Daryl Morey did an interview with Adam Wexler and Matt Jackson today (great job btw, Matt and Adam)... you can listen here: http://www.nba.com/rockets/rocketscastlive (Episode 8) It sounds like they're "ALL IN" on this year (bye bye, Pelicans pick?), adding Josh Smith was about amassing talent for a loaded West and they're pretty encouraged by Terrence Jones' progress. On adding Josh Smith "I think you add him regardless. He's a guy who's shown he can be an elite defensive player in this league. I think he's got the most blocks at a young age of any player in NBA history, something crazy like that. So he's always been an elite defender. He's somebody you just add and you try to figure it out. I fully believe it's going to be such a struggle in the West this year... not any series is going to be easy. You need all the talent you can get." On current view of building the Rockets "We really do feel like these years -- Dwight's in his prime, James is in his prime - they're special. We need to optimize them. That's why losing in the first round was so disappointing. We're pushing hard, putting everything in the middle right now. There's no waiting." ... "We definitely wanted to add vets this year who have won it and know what it takes, and we've done that. We've added talent. Time will tell if we're there. I actually think with the talent we have now we may have enough. We'll know more obviously as we get closer to February... we'll know more where we're at." On Terrence Jones' injury "We're feeling very good about Terrence right now. He's almost to full weight on that foot, in terms of his workouts. He's on the court shooting. He's doing light drills type stuff, but we're feeling good about that." On why they went after Corey Brewer "We did feel like he'd be better with better talent. I think that's a bit of a trite phrase, but I do think we felt like ... he's like a spark of energy, and that's something you can always use off the bench. He's sort of a game-changer. He can make turnaround plays. We absolutely felt like he'd be more open with better talent. And frankly we just like long wing defenders on the wing. And Trevor was like second in the league in minutes... maybe third... he was in the top five, so we felt like anything to get Trevor down to like more 35 minutes a night. And that was a big factor too. And then Kevin's relationship with him was big. He felt very strongly, as did I, that coming here would sort of -- you know, it's tough to play on a team that wasn't winning as much as Minnesota. It just weighs on you mentally and you don't play as well. It just is. Usually you'll get a guy play a little better when he comes to a better team." On Donatas Motiejunas' improvement "I think he's a big confidence player. The light definitely went on. In year two and three, usually you get your biggest improvement of any player. He took a big step forward in Year Two and then Year Three we're like, 'OK, take another step forward and we'll be good' but he jumped like three stairs. To your point, he's playing at it feels like 30 percent better on both ends, which is amazing. Our defensive changes have helped him. They're a little bit easier to be aggressive within, so you can have a little more confidence. Like OK, if I'm aggressive here, I'm within the scheme and I know what I'm doing, so that's good. He really clicked at that first move you make in the post is the key one and he's doing that with aggression, and that's setting up all his counters. And that's been huge as well. It's been great. I was happy he played so well, even though he was dropped to the first big off the bench." On the Rockets' best offensive options "After James everything -- James left, James right -- after every single move James thinks of, our next best offensive option is a post-up by Donatas right now, which is just an amazing accomplishment that we can say that." On James Harden's monster season "I've never had an MVP on a team. I had peak Paul Pierce when I was in Boston, who was pretty good obviously. Then when I first got here, before Tracy took his injury decline, Tracy was one of the best ever, but I've never had a player playing at a level that James is playing now. It's amazing to watch and another reason why we're all in. You can't have the MVP and waste that. It's rare. Durant's been the MVP and LeBron's been the MVP. The year you have the MVP you have to be going for it, and that's our focus right now."
Morey admitting our 20 million dollar man is not one of our best offensive options is very telling. I'm starting to feel that money could have been better spent to strengthen the team elsewhere.
You guys...what Morey is admitting is that DMo has made huge strides in his ability to score. It does not demean or diminish anyone else's abilities. Be glad, because if he acknowledges it, McHale sees it too. Despite the naysayers, McHale is not devoid of basketball intelligence.
The fact that Morey sees it is big. When Morey gives these interviews, it's always strategic. After the team plays bad, it's to give the restless fanbase and I believe coaches a rationale for moves we've made or are going to make. I'm sure it will trickle down to the coaching and offensive schemes we have moving forward. Must be a condition on McHale's contract. I think Howard senses it too. Just like getting Josh Smith, last year getting Dwight was a no-brainer. All our coaching investment with Hakeem etc and making him comfortable on the team was worth it. We couldn't have foreseen his knee issues. I'd say play him in limited minutes and give Dorsey, DMo, Josh a bigger defensive load. Maybe he'll be more motivated in the playoffs but we've got to conserve him. That reasoning may also help him understand why we're not going to emphasize his post-ups more.
Man-for-man Rox in pretty good shape. KMc's coaching/staff def improved. So, yeah, no team is so super as to scare stuff out of me (as a fan). Man-for-man many in West in pretty good shape. Some pretty impressive coaches/staffs in West like in Dallas/LAC/SAS, Griz/Blaz ain't bad either. So, I am optimistic Rox have a chance. I know the new trio must get with the program and gel, as well as the next guy who is added (as one will most undoubtedly be). Let's Party like it's '94-'95!
