1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

The Chandler Parsons contract proves my prediction that moneyball would end in failure

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by JCDenton, Jul 11, 2014.

  1. JCDenton

    JCDenton Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2007
    Messages:
    1,090
    Likes Received:
    261
    INTRODUCTION

    In my groundbreaking 2010 essay titled "Ahead of the Curve," I brilliantly predicted that Moneyball would end with the exact type of spectacular failure that Daryl Morey's blunders have inflicted on the Rockets over this offseason:

    Chandler Parsons is the proof in the pudding: a formerly underpaid role player who now cannot be resigned without paying drastically above his true value and giving him a ridiculous max contract. The problem I pointed out years ago (and Morey has no excuse because my work was published and I was open in my willingness to share my knowledge with the team) is that assets deteriorate faster than he can accumulate them by scrabbling about setting up a 6 team trade to try to squeeze an extra second rounder.

    PART I: ASSET DETERIORATION

    We all know how Morey "accumulates" assets so there is no need to discuss that. Instead I will talk about asset deterioration. Chandler Parsons is a perfect example. Last year he was a fantastic "asset" who could have netted us a top player, but Morey refused to pull the trigger. Now because of Morey's poor judgment, his value is destroyed: the valuable final year of his drastically below market contract was lost for nothing, and the Rockets can now choose between overpaying him (making him a negative value asset similar to Jeremy Lin) or losing him for nothing.

    Assets deteriorate in other ways beyond "cheap" players having to be overpaid. For example, sometimes they can be lost for no good reason (as when wasting draft picks to unnecessarily trade Lin), or sometimes a player expected to be an asset that you give up an asset to get does not pan out (Terrence Williams, Royce White, Joey Dorsey, etc.). Similarly, Dwight Howard's contract will continue to increase as his production drops slightly, another way an asset deteriorates. Dwight Howard could also leave in free agency for nothing at the end of his contract, yet another type of asset loss. The point of all this is that Morey's method of making tiny, incremental moves to collect assets is pointless because the assets go bad at a rate too fast to build a title contender that way. In other words, Moneyball is a failure.

    PART II: ASSET ACCUMULATION BEST PRACTICES

    How do teams accumulate assets fast enough to win the title then? Rather than wasting their time on needlessly complex machinations, they pay attention to the big picture, hire a quality coach, and run a top flight organization that players want to play for and be loyal to. Championship teams are built with team building and asset windfalls.

    Team Building

    This is the approach used by the Spurs and old Pistons. Run a top organization, retain your players for a long time, develop them, and build chemistry. This approach can even result in asset windfalls as players accept contracts below value to stay with the team (See: Duncan, Dirk, etc.). Unfortunately, this is the exact opposite of the Rockets approach. Players are somewhat more reluctant to sign here because they know they might not stay here. Our coach needs no discussion. We do not develop players and chemistry over the long term. Instead, we ship out useful young players because we do not want to pay them anything above a pittance or make them a reasonable deal(Dragic, Patterson, Hill, etc.). In many instances, we later want these players back even though there was no reason to dump them in the first place!

    Asset Windfalls

    Asset windfalls typically occur through free agency or the draft. The two most valuable assets in the NBA are a superstar player on a rookie contract, or a max player who plays far above his max contract. These are the two primary ways to obtain an asset that is not determined by market price. The Heat, despite being asset poor, were able to instantly create a superteam due to an asset windfall. The Cavs became contenders both ways: initially Lebron's rookie contract and later due to the windfall of his return in free agency. The biggest boost to the Rockets fortunes was not years of silly pennywise Morey deals, it was getting Dwight Howard to come to Houston without giving up other assets. Unfortunately this offseason, we have witnessed the cost of running a poor organization that players do not want to sign with. Our target free agents spurned and even trolled us, and other GMs attempted to damage our cap space because they dislike Morey.

    CONCLUSION

    For all of Morey's wheeling and dealing, he has accomplished nothing of note. The team is not a title contender, nor does it have a realistic path to contention. The team is not substantially better than what Morey started with: the Yao-Tmac duo that won 52, 55, and 53 games. Last year we won 54 games, and may be worse this year. In other words, Moneyball is a complete failure. As a true Rockets fan, I very regretfully say "I told you so."
     
  2. haydenfisher342

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    Messages:
    2,449
    Likes Received:
    100
    Morey was 1 yes away from a dynasty.
     
  3. okierock

    okierock Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2001
    Messages:
    3,120
    Likes Received:
    186
    Bring back the LOF. These Morey sucks threads are much worse.
     
  4. Marsarinian

    Marsarinian Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2006
    Messages:
    2,071
    Likes Received:
    240
    I'm not putting OP on my ignore list because of the sheer comic value that his posts contain. Love the essay, OP. No graph this time? ;)
     
  5. RoxBeliever

    RoxBeliever Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2009
    Messages:
    6,608
    Likes Received:
    134
    JCDenton, where are your graphs?
     
  6. RoxBeliever

    RoxBeliever Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2009
    Messages:
    6,608
    Likes Received:
    134
    This year. But maybe next year or the following year ... he will keep dreaming and working.
     
  7. JayZ750

    JayZ750 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2000
    Messages:
    25,260
    Likes Received:
    12,960
    Worst thread ever? EVER??
     
  8. TheBeard

    TheBeard Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2013
    Messages:
    141
    Likes Received:
    1
    not moreys fault the dinosaur didn't choose with his brain.
     
  9. robbie380

    robbie380 ლ(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿ლ)
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Messages:
    23,209
    Likes Received:
    9,527
    tl;dr
     
  10. bmd

    bmd Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2012
    Messages:
    7,746
    Likes Received:
    3,514
    Very interesting take. Makes sense. I don't know if it discredits Morey's approach completely, but you make some good points.
     
  11. Blurr#7

    Blurr#7 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2007
    Messages:
    5,276
    Likes Received:
    3,451
    3 years at roughly 2 mil now 3 years at 46. 6 years at 8 mil is a great bargain.
     
  12. MarkItZero

    MarkItZero Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2012
    Messages:
    29
    Likes Received:
    15
    You're pathetic.
     
  13. SuperKev

    SuperKev Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 1999
    Messages:
    1,750
    Likes Received:
    727
    ...and yet if Bosh had signed with us you would not be writing this and patting yourself so rigorously on the back.
     
  14. SC1211

    SC1211 Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2009
    Messages:
    3,128
    Likes Received:
    1,138
  15. magman

    magman Member

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2007
    Messages:
    752
    Likes Received:
    360
    Oh, another Morey detractor stroking their ego!
     
  16. SuperKev

    SuperKev Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 1999
    Messages:
    1,750
    Likes Received:
    727
    ^^^This
     
  17. conquistador#11

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2006
    Messages:
    35,958
    Likes Received:
    22,335
    "groundbreaking essay" a little humble pie. I felt like i was reading a paulfsk thread. But the points are right on. it's exactly how I feel.





    off the subject but not really, I loved a lanceZ story on inviting Maury to play fantasy football and how he just kept stocking up on running backs. He was killing it in trades as everyone else needed a runningback.
     
  18. topfive

    topfive CF OG

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2002
    Messages:
    18,933
    Likes Received:
    37,166
    Graphs or it didn't happen.
     
  19. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 1999
    Messages:
    36,740
    Likes Received:
    13,131
    We had Lowry locked-in, underpaid. We tried to get Lowry locked-in at fair market rate. So...
     
  20. Alvin Choo

    Alvin Choo Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2007
    Messages:
    3,466
    Likes Received:
    152
    But to be in the position to reap the Assets Windfall, you need to either have cap space or assets to trade for them. Which in this case, Morey got Harden AND Howard.

    And seriously? Condemning Morey's ability to find undervalue players? Seriously?

    I much prefer your graphs.
     

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now