Audio: http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/e/1/8/e18...25607701&hwt=6529206110d04a0f12b3842b87c91ffc Starting at 19:48 or so. Discussed Steve Kerr's quote. He also says that Dwight is 3 or 4 weeks out.
DL: When has the league last felt this wide open? DM: I agree with you, I think there’s no dominant team. If you look at Vegas win odds it will back that up. Maybe back to when Detroit won the title? When was that? 2005? Might be the last time I remember… DL: Although we all thought that the Lakers were going to win that year. Everyone thought the Lakers were going to win when that year started… DM: Good point. Yeah, maybe it’s never been this wide open. DL: Well let me ask you this, what’s better for your league, Daryl? Because we were just talking before you came on – the idea that the Miami Heat had all the stars on one team and over the last four years basketball has been hugely healthy. So what’s better for your sport? That or this? DM: I personally think people tune in and watch and go to basketball games for two reasons. One is how unlikely is the outcome, and two is how important is that particular game to winning the championship. So I think all else equal, parity is a little bit better, like more teams with more of a chance is better for the league. DL: Because I don’t think the league would argue that…Even though I do understand what you’re saying…because the league doesn’t want a non-LeBron final, does it? The league doesn’t want Atlanta and you guys in the final, does it? DM: I don’t know what the league wants, I don’t think they really predetermine anything like people say. I think they just let it play out and I think obviously stars are great for the league, but I think lots of teams having a chance to win is good. DL: Why is Kerr going after you? He’s taking shots at you Morey. You’re focused on getting Harden and MVP he says and he’s focused on winning championships. Here’s the quote Morey that you can react to: “If Daryl Morey wants to run his own one-man campaign for James Harden he can do that. We’re focused on other stuff.” DM: OK…Well, I haven’t seen that so I guess I can’t… DL: WELL LIVE REACTION! LIVE REACTION FROM DARYL MOREY! GO AHEAD. DM: (laughing) I would say that myself and James are only focused on winning the championship so I think that’s a bit of a straw man argument he set up… DL: Why are you ending up in feuds with everybody? What was your reaction when you and Barkley were going at it? DM: You mean my entire 140 characters that I said about him? I liked that it was a war of words and that I’ve only said 140 characters to this point. DL: Who instigated it? It was you, wasn’t it? DM: Uhhh depends on the definition of instigating I guess… DL: Has anyone in the organization told you, hey stop with the Twitter, like just stop? DM: Well I think it’s the opposite, Commissioner Silver he talked about it at the Nerd Fest or whatever you guys call it, the MIT conference, about how Twitter’s great for the league and how they train new players about how to be on Twitter (it’s not like they need that they’re already on Twitter). And you know I know the NBA really supports Twitter sooo…it’s been great for your business. DL: Yeah, I mean it’s great for us but I’m not sure it’s great for you. You personally – you going on Twitter and saying things that make us feed. Like, you don’t want that. Who wants that? DM: I don’t know, I haven’t seen much, frankly, negative. I would say obviously winning the championship is all it’s about, but your point on parity vs. this…at the end of the day what the NBA want is people tuning in and people interested in the league. I don’t think they want to limit people, you know, that increases engagement. You know there’s media availability for a reason. There’s coaches, conferences for a reason, so I don’t think there’s any push to try and limit that. DL: When’s Dwight coming back? DM: Uh we feel good about that. I talked to him awhile yesterday. I mean he’s on the original schedule, 7-8 weeks out from when he went out, so that puts him about 3 weeks out from here. DL: Can you help me understand something, in the history of your league as long as you’ve been around it, is there such a thing as the athletic 7 footer like Hassan Whiteside who slips through the cracks and of a sudden seems to be the best rebounder in the sport? DM: Uhh I don’t know if he slipped through the cracks. If Jeremy Lin did, I guess he did too. He was pretty known, he was drafted. I mean I think DeAndre Jordan’s a good example, he went in the second round and is a very athletic guy. You’re probably referring to Whiteside bouncing around the minors off and on… DL: Yeah well I’m not referring to where he was drafted. I’m referring to everything that happened to him after where he kept going to camps, going to champs, everybody keeps saying no. He’s in China, he’s in Lebanon and next thing you know he’s got the best rebound rate in the league. DM: Yeah well we’re the idiots who waived him on our minor league team even, and we’re not the only ones. I think he was waived like 9 times or something like that. DL: Well how? Explain that to me. That doesn’t happen to athletic 7 footers. When the hell does that happen to athletic 7 footers? DM: Well, I mean to be frank, and I think (you obviously have him there in town, you can ask him) he had a big turn in his approach to the game. There are a lot of very talented 7 footers, 6 footers, you know 6’10 guys that over the years have not succeeded in this league and I don’t know him well personally but my sense is from the outside that he a change in his approach to the game, but you’d have to ask him that. DL: Why specifically did you guys cut him? DM: Um…he wasn’t playing well. Pretty simple as that. I’m really spitting the insights today. DL: I understand, but I don’t understand. Like yeah, he wasn’t playing well…and now he’s got the best rebound rate in the league. Like what the hell is that? You guys don’t know what you’re doing. DM: (laughing) Yeah well I think that’s fair to say. I would say no one knows what they’re doing. I would say there are guys who come up through the minor leagues, go to China, go to Europe…Patrick Beverley was playing in the Ukraine and now he’s a starter on a 50-60 win playoff team multiple years. There are just guys who slip through the cracks and if organizations do their work they can find them. And you’ve got a great organization there in Miami, there’s no doubt that Mr. Arrison and Pat Riley, and Spoelstra, and Adam Simon and Andy Ellisberg…there’s a long list of very good people in the Miami organization. DL: Morey good talking to you, always good catching up with you. Thank you for making time, sir. DM: Thanks for having me on, talk to you soon.
Damn they tried to troll Morey. But they basically represent the feelings of most ppl outside of CF. Morey's not a guru to anybody but posters here
Sounds like they were giving Morey a chance to address some stuff head-on, and were being good natured about it.
DL: When’s Dwight coming back? DM: Uh we feel good about that. I talked to him awhile yesterday. I mean he’s on the original schedule, 7-8 weeks out from when he went out, so that puts him about 3 weeks out from here.
I love the LeBatard show. It's hilarious. There's a riff the did on Lebron after the Cabs visited at year end 14 / beg. 15 that had me in tears.
Seems the wer trying to engage him on real issues. The morning guys on 790 just act like clowns by comparison.
I actually liked that interview. Seemed like Morey was intrigued with the line of questioning, too. They were tougher questions than what he was used to, and it seemed like his answers were as honest as they could be without people grabbing pitchforks.
Did you hear the Whiteside comment? They were basically pressing him on why he passed up on a guy that talented that's 7ft. They were definitely trolling
Is Morey allowed to comment on Whiteside, seeing as he is a player on another team's roster? I don't know the rules specifically, perhaps Morey can comment as to how he was during his time in the Rockets' system. I dunno.
They were pressing him because it's a rare occurrence, so it would be great to know why teams cut him, specifically. You have the GM of one of those teams on the phone, why wouldn't you try to get a specific reason? I think we'd all love to know too. We know a lot of it was his bad attitude and he was passed on a lot, so it's not like they can single it out as a poor decision by Morey.
Bev went to camp with the Heat and they released him. Probably at some point Morey or somebody from the Rox ribbed them about Bev. That sounded like a "got you back" moment to me on Whiteside. But....I thought Morey's response was laaaaaame. "Slipped through the cracks"???? C'mon man. Morey finds guys all over the place. No way Whiteside slipped through the cracks. He didn't play bad in RGV either. They just didn't play him. Made him sit the bench behind Ohlbrecht and Vernon Macklin. Maclin is down there with Dalembert in the brains department. The few minutes they gave Whiteside he blocked shots about about a 50% block rate and rebounded around a 40% rebound rate. It was like watching a man play with kids. Morey just didn't like Whiteside and his stupid ADD. They weren't willing to work through that issue with him. Here's my theory on why Morey missed on Whiteside: We got Whiteside in RGV in January of 2013. Kid is suffering from ADD. Going on and off his meds. Pretty stupid. All the while this is going on Morey is having to dick around with the Royce White mess. Suspending him, making special provisions for him. You know the whole sordid mess. I suspect after the RGV season that Morey decided he didn't want to fool with Whiteside and he let him walk. And I think the Royce White mess affected him in following Whiteside and keeping up with how he was playing and being willing to take a chance on him. It's the little things guys. Whiteside could be on this roster busting major minutes and vacuuming the glass for us on a minimum salary, giving us the luxury of moving DMo to the 4 and backup 5 spots and using Smith and Jones off the bench. Instead we're stuck with the Ray Lewis of basketball and his 2-year guaranteed deal.....a reactionary signing 5 days after the July moratorium. And Whiteside was there for the taking. Makes me sick. Makes me sick a lot more than Morey missing on a draft pick. Whiteside was free for the taking. We might have been able to get him on a 3-year non-guaranteed deal. Wouldn't that have been something?
