Man, the jury is really going to be out on this guy when he takes over. Hopefully he deals with other people well, because he's going to have to build relationships with other organizations. The whole stat thing is going to be interesting to say the least...it's a lot easier to rely on that in baseball than it is in basketball. I know Cuban and the Mavs use a lot of that stuff, and I'm sure a lot of teams do to some extent, but it hasn't really put the Mavs on top of the league (as far as going to the finals and winning titles). I'm glad he's going to have a full season to break in though.
I absolutely love this hire. This franchise is a multi-million dollar business, and there's no place for seat-of-the-pants or "gut feeling" decisions on draft day or in trades. We really need a badass due dillegence team, and we got one. No more Boki. No more Swift. No more Glen Rice. No more getting a guy just because the coach loves them. Screw that. Coach has to prove his guy fits a need, and makes a profit.
Hmmmmm.....I like it. The timing of the announcement is great as well. I have a great feeling that this would work out well for us. I hope he works well with JVG. I will like to believe that he will have a great input in this offseason moves including the draft. It seems to me like CD's main role now will be to help DM's transition to the GM post. I do not expect CD to have any major input on off-season moves this summer. This is what this summer power break down will look like: JVG = 50% CD = 26% DM = 24% (mostly information, consulting conduit) LES - Veto power (infinite)
$$. MIT Sloan business School is one of the top business schools in the country. Their business program is geared towards tech side of business and do a lot of stats studies. But in the end its all about money. Le$ is bringing him in to get sales up, not necessarily smart player moves. Bleh! We shold have gone after Colangelo. In the same year, Phil Jackson AND Colangelo were available to be had, and we got neither.
GOOD for Business BAD for Basketball In his Resume, it didn't mention very much about his experience in selecting Basketball Players. I would of thought that a BOSTON Exec. along with New York and L.A. would have been the last people to bring to Houston,to run our team. [Incl JVGetc.] Les has no sense about Houston Traditions!!!
Wasn't the Olrando Magics former GM one of these Ivy League number cruncher types??? I know he was a hockey guy first but didn't he apply the same number crunching process? I don't trust number crunchers in evaluating talent. Numbers can't calculate heart.
couple of points that come to mind: 1. I remember reading about how many teams, specifically the spurs, suns, and many other successful ones, have for years had "stat gurus" that just crunch numbers to assist in player analysis... i think our player evaluations have suffered because we haven't used this type of out of the box thinking... from that perspective i think it's nice to have this type of mind 2. I think JVG loves this because now he is THE basketball mind leading this team... he decided if he likes a guy or not, and the GM provides the business and financial perspective... forecasting, salary management, appeal, etc. so we've separated the business/predictive analysis side and the pure basketball side of leading a franchise 3. It made me realize that soon I will have a job as a GM in the NBA
I don't understand this move and it likely isn't going to work. This guy should be working on the business side of the sport not be the GM. The guy has no experince doing this job at all. Whats next are we going to hire a coach whos never been anywhere near a basketball court.
I'm happy with this move. This guy knows his fundamentals. He's a genius with the numbers. I don't expect any stupid contract dishings or anything like that. JVG was a Yale guy, they're both smartasses, they look at things other than talent alone. I'm very pleased with this. I know it's very early, but this guy has Theo Epstein written all over him. He'll probably bring over some of that doctors-evaluating stuff that they use in Boston. That is actually clinically proven. Things are looking good. I know T-Mac might be hesitant with all this. His last genius GM ran him out of town, but I've heard this guy can speak and JVG should have him in check. Nobody had Weisbrod because they never really had a coach when he was there. This move pretty much means JVG or whoever is the coach will have plenty of control of talent and personnel decisions. I really do think JVG and this guy will get along very well. This guy is a prodigy in his own respect, just like JVG once was. I said early, they have the Yale-MIT connection going on. But Morely is just a freakin' genius man. I've looked at the books he's written and articles he's published. He's a statistics freak. He's developed 2 models already relating to the NBA, NHL, and MLB. 2 models is quite unbelievable. I believe Theo Epstein and Paul DePodesta barely made one in one sport. Northwestern undergrad, Sloan school for MBA, taught at Sloan, I wouldn't be surprised if he joins Rice's department with their ever-improving business program (undergrad and grad). I thought Lyndsey would be given a long-shot, but I still don't know how well of an evaluator he is. Just like CD, he's been up and down with international guys and drafts. Kiki of course was always there, but Kiki would require so much money, it's not worth it. Shawn Respert told me he's been mentioned around the NBA, but he thinks he could be going to another NBA team (keep your fingers crossed). I'm happy with this guy though.
