Pat Riley MIA (2008-16) Daryl Morey HOU (2007-16) I was thinking to myself that Morey has a really long tenure with the Rockets, he's been there about just as long as Riley with the Heat. Morey might have the analytics on his side, but Riley has the NBA championship rings as a coach and the respect of the players. There's a reason why LeBron went to Miami, the strip clubs are just as good in Houston. The players respect Pat Riley. Nobody on TNT is questioning Pat Riley's moves. Riley shows loyalty to his players and his coaches, Spoelstra is still coaching and Miami is still a good team. Riley took the Heat to the Finals 5 times, if you count him hiring himself as a coach. They rebuilt quickly after Shaq left and after LeBron left. That's because Pat Riley knows more about basketball than Morey. Our next GM needs to be a basketball mind.
just as long as riley with the heat? riley has been there since 1996 But tbh, there's only a certain level of success that can be achieved with an owner like les, you could win a championship, but it'd be a cosmic alignment one like dallas'
You have to rank Riley ahead of DM. He has 3 NBA championships in the time DM has been in Houston. Riley is a better recruiter than Daryl, no question.
oh yes ofc Riley is better. He's a better recruiter, better negotiator has more basketball knowledge ofc, and recognizes talent better and he also has built one of the best cultures of nba franchises. But that's okay. Because Riley is top 2 in my list in NBA current GMs and is a legend. Morey is great but not at his level.
Everyone thought that Heat are going to be bad after Lebron left, sure, they got to the lottery and picked Winslow, where you can say, look, Daryl wasn't allowed to do that, so he is having much harder job, but Arrison is notorious with his money saving, more even so than Les, it even led some backlash from Lebron when they cut Miller. So to speak, he did amazing job rebuilding after Lebron left, everyone is giving sooo much credit for what Morey did from scraps, but his not only one who did amazing job with little pieces. Look at Celtics, they haven't gone into conference finals, but they made playoffs last year with a team that got no superstars, now they're 3rd in the west, and they're team is so much more fun to watch compared to Rockets and they got tons of assets to either trade or just draft and build with the flow.
Morey hands down. Riley has his history in basketball aside from his GM job as an asset but had Lebron & Bosh not joined, that team would've still not done much since he took over. We got extremely unlucky with Yao & Tracy and now Dwight's declining health and Harden's mentality. That's not on Morey. The deals he managed to pull off were highway robbery most of the time, in hindsight but also at the time. His individual wins of trades and accumulated moves to where he can get a Harden or Howard are still underrated. Given how Morey has to deal with a cheap owner who doesn't want to pay one dime too many unless for louzy draft picks, yes I'd pick Morey as the better GM. That being said, as a person, I dislike Morey very much. The attitude, the tweeting, his face, his distant personality, businesslike manners and the way he handles players and other organisations is rubbing me the wrong way. I don't like Riley either, but anything better than Morey's nerdy ways.
Im Miami, the strippers are right out there on the beach, it's pretty hard to recruit FA's against that.
Did the cheap owner draft Joey Dorsey & bring him back? Did the cheap owner implement Moreyball? Did the cheap owner go on radio interviews referring to his current roster as assets? Does the cheap owner owner host MIT conferences as if we're championship caliber when we've only seen a WCF in how many years? Stop it fam. Les is not running the team. Morey's arrogance & inability to measure team chemistry is why we suck. Analytics can't be the sole aspect you run your team with.
Yes Morey is a dick, arrogant and dumb but his moves are still good. His drafting is subpar, bottom of the league I'd say. Still, he's bound by the owner. I want Morey gone as much as the next guy, but not sure it would do much good when Leslie has the final say.
Riley is an incredibly different GM in incredibly different circumstances. One GM only believes in signing established veterans, and practically gives away draft picks because they do not value them, and the other one looks to take advantage of any scenario he can to get an edge for a team that just doesn't have the ability to stack its roster year over year. Riley has a "my way or the highway" approach which only really works if you are Pat Riley. If Lawrence Frank or someone alike walks in the room and does the exact same things from a coaching & GM level, he's likely viewed as an A#$ to the players. Riley's way only works if you have the resume Riley has. Morey tries things, and sometimes fails. Riley doesn't really try anything nor does he really have to. He's had established stars since coming to Miami. He's had some down years (the early Beasley years) but overall he's had stars come to Miami & to play with Dwayne Wade... NOT come to Pat Riley. Riley was a subfactor. I could go on, and on about the differences & different circumstances but the point is nobody should have to be compared to Riley because nobody can be put in the same circumstances. Morey has done a FINE job. Maybe it is time for a change in Les' eyes because he wants to try something else. That's his prerogative. IMO though the Rockets are at a crossroads where they could take the Riley approach (the stars will come to me, screw trades & draft picks to get talent), or they could take the approach of acquiring (or keeping) a GM that believes in rebuilding a roster by utilizing the draft, finding undervalued players, and making trades to increase assets & valuable tradeable talent. So tell me what TYPE of GM you want. If you want the ladder, who better out there THAT IS AVAILABLE has a better resume & record than Morey himself in achieving success with this model? If there is someone better than I'm all ears. If you guys want an old school basketball mind who only believes in established veterans and doesn't believe in the asset collect/trade/draft approach then please speak up.
