The only problem I have with all these "admit you were wrong about so-and-so" threads is that we are barely past the all-star break, this is our first major winning streak, we haven't gotten into the playoffs yet, haven't won a playoff series, haven't won squat. I'm as excited as the next guy about our winning streak obviously, but some of y'all are acting like we've already won a championship.
LOL! If Jackson doesnt play another game, then the only conclusion we can say about Morey's job is Morey sucks. Les has been trying to pay his way out (trade kicker + J Reed's salaries) of J Ho's bad contract to get some help for the Rockets. If it ends up Jackson wont be playing either (Mike James didnt play too much anyway), then the Rockets should be better off just let J Ho rot on the bench. What's the point of wasting Uncle Les's money if all you end up getting is exactly the same - an expiry contract for next season. Hornets would always take Bonzi by giving 2 2nd round players if Morey wants to find play time for whoever. You dont need to jump to conclusion. Morey is fine. Morey is working together with a great coach Adelman who has extensive experience in scouting, developing young players, playing Euros and putting together a championship calibre team. If Morey and Adelman work together, they will find a way to improve.
Even if Bobby Jackson averages 20 points a game as a Rocket, one has to admit that the Howard for James trade did not work out at all. The Rockets traded one guy who would not have played a lot, for another who doesn't play, but took on more money and years. They gambled, and lost on that deal. Wasn't a bad gamble, but they lost. It would not have mattered a subsequent trade corrected the deal, that one sucked. Hornets' primary target was Bonzi, not James. They would very likely still have done the same deal with Juwan's less onerous contract.
Mike James's butt will gather splinters on the Hornets too. Especially since he'll be playing behind C. Paul.
Acquisition of James is definitely a bad one, but a GM should not be evaluated based on one transaction. Morel got James, bad, but who knew James would sux that horribly before we really saw that? Remember he was doing fine in the first few games? Morel then find a way to fix the mistake, and during the process got something valuable out of it. So overall he still handled it OK. And if you add the other deals and drafts then he has been doing great so far.
First and foremost Jeff Van Gundy sucks. Now to your statement... Of course Van Gundy has a stake in the trade. He was the number one promoter of it. Morey was not the decision maker in the Battier deal nor for that matter was CD. Battier was all Jeff. That very Draft Night CD said why would they draft a player that the coach had no intention of playing. Just this past draft Van Gundy said as a coach you are not worried about your teams future it's win now or go home. That being said Battier has given this team much more that Gay could have to this point. So I agree with Van Gundy. But I do believe we are very close to a turn in the other direction.
