquired: Green (traded) Tari (underwhelming) Sengun (decent) Jabari (underwhelming) Thompsen (decent and promising) Shepherd (underwhelming) We have the picks but looking at the draft classes they’re very underwhelming. The generational talent goes number 1. The pieces are there they just need to be cohesive.
It may have ended up working on Primo if he could keep it in his pants. A lot of their guys have emerged after 3-4-5 years. Primo was like 20 when he got booted off of the team.
Post Kawhi era Spurs had some ups and downs. Derrick White (successful development) Dejounte Murray (I would consider this a success as after Spurs, he got the bag and Spurs got a bunch of picks for him. After he left Spurs, without that leash/structure we see it did not do him much favors.) Keldon / Vassell era. Not good enough as #1/#2 as starters on a contender, but likely over-qualified as 7th/ 8th man on a rotation. Underwhelming as far as not being the superstars. To be fair: Vassell was an 11th pick and Keldon was a 29th. I would still rate Spurs development staff as above average. With Harper, Castle, they have much higher prospects to work with now. Rockets' top 5 picks from tank era... fans should expect more.
When everybody's attention was on how the NBA rigged it for the Mavs to get Flagg as the Luka trade consolation, I saw the Spurs land at #2 and I was like "man, this is the bigger problem folks" Spurs are a lucky ass franchise, but as Macho Man Randy Savage once said "luck is when preparation and opportunity intersect." Yeah they are lucky, but they don't whiff very often either.
I know everybody is bummed with the new lottery system but I feel like if we land one in the 5-10 & the other 10-15 range we can probably find a couple guys to take a swing on. By mid season there will be at least a few more guys hyped up. All I’m asking for is a decent promising guard
Just cuz you are a good vocal teacher doesnt mean everybody you teach will become the next Sinatra. The Spurs invested in a 500M facility with a 125M gym, surely that does something for their player development. Sochan was their Daishen Nix tank commander and Primo prob could have been a good player if he didnt flash the psychiatrist.
Giannis went 15th. Shai went 11th. Those were incredibly talented players who weren't a secret like Jokic. I don't understand everyone not understanding this. The more opportunity to draft, the more likely you are to strike gold. The problem seems to be this team doesn't have the capacity to develop properly. Something needs to change QUICKLY. Hiring Kevin Pelton for the Comets is very funny because the Rockets could really use him.
I respectfully do not agree. I think that the Spurs would beat the Rockets with or without Wemby in 2026 and very possibly in 2027 too. Even with the Rockets hopefully getting FVV and KD back, the Spurs have a number of players that are rapidly improving, and the Rockets will almost be guaranteed to have more injuries next season. As for the Rockets only having 35% of their payroll on the floor - that is on no one but the general manager that decided to target older players, injured players or players with high milage. That is what happens. Castle/Harper/Fox/Vassell/Johnson/Champagnie/Barnes is better than anything the Rockets threw out this season. Harper is on the cusp of being a star - and Castle isn't far behind.
Who said anything about Castle being the main reason that the Spurs beat OKC? I sure did not. As far as the Spurs getting "lucky" that Castle fell to 4 -- the Rockets had a chance to take Castle and passed on him.... and Castle went about where he was expected to go in the draft. No, not every draft pick is luck, if that were the case there would be no reason to have scouts, etc. What we are talking about here is an organization that is well put together from top to the bottom. An organization that overall is very good at the basics of running a basketball team. In short order they dealt their best player for a load of draft picks, they overall drafted very well, they developed their players and they are winning at a high level. If you think that Spurs are in the finals, only because of Victor W, you are wrong. He is a big part of what they do --- but they don't get their without Harper, Castle, Fox and others as well. They have drafted and developed an exceptional young core of players.
If we got rid of our busts then we would just have Amen and Sengun as Sengun has outplayed his draft position and 18 ppg for a top 3 pick 3rd year in Amen isnt bad or total bust. Jabari should be long gone given he was supposed to be the #1 pick that year and I dont mind giving Reed another year or two. The Spurs did what they did because they have Wemby. Things become easier even for dumb GM's when you have a clear superstar.
This is true -- never count your chickens before they hatch. The Magic looked set for a long run with their franchise guys and key role players like Horace Grant and Dennis Scott. Wemby is a very long player, it is quite possible that injuries plague him going forward.... or any number of things. The Knicks have also quietly improved in close games too.
