Just admit it, you were wrong about Daryl Morey. Not just because of one hot shooting game by Bobby Jackson. (MJ had a few, too, before he faded. Jackson didn't just shoot well, he ran the offense and kept the flow going. He also played good defense all game. He looks like he would help). Not just because Landry and Scola and Head looked pretty good filling in the minutes Bonzi left behind. But because he has made the team more talented and balanced than when he found it, despite having each of his successful moves questioned fiercely. He also quickly corrects his mistakes. The guy doesn't go out trying to make splashes, he just finds good, smart, talented basketball players with limited assets.
The one move people will always question is the Battier for Gay trade. Everything else has made good sense. I think even the deals for Francis and James were good decisions at the time. As for the Battier trade, I ask myself this question: if we swapped Battier for Gay the beginning of the season, how many wins would we be looking at right now? None of us know the real answer, but I think it would make for an interesting poll question if this topic wasn't beaten to death. I look at the numbers Gay is putting up and think he'd have helped us win a few more games while T-Mac was out or struggling. But then I'm just amazed how quickly the Grizzlies turned from an above average team to a downright terrible team; even with their core players Gasol and Miller and despite the "upgrade" of Gay for Battier.
This reminds me of that thread someone made after two good games by Mike James... ... Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
For what it's worth, Jeff Van Gundy, who no longer works with Morey or the Rockets (thus, no real stake in defending Morey), recently said in a radio interview that he had no question rockets would win less with Gay and Memphis would win more with Battier. Rudy Gay still has a ways to go before becoming a complete player that helps his team win.
after just one game this trade needs more time to be judged than that. We have lost some size there and for a second it looked like the Bulls were going to steal this game with their big team.
i think this move was from CD's last summer here, thought morey might have had a lot to do with it from a moneyball standpoint. the real value of this trade was to take pressure off of tmac on the defensive end. gay can score all of the points he wants for a crappy team, but if he were here, he'd probably be starting, and either he or tmac would have to guard the opposing teams best wing player. gay is a pretty bad on ball defender and tmac tires out when he has to guard a scorer... remember when he was starting at SF with wesley at SG? he faded in the 4th a lot.
Was at the game. Loved Bobby's contribution, but to say he played well on defense all game was a little weird for me. I personally felt that he was faked out and jumped on everything defensively. He also continuously needed help from Battier and Landry to help pick up his man. (Hinrich most of the time) I was rather nervous about his defense. As for his value, I actually loved the trade. I watched him shoot in practice and saw something that worked on his shot's motion very carefully. He gave Rafer some much needed rest. I would guess that if Rafer had to play 41+ minutes, his legs would not be under him on those late 4th quarter shots. Overall, the play was great, especially after they moved him to the SG position once Rafer came back in during the 4th quarter!
One game for Bobby Jackson. Much of the season for Landry and Brooks. All season for Scola. Coming up two years since he joined the organization. There's plenty going on to know Morey's made an impact.
rockets never thought about picking up gay. it was going to be sefolosha(maybe wrong spelling). rockets picked gay FOR memphis. i thought that cd was still in town? if anything it was a joint decision between vg, cd, and morey, so one can't really pin this on him this season is what morey should really be judged on, because they were completely under his watch as GM.
Gasol + Miller + Gay = Terrible team!!! Gasol + Miller + Battier = Playoff Team!!! Do the Math. So why does anybody even second guess the Battier for Gay + Swift deal?
There are a lot of threads like that right now ... some just like to take winning a step farther and losing a step lower. I'm a big fan of Morey's and loved most of his moves, but the Battier trade was a bad move in my opinion because it was a poor use of value ... it's never been about whether or not Battier could contribute to the Rockets. Everyone here would be praising an addition like Battier if it didn't come at a cost of a TERRIBLE season and a lotto draft pick where a highly touted high flyer was available. Battier is solid on both ends... but when you had so few sources of scoring and a superstar with back issues, like we did last year, it was frustrating. But as far as value -- Best way I can sum it up is if the Rockets had Rudy Gay right now, they probably could have traded him to Memphis for Battier and Gasol. However, I take consolation in the fact that the Rockets had absolutely targeted the right player in Brandon Roy... just a few bad breaks (a leaked trade in place and a worthless win in Denver) cost us there.
once you have an opinion, you are pretty much dead set no matter what... battier trade, mike james, and soon to be bobby jackson, that last one is still an unknown... but in your opinion, it was strictly for cost cutting reasons, if you can't see that the rockets needed a PG besides someone not named mike james, it's hopeless. Even after he got traded, you still think that he might even have a chance at helping the hornets... in any case, after 2 years, you have you man crush on rudy gay. Guy has got skills,but man, turn a page... 2 big man crushes, mike james and rudy gay. clucth, i like your site, but sometimes, you just need to let go
You really need to invest in some reading comprehension courses. How does he have a "man crush" on Rudy Gay - he specifically stated that Brandon Roy was the right choice. His argument seems to be that they didn't get enough value for the pick itself, and he is dead on.
I don't know. I think Battier adds quite a bit of value considering his consistent play and that he never misses a game. And he's a veteran who could contribute right away for 35 mpg, from game 1. Long term, there is obviously diminishing returns with him. But it's hard to get much more value in the first couple years out of a mid-lottery pick. Just look at what every other team that drafted ahead of us, outside of Portland, got out of their pick thus far. Plus Battier was low risk; if we took Gay there was always the possibility that he'd turn out to be a bust. It's why so many teams hesitated to take him.
Rudy Gay -- I didn't realize I was "obsessed" with the guy. I don't remember talking about him too much ... the topic was raised, I gave my thoughts. I said the Rockets targeted the right player in Brandon Roy. End of story. Mike James -- egg all over my face, no doubt. Frustrating that he didn't do what he has done most of his career -- shoot the ball well. I didn't have any problems with the Rockets trading him, and yes, it is possible that he could get his shot back and help the Hornets. Bobby Jackson -- I'm the guy who has been screaming for PG help for over a year (remember James?)... but at the cost of Bonzi? That is my reservation about the move. Jackson had a great game in his debut, but we'll see how his numbers play out. Starting to look like I've overvalued Bonzi for this team, but we'll see. Yes, financial reasons were huge in that trade. New Orleans was the best team in the West when they made that trade and they took on salary for more talent (atleast on paper). I don't see how people can't see that. Actually that's not true... example: When you first started posting on the board, I didn't think you were an *******.
What would the value of the pick have been, then? Let's say you are holding the 8th pick, knowing Brandon Roy is off the board. What do you do if your scouting of Rudy Gay indicates he's not your man and in fact you woudl prefer Thabo Sefolosha? What kind of value do you try to get from the pick? Do you ask for more than just Battier? Perhaps Battier + the 24th overall pick Memphis was holding? Do you think you could have gotten Battier+ Miller from them? Is there another trade out there with another team better for the Rockets? Do you trade down a few spots to take Thabo? And what do you think you can get from the other team for moving down? I think MAYBE they could have squeezed another low first rounder out of Memphis... Not sure if it's that big a difference. I believe there were teams selling their first round picks for cash that draft. If there was someone they wanted, they could have bought a pick separated (kinda like they did with Landry's pick), If the 8th picks value is higher than Battier, it's not much higher.
I look at Rudy Gay's stats, and they are very good. He scores a lot. He is effective. He gets rebounds he gets assists. But the Rudy Gay pick did nothing for the Grizzley's of Gasol. I'd rather the Rockets win than have the non defense team that needs to be blown up. Memphis was that team. A lot of offensive players but no wins. Before the Rudy Gay trade that team was on the cusp of being a Western power house. They were getting wins and they were doing everything right. Sure they weren't flashy, but they were competitive and building chemistry. After Rudy Gay, Jerry West had to step down. The losing was monumental. Gasol got disgruntal. Gasol got traded. Miller was being shopped. And Gay was scoring 20 points and being a scoring star. If Rudy Gay was a Rocket, which there were zero chances of that, the Rockets future would be in jepordy. Because it was going to Take Gay some time to adjust. And that time was something the Rockets didn't want to give. They knew before the trade that the guy they were passing on would have talent, but they knew they wanted someone who they didn't have to train. Battier is the consumate professional. He solidified the swing positions. He allows Tracy to be Scoring, passing, creative Tracy and not concentrate on defending the other teams usual top scorer (usually a shooting guard). He's a good defender, but defense won't be the cause of him getting tired. Remember the Dallas series. He tired out because he was playing so much defense. Clutch I see your argument. Is Battier worth Gay? On paper NO!! But Battier is more valuable to the Rockets than Gay would be. I know Memphis would not offer Gay of Battier. But I am 99% sure that the Rockets would not offer Battier for Gay. Battier and McGrady are more effective than Gay and McGrady. Because a Phoenix style of play would wear out Yao over the long season and take away his effectiveness. Yao thrives in the half court offense.
