A Few Thoughts Regarding the Team's Approach and Morey's Tenure

[CertifiedTroll]

The question I have for this Morey fellow is..

Can you beat the flewbot while you honk the tonk rat?

I believe we can at least all find common ground there.

[Marsarinian]

Originally Posted by HillBoy I think Howard wants his cake and wants to eat it as well. He wants to make the BIG $$$ AND win an NBA title. With the superfriends down in Miami, that won't be happening anytime soon for him in Orlando. And it most certainly won't be happening for him in Houston which is why I don't buy into the idea of taking the chance that he'll value the money more than winning a ring and that he'll sign an extension with the Rockets. I believe he wants the ring more and that he'll call their bluff and walk out the door especially if it allows him to go somewhere like an LA, Chcago, Brooklyn, etc. where he has a better chance of getting that first ring. After all, how can he be considered great if there's no jewelry to back up that claim?

I agree with you that both money and winning are probably important to Howard, but I don't get how you got the conclusion that "he wants a ring more." We're talking about tens of millions in guaranteed money. It's not like he has a guaranteed ring in those places that you listed - neither LA or Chicago has or can have that kind of cap room in the future. I don't see how New Jersey is so much more of an attractive option compared to us - as one poster in this thread mentioned, why does Howard have to take a $30 million pay cut to go to NJ, when Deron can come to Houston?

Plus, I don't trust the talent evaluation in this organization (ex. Morris over Leonard) nor do I believe that they would even be able to properly execute this type of strategy because their inability to develop and implement a strategic plan is one of the prime reasons they've in the current situation.

Um... I think it's pretty hard to deny that so far our talent evaluation has been solid, if not very good. You choose to give Morris as an example, when Chandler Parsons has had just as good a regular season as Leonard. Obviously Leonard was off the charts in the playoffs, and may be a better player overall than Parsons, but I'm just saying that your example is extremely biased. I would say that management has always had a strategic plan: shed deadweight contracts, create cap flexibility, collect as many assets as possible, strive to improve the quality of those assets, and pursue an aggressive style in trades and the free agent market to trade/sign a star player. We stayed with the plan perfectly. It just happened that some of our best chances didn't work out. Obviously part of this plan was definitely right, i.e. shedding deadweight contracts and creating cap flexibility, but whether we should have tried harder to get a top pick is much, much more open to debate.

[HillBoy]

Originally Posted by Marsarinian I agree with you that both money and winning are probably important to Howard, but I don't get how you got the conclusion that "he wants a ring more." We're talking about tens of millions in guaranteed money. It's not like he has a guaranteed ring in those places that you listed - neither LA or Chicago has or can have that kind of cap room in the future. I don't see how New Jersey is so much more of an attractive option compared to us - as one poster in this thread mentioned, why does Howard have to take a $30 million pay cut to go to NJ, when Deron can come to Houston?

But your entire premise is based on the following two events: (a) Howard valuing money more than a championship and (b) Deron coming to Houston to play alongside him.

Consider (a) Let's say that Howard would be satisfied with the guaranteed money. It would also mean that he'd also have to be willing to live with the possibility of not winning a championship to validate his status as one of the great players of the game. Now, I just don't believe that his ego works that way and with Lebron finally getting his ring, you can bet the farm that Howard not only wants one for himself - he wants to be the reason his team wins the title. Given all of this, just why would he want to come here where his chances of doing so are greatly diminished?

(b) Deron actually coming to Houston is dependent on Howard actually choosing to stay on in Houston which is dependent on Deron coming to Houston. Do you see the problem here? You cannot have one happen without the other because both events are linked. Howard won't commit to stay unless he knows Deron is coming to play with him which cannot happen because Deron will want concrete evidence (contract extension) that Howard will be there to play alongside him before he commits to the Rox.

Um... I think it's pretty hard to deny that so far our talent evaluation has been solid, if not very good. You choose to give Morris as an example, when Chandler Parsons has had just as good a regular season as Leonard. Obviously Leonard was off the charts in the playoffs, and may be a better player overall than Parsons, but I'm just saying that your example is extremely biased. I would say that management has always had a strategic plan: shed deadweight contracts, create cap flexibility, collect as many assets as possible, strive to improve the quality of those assets, and pursue an aggressive style in trades and the free agent market to trade/sign a star player. We stayed with the plan perfectly. It just happened that some of our best chances didn't work out. Obviously part of this plan was definitely right, i.e. shedding deadweight contracts and creating cap flexibility, but whether we should have tried harder to get a top pick is much, much more open to debate.

I will be the first to admit that talent evaluation has been better under Morey than it was under CD but that is not saying much because it sets the bar very low. While he's managed to overhaul the roster, Morey still has not been able to find the size and athleticism this team will need to really break through and compete. So for, all "the Plan" has managed to do is cycle through a number of players with similar ability none of whom can be considered to be a difference maker especially within the division. The end result hasn't been all that different from that under CD what with the numerous NBA lotto appearances. All I can see down the road is more of the same with the Rockets if they continue to follow this path because all it does is keep them stuck in NBA mediocrity.

[K-Low_4_Prez]

Originally Posted by v3.0 I don't really know what results we could have got with a frontline of Nene and Pau, but I'm glad we didn't give that fatass contract to Nene. Put it this way, I think Bynum is better than Nene and they couldn't get to the finals this year with both AND Kobe (don't really want to get into the Kobe ballhog discussion).

no duh Bynum is better than Nene. Bynum is the second best 5 in the world at the moment... And they didn't win because it is a TEAM game and they had about 1 player on there bench who could score at all, but you our right about not wanting to give Nene that deal!

[K-Low_4_Prez]

Originally Posted by HillBoy (b) Deron actually coming to Houston is dependent on Howard actually choosing to stay on in Houston which is dependent on Deron coming to Houston. Do you see the problem here? You cannot have one happen without the other because both events are linked. Howard won't commit to stay unless he knows Deron is coming to play with him which cannot happen because Deron will want concrete evidence (contract extension) that Howard will be there to play alongside him before he commits to the Rox.

well I would assume that if this was actually like a possibility that Dwight and Deron would talk to each other and say "lets go to Houston" (im 99.7 percent sure they won't) much like how Dwayne Wade had been recruiting Lebron for much longer than just that summer... (Lebron knew he was going to Miami very early into his last season in Cleveland) if they really do want to be together which im not really sure they do they have already talked about and probably made up their minds already

[DaDakota]

Originally Posted by K-Low_4_Prez no duh Bynum is better than Nene. Bynum is the second best 5 in the world at the moment... And they didn't win because it is a TEAM game and they had about 1 player on there bench who could score at all, but you our right about not wanting to give Nene that deal!

No doubt, getting Nene would have been a HORRIBLE move.....

DD

[K-Low_4_Prez]

Originally Posted by DaDakota No doubt, getting Nene would have been a HORRIBLE move..... DD

you knew it was bad when they traded him for Javelle "Wrong way" McGhee just to get out of paying him.

[DaDakota]

Originally Posted by K-Low_4_Prez you knew it was bad when they traded him for Javelle "Wrong way" McGhee just to get out of paying him.

I knew it when we were discussing it last summer.....ridiculous.

DD

[rolyat93]

Originally Posted by K-Low_4_Prez you knew it was bad when they traded him for Javelle "Wrong way" McGhee just to get out of paying him.

Mcgee's got talent, and he's a nice prospect. They're going to have to pay him too.

[K-Low_4_Prez]

Originally Posted by DaDakota I knew it when we were discussing it last summer.....ridiculous. DD

i honestly wanted Nene but not for what he got payed. I swear the NBA is just stupid with contracts, Max contracts should be for like franchise players but you get desperate teams that start offering max contracts to slightly above average players and it just messes everything up!!!

[K-Low_4_Prez]

Originally Posted by rolyat93 Mcgee's got talent, and he's a nice prospect. They're going to have to pay him too.

His talent is he is 7ft tall in a league where there seem to be less and less true centers but honestly i think he is trash he is like a Deandre Jordan type player and he will probably get a contract like his that he hasn't earned at all

[rolyat93]

Originally Posted by K-Low_4_Prez His talent is he is 7ft tall in a league where there seem to be less and less true centers but honestly i think he is trash he is like a Deandre Jordan type player and he will probably get a contract like his that he hasn't earned at all

So you didn't see him running circles around the Lakers this post-season? And he is an elite shot-blocker, yes he will be overpayed but to say he is trash is ignorant. Somebody is going to offer him that money, is he supposed to say no?

[dobro1229]

So now people are claiming they were so against the Rockets signing Nene last Summer... please. Give me a break. Seems like a pretty convenient time to make those kind of statements.

Very good, borderline all-star centers are hard to come by. He was healthy at the time they were pursuing him in free agency like every other team in the NBA was doing, and Im positive the signing would have been contingent on passing a physical.

Yes, we all would have been upset when he went down with injuries this past season, but nobody at that time wouldn't have pursued Nene.

If anyone on here is claiming to have been strongly against signing Nene I would love to see some historical quotes from July to December 2011 of your strong opinions of Nene when looking into your crystal ball. And I dont want to hear a thing about him being worth the $. Especially since those same people that bash Les A. for being a "Cheap you know what."

[Mav-Hater]

Funny I remember some of these "Nene is garbage" posters in this thread were sportin' wood last summer when they thought we might get him. Seems memories are short and hind sight is 20/20. Politicians?

[thetatomatis]

I like Moreys approach. It will lead him to good things.

[HillBoy]

Originally Posted by thetatomatis I like Moreys approach. It will lead him to good things.

Naw, according to the Tea Party, all Commissioner Stern has to do to make things right is cut the luxury tax and reduce unnecessary and cumbersome rules and regulations (zone defense) that inhibit the ability of (small & medium sized) players to drive to the hoop and thereby generate more scoring opportunities for the rest of the NBA teams. Once that's done, the benefits will then trickle down to teams like the Rockets thereby making them more competitive in the global basketball economy. This will allow Morey to keep his job for another 10 years without the need to produce an NBA championship.

[Marsarinian]

Originally Posted by HillBoy But your entire premise is based on the following two events: (a) Howard valuing money more than a championship and (b) Deron coming to Houston to play alongside him.

I appreciate your points, but you are reading my reply wrong. I'm not saying that Howard values money more, nor am I saying that Deron will come to Houston.

I'm saying the following: I think you underestimate how much the difference in guaranteed money for a max contract will affect Howard's decision. It is far from immediately clear that Howard will choose to leave the money on the table and bolt from Houston if we bring him here on a rental. Of course the rental is also a gamble. However, we must realize that the new CBA gives teams a lot more leverage, and puts star players in a very, very difficult spot when facing free agency. I only used Deron as an example to illustrate the point that, you can't just assume that Howard will bolt simply because he wants to play beside a star player. He might think that he will be enough to attract a star play to Houston.

I will be the first to admit that talent evaluation has been better under Morey than it was under CD but that is not saying much because it sets the bar very low. While he's managed to overhaul the roster, Morey still has not been able to find the size and athleticism this team will need to really break through and compete. So for, all "the Plan" has managed to do is cycle through a number of players with similar ability none of whom can be considered to be a difference maker especially within the division. The end result hasn't been all that different from that under CD what with the numerous NBA lotto appearances. All I can see down the road is more of the same with the Rockets if they continue to follow this path because all it does is keep them stuck in NBA mediocrity.

People say this a lot. I think it's funny because, I ask, what would you have done that was different? We had "size and athleticism" in Gasol and Nene, if that had gone down. There weren't any acquirable free agents that fit your description last year (we had no cap room due to @!#%$@! contracts the years before), and in the draft, name one star player with "size and athleticism" that Morey has missed in the past 3 years. The closest player I can think of is DeAndre Jordan, and I'm not sure I would want to pay a guy with no post skills whatsoever to be my starting center at 10 million dollars a year for the next 5 years.

[K-Low_4_Prez]

Originally Posted by rolyat93 So you didn't see him running circles around the Lakers this post-season? And he is an elite shot-blocker, yes he will be overpayed but to say he is trash is ignorant. Somebody is going to offer him that money, is he supposed to say no?

no I didn't because I have absolutely no reason to watch a Denver- LA
series! And yes he is a dare I say great shot blocker but again that's because he is 7ft tall in a NBA were there are hardly any true centers! But this guy makes more dumb plays then possibly anybody ever, he will get overpaid and the team that does it (probably Denver) is going to be stuck with a bafoon!

[dobro1229]

Originally Posted by HillBoy Naw, according to the Tea Party, all Commissioner Stern has to do to make things right is cut the luxury tax and reduce unnecessary and cumbersome rules and regulations (zone defense) that inhibit the ability of (small & medium sized) players to drive to the hoop and thereby generate more scoring opportunities for the rest of the NBA teams. Once that's done, the benefits will then trickle down to teams like the Rockets thereby making them more competitive in the global basketball economy. This will allow Morey to keep his job for another 10 years without the need to produce an NBA championship.

Great post.

[Commodore]

Originally Posted by HillBoy Naw, according to the Tea Party, all Commissioner Stern has to do to make things right is cut the luxury tax and reduce unnecessary and cumbersome rules and regulations (zone defense) that inhibit the ability of (small & medium sized) players to drive to the hoop and thereby generate more scoring opportunities for the rest of the NBA teams. Once that's done, the benefits will then trickle down to teams like the Rockets thereby making them more competitive in the global basketball economy. This will allow Morey to keep his job for another 10 years without the need to produce an NBA championship.

Actually when Morey was asked about his ideal CBA structure, he said a hard cap with no other rules (i.e. no restrictions on contract amounts, lengths, guarantees). Such a system favors the smart and prepared.

If I recall he received a heavy fine for those comments.