It's ok to be critical of the team we love, but it's also nice to recognize its accomplishments. Good post, I'll probably still complain that Morey messed up if we don't win it all this year, but once I cool down will appreciate just how much this season has been turned around...to be in the position we are and about to face the Warriors again in the Finals, err WCF, I mean round 2, is amazing!
I think Morey is 100% right to challenge ownership's thinking. If your GM is not doing that, then he is just a secretary and you are the Wizards.
It's true. If that trade had gone well, we would be better than what we are now and I've been heavily critical about that trade. My personal speculation is that it was not in his control to not dump salary before the deadline. Despite that, the turnaround is impressive and it highlights to me how important role players are to the team's ability to deal with adversity. Shumpert and Melo are guys that came in and with their play communicated that they're more interested in being themselves than they are in playing for the team (and to each their own, I would probably struggle with that too). The new guys he brought in are more about elevating the team's harmony. Faried is not a particularly good player, but at least you know even when he's not playing, he is rooting for this team's plan to succeed. Post All Star break we had the 15th most easy/difficult schedule remaining, and we finished with a top 2 record in that span. If Shumpert had panned out, it would be an all time achievement for Morey imo.
You are not isolating the owner, players and coaches' influence on the situation. Judge him by what he can control. With an owner looking to shed salary, there are few who would be able to keep the ship afloat, and even fewer who would be able to recover from a poor offseason with an aging roster.
And yet he offered 4 first round picks for Jimmy Butler. Come on let's not kid ourselves. I can see this team easily pull another 0-27. Our bench is weak with the same streaky shooters that can go cold at a moment's notice. Like I said earlier, we are here because Harden took his game to the next level, not because Morey made some great acquisitions.
Oh my god here we go again. Haven't even beaten the Warriors yet in a playoff series and this guy is starting with the trolling. Definitely intentional.
Morey offered 4 first when Morey was trying to make the team better after he realized his off-season moves weren't working. He has been all over these podcasts saying he was scrambling to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. He says this team NOW is better than GSW not the team he was willing to give up 4 firsts for Jimmy.
You are basically saying that having House, Rivers, Fareid and Shumpert is not better than having just Ariza. Last years team couldn’t play Anderson and LMAM’s injury left the team with a seven player rotation. When Paul went down the team was screwed because they really couldn’t field more than 6 quality dudes (Harden, Gordon, Ariza, Tucker, Green and Capela). The 0- 27 was obviously helped along by exhaustion from players who were giving 100% on the defensive end resulting in tired legs on the offensive end. If we had Rivers backing up Paul and House, Shumpert and Fareid as depth to give the starters some rest last year, I think we would have been far more likely to have won. But we will see on the court.
One of the questions I want to ask God when I die is what happens this season if Paul and Capela don't get injured. Those injuries forced Morey to find replacements in Rivers and Faried, both of whom I think not only helped ease the Herculean load Harden was carrying but also gave the team much more depth when everyone was healthy again. Morey deserves all credit in the world for making that happen; he had to do it within a time frame he didn't choose, and he did it. If those two don't get injured and Morey isn't the clever b*stard that he is, I don't think the team is as strong as it is now. Weird, weird season. Glad you highlighted one of the oft-forgotten heroes of it.
I see what you're getting at, SSS: Morey's genius was in purposely making poor off-season choices that would force his hand and make him re-tool the middle of the roster mid-season. 3D Chess in action!
