Please do not crucify Morey, yet.

There seems to be alot of negativity on the boards with regards to Daryl Morey, and there seems to be the opinion that he should be fired if he is unable to dramatically alter the roster this offseason.

Free Agency is just underway, and luck has not delt him a kind hand, things could be drastically different if Robinson went second and Sacramento traded their pick, althought the argument could be made that Robinson was never a lock to go 2nd. Nevertheless I believe he tried ardently to get into the top 10, talks with multiple teams broke down. He turned Budinger into first round pick, and moved up using the widely inconsistent Dalembert to poach Lamb from Phoenix who were reported to take him.

I like the offer to Asik. People are critical of offering 24 million to Asik for his lowly career averages, however Marcin Gortat held similar averages in Orlando and has turned into a 15/10/1.5 player with extended playing time. Asik while shockingly challenged on the offensive end, can anchor a defense, with his ability to defend the PnR playing a big part in Thibodeaus defensive schemes. Whilst Morey certainly low-balled Gortat, he would not make the same mistake here. Such a 'poison-pill' type contract actually gives Houston a good shot of obtaining Asik. Hollinger, put it quite clearly, for chicago's financially limited front office, even with an amnesty of Boozer, Asik would essentially cost them a starting powerfoward in Boozer, 15m for his buyout, and 15m for Asiks' contract. Even with a match of the offer, I still feel Houston could obtain Noah.

The situation with Dragic is not surprising. The nets seemed willing to offer 9 million if Williams fell through, and with other potential suitors seemingly willing to offer such money, the chances of him returning to houston are unlikely. Morey seems unwilling to budge on his offer, and frankly I do not think Dragic is worth the 10m he is asking. His decision making down the stretch in many games last year was poor, and critics of the 'small sample space' with Lin cannot ignore the same reasoning with Dragic. Lowry in my opinion must be traded. People can argue it was said in the heat of the moment, however he was openly insubordinate, and cannot co-exist with McHale. Fate seems to have delt Lowry the same hand to that of Aaron Brooks, and situations can change very fast. Whilst I would rather Dragic over Lin, I would find it difficult for the Knicks to match a back-loaded contract similar to that of Asiks'. a 3yr-24m (5,5,14) offer would allocate almost 130 million with the new penalties to 4 players (Lin, Stoudemire, Melo, Chandler). Such a payroll is unthinkable, with Stats guarenteed contract untradeable, it looks as though the Knicks may relinquish Lin and make a run at Kidd or Nash (unlikely). Lin to some represents a novelty and many are way too willing to dismiss him as an overpaid, overhyped, cashcow. Whilst it would be impossible to objectively state that such ulterior motives aren't at play, Lin's rise came about because he helped the Knicks, win. With a team with no ego's he went on a stretch not seen in a long time, and I am doubtful that his vision and tactical nous would dissppear, but could flourish if given appropriate PT and tutelage. Essentially a rookie, such production would have been lauded from a top-10 pick, and I have no doubt that Lin could develop further.

There also appears to be some confusion regarding how such 'poison-pill' type contracts affect the payroll. Asiks' offer for example would run 8.3,8.3,8.3 against the Rockets Salary cap as the team making the offer to RFA take the average of the deal. Chicago, however. would log 5(yr1), 5(yr2), and then the whopping 15m in year 3, hence the problematic cap situation.

All in all, it is very early in free agency, and I've no doubt Morey is working overtime to try and add pieces, but some individuals are seriously underestimating the difficulting in simply "trading the kitchen sink" for a Dwight Howard rental or moving into the top 10 with an openly disgruntled PG, Martin, Scola, etc as trade-bait. Morey has never had the benefit of having multiple top 5 draft picks as Presti, and as JVG has always stated, such an approach the Rockets take should be applauded, not scoffed at.