Does Morey have a keen eye when it comes to drafting/acquiring good PGs and PFs, or are we biased because we watch/root for them? He's signed (undrafted FA's) Chuch Hayes and Greg Smith. In the second round, he's drafted Landry. He's traded essentially a 2nd rounder for Scola. He's drafted Patterson and TJones in the 14th and 18th slots. When it comes to PGs, he drafted Brooks at #26. He picked up Lin, albiet before waiving him and "Linsanity". He traded scrubs for Lowry. Canaan could also be a very good value pick, though the jury will be out on him for a while. He stole Beverly from Europe. He also traded Brooks for Dragic and a 1st, only to take Brooks back for cheap (though I wish we would've held onto Goran). So--does Morey have a keen eye for these positions, or are we biased because we watch them and overhype them? Chuck and co. haven't done much since leaving Houston. If there's anyone I'm forgetting, feel free to add. Thoughts?
I wouldn't put Ish Smith on that list honestly...that's just me, but yeah he is getting playing time with other (scrub) teams after not being drafted
NBA is PGs league. Also there are too many good PFs. It is kind of hard to get bad PGs as a matter of fact.
Seriously? Lowry is a beast, and he'll probably be an all-star this year. Lin doesn't even start on his own team.
You forgot, Morey also passed on Kawhi Leonard for the great Marcus Morris of which Im still painfully scratching my head to this day. Popavich was all over Leonard in next pick trading one of his favorite players George Hill for 15th pick. Apparently Morey had Morris rated higher on his board than Leonard LOL.
I agree that Lowry is better than Lin, but the "Starting" argument is overblown IMO. Ginobili doesn't start for his team, does that mean Danny Green is *better*? I don't think so. It all comes down to how many minutes a player plays, and the role within his team. Bev is a better fit next to Harden. He D's up and doesn't need the ball to be effective. He's essentially the polar opposite of harden. Lin is similar (hint: not nearly on same level) as Harden in their playing styles, so he's not as good of a fit next to Harden
For me, it's not so easy to criticize a decision if you don't really know the reasoning behind it. IF Morey was looking for a tweener SF/PF who can shoot the ball from the outside, then Morris was obviously the right choice. If he was just looking for the best player regardless of position, then he made the wrong choice.
I think morey is good (solid players) at drafting...see chandler parsons, tjones, pat bev, ab, patterson,etc. okay at trading...traded for dragic (meh, it's a draw..lost ab, then traded for him again), klowry (got a first round pick..okay), traded for thabeet (bad pick up), thomas robinson (bad), above average at signings (harden, howard, jlin, asik,) in recent years but was bad for a while. I think Morey is better than most GMs.
Morey was going for all-star talent, so under those circumstances I can't really blame him for taking risks. Then again, Morey did pick out Parsons, who is the best SF of these 3.
This thread is also about Morey's eye for 1's and 4's. Kawhi is a 2-3, and Morris is a 3-4. A couple things--yes, Kawhi is a good player. But perhaps his image is misleading because of the team and system he plays for. Same with Parsons. Both are very, very good in their roles on these teams. But if you put Kawhi on a dysfunctional team like the Kings of years past, or is Kawhi was drafted by Wizards...we could have a very different view of him. Yes, in hindsight, 10-12 teams overlooked Kawhi. Don't think that falls on Morey though any more than any other GM.
Wrong! I don't dislike Lin but Lowry is way better with a nice 20 PER. His skills aren't his problem, its that he is knuckle head. He acted like a putz when he was in Houston and lost a chance to be on a great team for 6+ years. Instead, he is in the basketball hell hole known as Toronto. No knock on the city, just the basketball team.
Heh, I think Morey is fabulous at evaluating free agents and mighty good at signing them, but I think he's a disaster at trading. Above average with his draft picks. I think he's significantly better than most GMs during the offseason. During the season, constant turmoil on the team mostly because of Morey. But I'm sure none of those perceptions are completely fair.
Harden should count as a trade, not a signing. The signing was a no-brainer. (What team that didn't already have maximum contracts wouldn't do it?) The fact that he had assets to deal to OKC is what allowed him to get it done.
Has everything to do with the supply at those positions. In order of highest supply/quality in the NBA to lowest: 1) PG 2) PF 3) SG 4) SF 5) C It's either happy coincidence or great planning that we've invested the most money into 2 of the most rare players in the league: a wing (Harden) and a center (Howard). Also, Parsons is about to get his big bump. Where there is a derth of supply, you should be more cost aware. There are tons of guys that can do what Scola, Patterson, Morris, Landry, and Hayes provide. Same for Brooks, Lowry, Dragic, and Lin.