Nobody thought Kawhi would be better than Kyrie, Williams, Kanter, Thompson, Vala, Knight, Walker. I had no idea who Jan Vesely was that year until he was drafted, and I still don't have much of a clue because he was terrible. Dat kiss doe. I think it was blazingly obvious that, just based on college numbers, the value of young wings already knowing defense, and his athleticism and wingspan that Kawhi was better than Jimmer (lol) and Burks, and arguably better than either Morris at the time. But let's just re-examine that without the benefit of hindsight. So I think that if you excuse those 7 GM's above for making what would usually be a smart move in drafting those guys over Kawhi (and lets include the Warriors who got Klay, who is probably as good a fit as any next to Curry), that leaves 6 GM's who didn't make the right call. Let's narrow down further: The Kings front office sucks. They aren't benchmark for anything. 5 GM's to go. Already commented that Vesely was a bizarre pick that clearly failed. 4 GM's to go. Drafting Biyombo was a calculated risk that failed but it was the wrong move - how many raw, no-offense bigs have failed in this league? Bad move from Charlotte. 3 GM's to go. I didn't know much about Burks when they drafted him but he did seem like a promising wing at the time, and certainly was no more or less decorated than Kawhi. I'll give Utah a pass. 2 GM's to go. Phoenix got good production out of Kieff for a few years and then locked him up to a good deal. At the time, Kieff seemed like a great pick. Clearly the better of the two Morrises, more talented, stronger, better rebounder. I can see why PHX wanted to go with the known commodity. That leaves Morey. Kawhi averaged 15.5/10 and Marcus about 18/7. Marcus had that nebulous definition of being a "shot creator" while Kawhi was basically known as a slasher. Marcus was also a 43% shooter from 3 in college at a big name school. However, Kawhi was the start on a 34-3 SDSU team, and even the NCAA pundits put him as 2nd team All America, and Marcus 5th team. Why? Kawhi was also the spearhead of that SDSU defense, with an astouding 86 personal DRTG. At that point it comes down to what we valued at the time. What we lacked was a focal point on offense. From that standpoint, Marcus and his PER of 29 and his shooting looked more attractive than Kawhi, and we did end up drafting Parsons later in the draft who was a steal in the 2nd round. So even though I thought we got the wrong guy in Marcus Morris - who would go on to be thoroughly disappointing throughout his tenure as a Houston Rocket, you can see why Morey (and probably half of CF) liked this pick. The guy was an efficient scorer in college, could shoot the 3, and had the potential to be the focal point of an offense. Morey was wrong, of course. But it's a little harder to blame him when you consider how many unknowns were present at the time.
Morey might not claim to be elite. But a lot of people here seem to think that he can do no wrong and always give excuses for his mistakes. Picking Morris over Leonard was clearly a big mistake. There's no way around it. I am sure Morey would admit too. Saying 13 other GMs missed it was no argument at all. It's just an admission that he was no better than half of GMs. But even that is a logical fallacy. As heypartner has pointed out, the lower the pick, the bigger the mistake. No one would fault the team with the #1 pick for not drafting Leonard because he was not worth that high. But at #14, it's a much bigger blunder. If the Spurs didn't get him at #15, they would have been dumber than us. And if the next team didn't pick him up at #16, they would have been a bigger fool, and so on and so forth. That said, every GM makes that kind of mistake. So you can't just point to one draft pick and say he's bad. But overall, Morey is not better than average at drafting in the first round.
FWIW, the Rockets still have the Knicks' second rounder this year (again). Right now, that'd be the 38th pick. There's a good chance there will be a player in that range comparable in talent to a late first rounder. This draft is also supposed to have a ton of foreign talent. More than maybe any draft ever (from a depth standpoint). Perhaps one of the better foreign prospects could be had there, to be stashed and developed over time. I'm not holding my breath for a franchise player (or even a future starter), but a useful NBA player could be had with that pick.
Draft Express had us taking Caris Levert a few days ago. That would be a sensational pick as far as I'm concerned.
That is an important pick if the Rockets want to keep their payroll lean to be able to offer 2 MAX contracts.
If Rockets picked Leonard, he'd be another McDaniels, gifted kid with no future, because we have no one to teach him how to apply his tools.
Kawhi is extremely intelligent and self-motivated. I don't think you have any basis to make that argument. Kawhi has an extremely high basketball IQ that KJ doesn't seem to have. And a good coach isn't going to turn KJ into a shooter unless he puts work into that. Kawhi put work in and became a good shooter - Pop didn't turn him into one. This isn't a knock on KJ but comparing KJ to Kawhi in any form or fashion is delusional.
But but, "In Morey We Trust" right? I thought we were supposed to be LUCKY to have such a wonderful GM? You compare him to Bill Belichick as if Morey's track record is remotely close, and it's nowhere NEAR Belichick's. They're not even in the same conversation. Passing up KL for Marcus Morris was one of MANY mistakes he's miscalculated on. You wanna company Daryl Morey? Compare him to Rick Smith
If the Rockets picked Kawhi Leonard, he will have probably never gotten adequate playing time and be sitting at the end of the bench due to the coaching on the court.
So, you're saying Parsons would have beat him out, because Parsons was drafted in the 2nd round that year, and he did get substantial playing time...making All-Rookie 2nd Team
Who knows, but I do not put it past someone overlooking Kawhi Leonard and his talent on the court. It was credit to McHale to believe in Parsons, but it might have not been the same when it came to Kawhi Leonard.
Pure conjecture. Parsons was our starter as a rookie. Leonard was a better rookie than Parsons. Leonard was arguably more seasoned and accomplished out of college than Parsons. You have no idea whether or not he would have succeeded, and his work ethic and record prior to that time, as well as Parsons' success as a wing defender as a rookie, suggest that Leonard probably would have gotten playing time and likely would have done well.
It is conjecture, but I still think Parsons might have gotten time over Leonard and his talent may have been overlooked on the court, which is fine, that is the way it is in this game.
That makes no sense. You can't say McHale doesn't play rookies and forget Parsons was drafted the same class as Kawhi, and gave him the starting position. They were taken in the same draft Play the same position Play a very similar style at that point in their careers The position was up for grabs that year Kawhi makes All-Rookie 1st Team -- plays 64 games and 39 starts Parsons makes All-Rookie 2nd Team -- plays 63 games and 57 starts btw: that was the lock out year, so there were only 66 total NBA games to play. And you're saying McHale wouldn't have allowed Kawhi to compete with Parsons for the starting job.
This is the true Daryl Maury: A failed leader and a front running fraud that disappears during tough times. The biggest and blindest Daryl Maury homer is back. Maybe the Rockets should hire you as Maury's #1 apologist, but there's definitely not a shortage of yes-men that have surrounded your failed leader.
You are judging after the fact, but who knows what would've happened if he was picked by the Rockets, It could've been it was not feasible to play either, but all Am saying is that Leonard seems to have a unique talent that is easy to overlook on the court. I never said McHale would have not played him, just might of overlooked him as a player. But it could have been that Mchale would have just played him on the court, who knows, I do not think this need to be so complicated at the moment.
??? And you aren't judging after the fact? That makes absolutely no sense to say McHale might not have played either. He started Parsons You're just trying to make a very, very unlikely event (McHale ignores Kawhi for a role he gave Parsons) a reasonable possibility by saying "it's possible." No, it isn't reasonably possible, since Parson got the starting job. Kawhi would have been allowed to compete for the job, too.
I was simply referring to the possibility that if the Rockets drafted Leonard, it was possible that they over looked his talent, I Am not saying if tit was right or wrong, just that giving the coaching staff, they might of not have seen the talent with Leonard enough to play him on the court. It is conjecture and an opinion of what might have happened if things did not turn the way it did after the fact that it happened at the moment. You do not know what would of have happened if they drafted Leonard either, unless you have some special powers at the moment.
