First of all Morey is already a genius, he graduated from MIT and was one of the founders of the Sloann conference or whatever it's called. Secondly his team was able to get Harden, Howard and a slew of assets less than 7 years after they started out with Yao Ming, Tmac and the oldest team in the league...without tanking! That's an accomplishment worthy of being genuisses, I'm not sure what you need to wait two months for. The WCF finals and whatever happens two months from now is just proof for those slow in the uptake.
Turnovers didnt lose the series, poor defense and shooting did. So what if Harden asked for pg help? He was playing with terry and another 38 yr old dude at the time of course he would ask for help. Secondly even if he asked for help doesnt mean its what the team needs, we have GM in place whose job is to do just that. If players are good enough to tell what the team meeds to win a ring why do teams have GMs in the first place?
Are you serious ? I understand that you speak in general about GM duties but Harden is 100% right, he needs help and Bev is not enough.
Harden is already thinking of the next season so it is correct to assume that he knows already that he's playing with Bev. Remember that this happened after Rockets already lost the series. GMs just like any other bosses need to listen to their employees at least once in a while to know the real situation. After all, they're not the ones playing the game. It would be fool to decide on your own if you are a project manager without consulting your staff and employees. Any top management knows this or you haven't heard of their relationship. Nobody's assuming Harden's playing the GM role but everbody is acknowledging the importance of input from your star players. It is a team after all if you had forgotten. They might have each of their responsibilities but seeking help and opinion of others is still as important as performing your duty.
Yeah but it's not that simple, Harden said he needed help at the pg spot but what exactly does that mean? Harden is a player, most of his time is spent working on player skills etc. when he got his ass handed to him in the WCF its natural to think he needs pg help. Morey and his staff on the other hand monitor the Rockets for a living, while Harden is working on his game or playing actual matches they spend their entire day working on how to make the Rockets better. "Harden needs a pg" can mean a lot of different things, maybe Harden just needs another scoring buddy on the squad to draw the offense away rather than an actual playmaker, for example OKC only has KD and WB as the offensive creators yet do you hear KD complain about needing a better pg/creator? Or maybe they just need to play better defense, if you had someone limiting Curry to below 30% FG shooting then the Rox would have won the series, would Harden still be complaining of pg help then? You're right of course it's important to listen to your players. However, it's just downright stupid to do what your players want you to do just because of something they said on the spur of the moment or right after they got beat down in a game. I mean for example Houston managed to get KD in FA in 2016, do you think Harden will throw a hissy fit that he's still playing with Bev at pg? I'm just saying that in general the GM and his staff should know what the team needs are, if a player who spent all 5 secs thinking about the matter knows more what the team needs are then the entire FO should be fired.
morey obviously is very good at what he does, way better than dawson. but a genius? based on what? i truly failed to see this one. imo not having overpaid anyone isnt enough to conclude he's a genius.
How about completely rebuilding this team into a Western Conference Finalist without ever having a losing season? I think that, along with the fact that he doesn't overpay anyone (including Parsons, who he turned into Ariza for HALF the money) is a pretty dang good indication that he's "genius". When it comes to Morey, I trust his decisions over pretty much any GM in the league.
I think to be able to understand Harden's request, you just have to look at the offensive sets that the Rockets are running. Nowhere did I suggest for Morey to do what players want to do. If you look at the results of the WCF, containing Harden isn't too complex anymore as before. To quote, NBA is a copy league. To contain Harden and the Rockets, all you need is a straight up defender who can channel him towards a defensive big and let him do his thing for 4 quarters. Without a playmaking PG or anybody who can make plays aside Harden, this will always be a point of weakness for the Rockets offense. Yup, Harden can beat this kind of defense majority of the time but just like LBJ (arguably bigger and more powerful version of Harden), he will lose steam by the 4th quarter. With somebody playmaking aside Harden, he can conserve his energy till the time when he's needed most. Even when you study LBJ's plight during the finals, it's apparent that he's missing Irving's playmaking more than Kevin Love's shooting. He can be dominant for 3 quarters but ultimately, he's gassed by 4th quarter. It's the same thing that's happening with the Rockets. Terry's too old and Bev's just not the type of player who can create opportunities for himself and others. Right now, Harden is the only player who can initiate the offense. Don't you think Morey isn't thinking the same thing? Why do you think he still wants to get somebody like Lin when he's got Bev and Terry? Why do you think he drafted Dekker? Dekker's perfect but he's still too young. The plan is to win NOW rather than TOMORROW.
2 days after LMA landing Spurs, what else Morey did for the past days? Please sign with Josh Smith, then trade a legit PG for Harden...
I remember listening to the BS Report before Simmons gone and Morey was interviewed. He said he likes to be honest with his players and keep them in the loop. It's hardly a big deal if Morey asked Harden what position we need to get better, and Harden says PG. This doesn't mean Harden's running the team or anything. It just makes sense that your biggest superstar should have input on what he feels the team can get better at. Of course, Morey then promptly drafted 2 non-Pgs and just went after LMA, so clearly he's not just adhering to Harden's view. I think Harden's opinion here will sway how Morey views the trade market and MLE use. Perhaps with two similar players, he will tilt more towards the PG. But it won't be an overwhelming factor the way, say, Cleveland have basically allowed LeBron to run their team since he was 20.
If clutchfans is quoting harden then they should take it literally; "help at guard" may mean just that. Harden does not specify PG or say ball handler . For all we know he was talking about a competent backup to take some of the minutes load off him . So in that light resigning brewer or KJ might satisfy James. The thing clutchfans does not have is information . What if nick Johnson is hitting 60% of his threes in practice this summer ? Does that make our perceived need at PG irrelevant? The same question could be asked about KJ . The best thing about how this roster is constructed is that there is a lot of young talent on it and not all that talent has come to bear fruit yet . Is it really that out of the question that one / a few of KJ, NJ , PAPA , Capela , Dekker, or Montrezl could provide signifacant minutes this year ? Either in filling in for an injured player or progressing to the point that they make the rotation .
You still don't think he's a genius??? or anyone still doubting what I said. And I got 2 stars for my post, yet patience is what made this team better. All of you saying Morey sucks for not signing anyone, and I just simply said, no reason to overpay like other teams did. I stick with the Genius part. :grin:
Wow - this thread seemed to have been dated very quickly in the post Lawson landscape. Is there anything left to argue?
Well, "Moreyball" has spread throughout the league. Morey has also been the first GM to do certain things with contracts that are now catching on throughout the league. Morey has been a trendsetter and a forward thinker. He has lead the pack in terms of innovation.
He is a very smart, smart person I give you that. But he has not done anything spectacular yet, where are the results? That would warrant him ingenious status, try again after this season!
All he can do is put the best possible squad given a cap, and he has done that. What happens after that is out of his control, it is up to the players and coaches to succeed. So yes Morey is still a Genius.
Not sure your criteria for spectacular, but he has gotten and held a job as an NBA general manager, a highly desired profession with a ton of wannabes. That makes him one of the top 30 worldwide in his profession. Don't what you do for a living but if you are one of the 30 best in the world at it, I'd call you a fricking genius.
