from the Morey-D'Antoni press conference: Morey often gets tagged, erroneously, as fixating on this or that style of play. In reality, he recognizes that every time he exploits some analytical flaw in the conventional NBA style, such as undervaluation of 3-pointers, the competition soon catches up. So he's constantly on the lookout for the next exploitable innovation. In at least one interview this year -- I can't remember which -- he signaled that he strongly believes the teams that do best will be player-centered teams, where top players get together and figure out how to make it work. That's fully consistent with the acquisition of Chris Paul, a star who's declining in athleticism but more effective than ever as a leader and organizer. You look for guys who are not just talented, but smart and mature enough to figure out how to work together and organize the team. And they're your recruiters, or, to put it more accurately, it's their team, and your job is just to help them get what they need. Your main job was done when you decided to put your team in the hands of an executive-level mind: a Chris Paul rather than a Russell Westbrook. The rest is facilitation. Once you earn a reputation as a gathering place for a smart, player-run team, the effect snowballs. Top talent will consider joining you because it's not really your team; it's theirs. They're not interested in working for the man. And if they're the sort of player you're looking for, they're not insistent on always being the man, either. They're interested in being the men. I don't mean to slight D'Antoni and Bzdelik. They're much needed. They have to put the right guys in the right spots, and create systems that capitalize on the talent and hide the flaws. But our competitive advantage in this offseason isn't that we're D'Antoni's team or Morey's team. It's that we're Chris Paul's and James Harden's team. That's a team that marquee players who have had their fill of management-run franchises might want to join. I have one in mind.
From a recruitment standpoint, it is a competitive advantage to have top line players being able to TALK/RECRUIT during this June "no talk" time. They can grease the wheels. And then send feedback to Morey. Morey then has time to come up with different trade paths to get things done. So yeah, "get more USA Basketball players" is a good tactic. And yeah, having players feel more invested in the team as "their" team is big. I mean, just look at how LeBron is with Cleveland ownership (and also with LeBron and Miami ownership). Now contrast that to the easy going style of Morey/Tilman.
Great post, @Will. I love the idea that the guys we bring in will get along with the guys already here. Dwight Howard single-handedly killed two years of this franchise's life. No more of that, please.
Great points here. Combine that with the top players understanding the salary cap the way Paul and Harden do and also the arc of Paul's career and his understanding of what it's going to take to be great and we're in the cat birds seat right now for next season and beyond.
