"The problem with Daryl Morey...that he's been mythologized before he's done anything worth heraldin

Sommermärchen · Jul 21, 2014

SBNation about Daryl Morey

Daryl Morey can't live up to his own hype

The week after Chandler Parsons left Houston for Dallas was filled with two things: gleeful schadenfreude at Rockets' general manager Daryl Morey's failure and empassioned defenses of Morey's tenure. (There were also opinions from the middle.)

After all the sturm und drang, the only thing that's clear is that no one inspires thinkpieces quite like Darryl Morey.

A little backstory is necessary to understand why. Morey was hired in 2007 as the league's purported first math whiz GM. Two years later, a Michael Lewis profile of Shane Battier ensured every NBA fan had heard of Morey. He was also the driving force behind the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which has gained huge amounts of attention, plenty of which has rubbed off on Morey.

Not all of it is good attention. There is a decently-sized Basketball Internet subculture built around anti-Morey sentiments. Some of this is an anti-analytic sentiment, some of this is a judgment that the Morey types act more intellectual than they actually are. But the biggest, most serious critique of Morey is that the GM treat players like assets to be flipped instead of people, moreso than even other GMs.

Morey certainly offers plenty of grist for the mill. He's the most active GM in the NBA, and has developed an impressive set of truly annoying cap management tools. For instance, in the recent Omer Asik trade, Morey received a New Orleans draft pick that only moves to Houston if it falls between pick Nos. 4 and 20.

The Rockets have done this a few times, tweaking the standard NBA formula that only adds conditions at the very top of the draft, not the bottom. It's arcane and weird, frankly. But more than that, it's a sign of a know-it-all, a man who believes himself smarter than everyone else in the room and isn't afraid to declare it.

Another example would be the poisonous offer sheets issued to Asik and Jeremy Lin in 2012. And now, a moment of candor: I'm still not sure I understand a couple details of those contracts. This always helps clear the clouds, but it's pretty telling that even dedicated basketball wonks are still twisted in knots trying to explain what Morey did.

Morey and his crew found a few wrinkles in the one-year-old collective bargaining agreement to create Lin and Asik contracts that would be unbelievably difficult for their incumbent teams (Knicks and Bulls, respectively) to match. This took the idea of causing mayhem in restricted free agency to a new level. It also certainly annoyed the hell out of other GMs, especially the two victimized by the ploy. Morey singlehandedly made the salary cap language less attainable for everyday fans by twisting it in unnatural ways.

Of course, Morey's just doing his job. He didn't write up the Lin and Asik deals to show off. He did it to ensure he landed players who he felt would help his team. (He's since moved both.) He doesn't add ceiling protections on picks to look smart. He does it because he's neurotic enough to want to guard against the slim possibility of the Pelicans becoming a top-10 team. All of this is done in the service of his employer and no one should fault him for that. The Rockets have clearly had success under Morey's stewardship.

Still, there's a nagging question: just how good is he?
The Rockets have won exactly one playoff series in Morey's seven seasons in charge. They have three 50-win seasons in that span, trailing two division rivals (Dallas with four, San Antonio with, uh, seven). After a much-heralded offseason, which included signing future Hall of Famer Dwight Howard in his apparent prime, the Rockets ended up winning the No. 4 seed on a tiebreaker.

Morey has stockpiled draft picks and sold low on several of them, like Royce White and Marcus Morris. And then this summer, in a wondrous tour de impuissance, Morey aimed to land Chris Bosh and keep Chandler Parsons and ended up with neither. That anti-Morey Basketball Internet subculture? Now they have more cannonballs than a 10-year-old's swim party.

The backlash to the schadenfreude is interesting. Some of it is the normal, "well actually" reaction to any statement made on the internet ever. There is someone out there to disagree with every statement, no matter how factual.

But there's also an odd incidence of metric-sympathetic writers defending the most notoriously math-sympathetic GM. It's as if some believe that any critique of Morey, the Merriwether Lewis of unathletic (though not unsporting) geeks in basketball, is a critique on all geeks in basketball. There's a messianic quality to the importance many attach to Morey, a quality that is frankly undeserved. (I'd be more apt to bow to Dean Oliver.)

The problem with Daryl Morey isn't that he's a bad GM -- he's objectively not. The problem is that he's been mythologized before he's done anything worth heralding. He's not R.C. Buford. He's not Pat Riley. But he gets as much play as those guys because of Sloan, because of the Michael Lewis profile, because of all of his patented salary cap tricks. Morey brings plenty of the attention on himself and he pays for it when his plans go sideways. That doesn't mean he deserves to be dismissed as an executive; his performance still ranks highly. His failures just get magnified.

Morey said it himself in a self-deprecating interview with Howard Beck this week: sometimes you swing for the fences and it doesn't work out. Guess what? When you leak your huge plans to the media, when you find yourself center stage among your peers, when you swing for the fences even when you're behind the count and fail? Those tomatoes are coming, and they are deserved.

Morey seems to accept that, to some degree. His most ardent fans ought to take a cue.
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The things highlighted in bold, I have to agree...

NotInMyHouse · Jul 21, 2014

I detect butthurt from the author.

DreaMac · Jul 21, 2014

Sommermärchen said: ↑

The things highlighted in bold, I have to agree...
Click to expand...

Been mentioned a few times. Parsons was treated like a person instead of asset. Gave a big F you to us in return. Treat em like assets. Flip em till we win the chip.

JD88 · Jul 21, 2014

NotInMyHouse said: ↑

I detect butthurt from the author.
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Super butt hurt

RV6 · Jul 21, 2014

If Morey had never used the word "asset" no one would be making a big deal out of it. Let's be honest. That's the only thing that people/media have to hold on to because that's just how the business works. You are allowed to trade whoever you want, whenever you want (with of course some exceptions, but you get my point).

Is it any different to treat them like humans to be flipped? They're still getting flipped.

Plus, guys are coming back. Obviously money plays a role in that, but if guys were really being treated poorly, or even inhumanely, do you think they'd come back? Hell no. It's just the media and opposing FOs trying to make a big deal of it.

This is the same guy who trade Battier back to Memphis. Traded Marcus to be with Markieff. Was that not human(e)? Even Parsons, and we know how that turned out.

Nero · Jul 21, 2014

Sommermärchen said: ↑

SBNation about Daryl Morey

[/SIZE]

The things highlighted in bold, I have to agree...
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Any article like this which does not include Yao's broken feets and T-Mac's broken whatever, is an utter fail.

NO other team could have stayed afloat and not tanked to the gutter in the wake of those two players' crash-and-burn, but the Rockets not only didn't tank, they eventually broke the surface and landed back into the upper half of the brutal Western Conference, solely because of Morey's machinations.

People who toss in the successes of San Antonio and Dallas (uhh.. ever hear of players like Nowitzki and Tim Duncan? That has just a LITTLE something to do with those teams' success, eh don't you think?) as some sort of condemnation of Morey are just plain stupid.

And you don't want to treat players as assets?

Maybe some of you are too young to remember the disastrous deals CD put in place before Morey got here.. I think we're STILL paying Matt Maloney! lol Kelvin Kato! Mo Taylor! Terrible deal after terrible deal..

For every butt-hurt player who gets treated like an 'asset' (what the H does that even mean?? Are the Rockets the only team which trades away players?? SMH), there are about a million guys who would KILL to be in their spot being treated like that same asset.

Carl Herrera · Jul 21, 2014

Morey didn't mythologized himself. It's not his fault that members of media wrote about him. He can't control other people's attention, what he can control is his work for the team and that's what matters.

He and the rest of the front office are doing everything they can to build a contender out of the ashes of Yao and TMac's career-ending injuries. They haven't been perfect but considering the circumstances they have done a very good job.

I don't get the criticism. It's not like the publicity is what takes away from the Rockets winning a title, not Daryl neglects his work to spend time schmoozing with reporters instead or that teams have stopped trading with Houston because NY Times wrote about Battier a few years back.

Haymitch · Jul 21, 2014

Morey brings plenty of the attention on himself
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How so? I've seen this said by many people on blogs and other media. How does Morey attract attention to himself? By being active (his job)? By organizing the Sloan Conference? I don't get it.

ROXTXIA · Jul 21, 2014

I hope this writer got his check from Cuban.

The NO pick mention is stupid. That's just smart business on Morey's part.

Sure, Morey is a bit of a robot emotionally, but jeeeeeeeeeez, what a butthurt article.

J Sizzle · Jul 21, 2014

Dallas fan author?

ThaShark316_28 · Jul 21, 2014

1. It's a bidness.
2. A LOT of writers firmly believe GMs should be seen, not heard.
3. It's a bidness.

Ziggy · Jul 21, 2014

Didn't bother reading it. I imagine it talks about infrequent playoff appearances and lack series' wins.

I imagine it doesn't mention his ability to build around, then recover from, a roster with 2 max stars that sat around wearing suits on the bench while still managing to stay in the race for a playoff spot... then, creating a 54 win team with with no pick in the top 10.

Didn't read it... but I'll say this, if Daryl Morey's job was to win first round playoff series, I'd imagine his record would be perfect right now. For Daryl, it's title contention or bust. You don't hang banners for being part of the elite 8.

People need to deal with that already.

CometsWin · Jul 21, 2014

Posters back up author's point. :grin:

Too funny.

ThaShark316_28 · Jul 21, 2014

ThaShark316_28 said: ↑

1. It's a bidness.
2. A LOT of writers firmly believe GMs should be seen, not heard.
3. It's a bidness.
Click to expand...

4. Media REALLY hates "smartest guy in the room" guy.

Panda23 · Jul 21, 2014

would you like some chips with your salt

DrNuegebauer · Jul 21, 2014

Name a GM who players talk about because said GM 'treats players like people'

That is all.

Morey is just a harder bargainer, and less likely to take crap from others, so gets a bum wrap for doing exactly what they all do.

Easy · Jul 21, 2014

RV6 said: ↑

If Morey had never used the word "asset" no one would be making a big deal out of it. Let's be honest. That's the only thing that people/media have to hold on to because that's just how the business works. You are allowed to trade whoever you want, whenever you want (with of course some exceptions, but you get my point).

Is it any different to treat them like humans to be flipped? They're still getting flipped.
Click to expand...

The article is poorly reasoned. Blaming Morey for media attention is equally lame as blaming Lebron from media attention. Blaming Morey for Rockets' mediocrity is even dumber.

However, the "asset" thing is not just idle hate.

heypartner pointed out in the Joey Dorsey thread about how Morey inadvertently talked about the player being an asset for possible future trade.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_LIFVX-Lgz0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>

The main problem with this approach is continuity. No company would like a high turnover rate for their employees because they know that it is a very inefficient way of building a work force. You not only require a lot of retooling, refitting, and retraining of personnel every time you change them, you also create a everyone-fend-for-himself culture. Why would I care about the company's long term welfare when I don't even know whether I'll be here next year? So I just take whatever I can when I am here. It's just business. Nothing personal, right?

This is just simple fundamental principle of business administration that shouldn't even need to be debated.

TEXNIFICENT · Jul 21, 2014

I've been critical of Morey in the past but this is getting stupid. If Miami doesn't get desperate & throw a 5th year & $30 mil at Bosh then everyone is having a different conversation. If Utah & Dallas don't get desperate enough to throw max deals at Gordon Hayward & Chandler Parsons, then we're having a different conversation. The Rox did the smart thing getting similar production with better defense at a cheaper price.

The media built Morey up & now they're trying to tear him down. Morey has to stay the course & keep trying to build a winner.

TheRealist137 · Jul 21, 2014

Haymitch said: ↑

How so? I've seen this said by many people on blogs and other media. How does Morey attract attention to himself? By being active (his job)? By organizing the Sloan Conference? I don't get it.
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organizing sloan conference
being active on twitter
hosting AMAs on reddit

dream2franchise · Jul 21, 2014

Didn't RC Buford hand us Luis Scola for basically nothing?

Didn't RC Buford give a 30yr old Richard Jefferson a 4 year, $38 000 000 contract, with a player option no less?

No GM is perfect.

The off season isn't over. Many transactions on our end can't be made until September, and lets not forget what can go down between now and the trade deadline.

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