He might have gotten that little fact wrong, but you know who Micheal Lewis is, right? Wrote the books, Moneyball, The Blind Side and The Big Short. And maybe most impressive was he coined the phrase "Big Swinging Dick" in Liar's Poker. He's definitely worth the read, and allowed a factoid being wrong by a few draft slots. SamFisher started a thread for his new book, quoted above.
cheke64 must be miserable this year, the rockets are actually good and he doesn't have any content to **** on harden and morey lol
I still think Morey hiring McHale was a disaster - and he has had plenty of misses, Terrance Williams, Ty Lawson - etc..etc..etc....but he also got us James Harden - and Eric Gordon, and while IMO he is not a great GM, he is above average - and in all honesty, working for Les Alexander, I am not sure Morey gets to completely express himself and run a team - I firmly contend that Morey will be a better GM at his next job because he will have learned so much here and he will negotiate himself into a stronger position. So, even though I criticize him some - I still LIKE him, and want him to stay. DD
Lol @cheke64 has been very absent this year. Quality of GARM also much higher. Coincidence?? Morey is a top 5 GM and has been since he started. I have a hard time taking anyone who says otherwise seriously.
You know last season was bad when the year we turn it around, are 18-7 with Harden playing MVP level bball again and Cheke64 has to bring this thread up again.
You know, this has been your mantra; but seriously, look at Portland paying $18,000,000 per season to Evan Turner and to Allen Crabbe. I know it's a hyper-inflated market, but still. I do wonder if there are agents steering their (usually mediocre) players elsewhere. And McHale was a double-down mistake: Morey, for hiring him; Les, for extending him. Another star might shake loose if Morey can trade for the cap space. It's overall a well-run organization. The problem might be that we are often the star player's second choice. Maybe that will change next summer (I'm not betting on a trade for a star right now). But this "fire Daryl Morey"? Why does this pop up so much? Who you gonna replace him with?
This time I made a joke though. You took the bait. DD has put it into the right context. Morey will always be No. 2 behind Les and his decisions. Rarely did I come across such an influential owner (passive aggressive kind). There is no step towards greatness for him, or he is shown flashes and cannot unfold all of his potential. I do not think lowballing is his idea either, Alexander has been a cheap owner but he has a right to be, it is his money. Someone's head is going to roll either way every time the Rockets ship sinks. Now they are playing well but wait until they are not.
Name me a single profession where this isn't the case. Some of you act like this isn't a business, and that the Rockets are simply there to play pick-up ball. When **** hits the fan, and things aren't working, changes have to be made. I don't care if you build widgets in Factory XYZ, you wash cars for a living, or if you own a taco truck. No matter what, when things stop making financial sense, and performance dwindles, heads HAVE to roll.
Didn't even look at the author, just the excerpt. There's been some horrible articles posted here lately. I was jaded by bad journalism.
Driving McHale out after 11 games....does not happen every day and then replacing him with an even worse JBB. Cool trick. And then there is his difficult relationship with more renowned coaches, JVG and Adelman. This owner has been special, one of a kind.
Just curious. Who would be or have performed better? I don't understand how people act like this is a perfect science. a good GM/owner/coach combo is the most important attribute for sustained success in the nba.
I'll give you the McHale debacle. That was a disaster of epic proportions, and should have been handled differently. However, in regards to the other two, ultimately, the buck stops with Leslie. It's his money. I would say that he's not nearly as meddling as other owners......we just hear more about Les because we are here in Houston. You can't argue with the results since Les took over the team. I believe they have the 3rd best winning percentage over that span of time, and while we have not won championships, we have always been perennial contenders. I'm not saying that he's without his flaws, but I will say that he's passionate about the team and the city, and he wants to bring Houston a winner.
Great, so what if McHale righted the ship? What if he got Dwight to buy in enough to win 48 games and we lose in the second round. Where are we right now? Not all mistakes lead down darker paths. Morey drove us straight to the bottom of the playoffs and an early exit. This was probably a good thing. Sometimes when you see that you're at a crossroads, the answer's right underneath you.. further below JB Bickerstaff. Also, lesson from JB, just because a coach does good halftime interviews, it does not make them a good head coach. Players don't hear those interviews, fans do. The ones watching tvs, with little to no impact on the game at all.
I am getting hungry. It would be an up and down, roller coaster, maybe the up is lasting a little longer this time.
