Jerome Solomon gets a very candid Shane Battier to talk about the trade that sent him into the playoffs last season. Moreover, he talked about his time in Houston and the differences between the two teams:
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↵↵"Houston is a franchise in transition. From a talent standpoint, Memphis is going to be a force to deal with for a few years," he said. "Talent wins. You can have all the rah-rah you can muster, but at the end of the day in the NBA, talent wins.
↵"The Grizzlies are more talented than the Rockets."
↵"Last year, we were just crossing our fingers hoping that Yao (Ming) would be the Yao of old," Battier said. "Had he been the Yao of old, no question we would be a playoff team, a 50-win team. Instead …"
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It all comes back to Yao.
↵But, Battier is also well onto a great point about the Rockets. They just don't have the same talent level as some of the big teams around the league. That's why they've been trying to land a big-time star and that's why they've got an overpaid Kevin Martin as maybe the best player on the roster.
↵Until they can add talent that isn't just complementary, Houston will be a team stuck in transition.