Jonathan Feigen, is that you?.... I can hear the kissing sound all over...... :grin: On a serious note : Yes, Les has always been a class act. He does not back down from big spending but he spends judiciously. That is the key.
Agreed - Les is a fantastic owner. Certainly he is the only one of Houston's major sports franchise owners that doesn't make me want to take a long walk of a short pier.
More than spending some $$$ (which really is a big deal considering all the penny pinching owners out there. Really its better to get an owner who spends at all than one who penny pinches like PHX, Memphis etc), Les Alexander should get props for recognizing DM's talent AND making him the head honcho right away. People need to realize that there a gazillion stat geeks out there, every team has several guys crunching numbers somewhere (except for the Lakers, because apparently PJ hates math). Signing a stat geek was definitely a bold move, and kudos to Les for getting the right man for the job. We could just as easily have ended up with DM's failed clone Kahn
Les definitely gets credit for being shrewd with how he spends his money. Most of you have no clue, hiring Morey wasn't a move to assemble a contender with the most best of winning a 'chip a la LA, Dallas, Cleveland, or any number of other upper tier teams, it was a means to try to build a contender cheaper than conventionally possible with out of the box management. Les took a long shot on a guy with little basketball experience hoping he could get more bang for less buck and it's paid off for him. Obviously in the NBA Les has to spend to build a competitive team, period. So since the team is an investment he spends to support his investment but he doesn't go above and beyond compared to the true elite. He doesn't get props for being a middle of the road owner and not sucking. But he could be much worse. He does get credit for executing a low risk, high payoff move for hiring an unknown Morey and giving him the resources to do the job. An entire staff of bean counters and statisticians dont cost as much as one MLE though... so shrewd move.
If Les' prime concern was saving money he wouldn't be doing things like buying draft picks every year and hiring the one of the best (and probably one of the most expensive) coaches in the league in RA. Obviously he wants to build a contender with less money....who doesn't? Apart from total fanboys like NY or Cuban the goal of franchises is to win and make money. To be mad at Les for expecting his million dollar investment to make money is ridiculous. Just as ridiculous is your notion that Les Alexander hasn't spent enough. You want to know why we haven't won anything since Dream retired? Tim Duncan. Kobe Bryant. Shaquille O'neal-these guys are the reason, and not because of penny pinching. Only 5 people on your team can be on the court at one time, and no amount of money you spend can offset the advantage LA and the Spurs have for getting these players, something Mark Cuban can attest to. Finally Dallas, Cleveland, and any other luxury tax paying team which isn't Boston or Lakers aren't elite. In fact, Cleveland's happy spending ways might end up biting them in the ass. If LBJ leaves, Cleveland's looking at half a decade or so of misery before they can become relevant again.
Why did you bother posting a rant that has nothing to do with my post? LOL @ taking things personal. If anyone is mad it's you who's upset that someone else might post something logical to interrupt your public masterbation over an average owner. No one is blaming Les for being shrewd with his investment. The point is that hiring Morey was at heart a money-saving move. He's trying to build a contender for less than was conventionally possible around the league prior to Morey. Implicit in that is HE WANTS TO SPEND LESS AND GET MORE. and also that HE DOESN'T WANT TO SPEND WHAT LA AND OTHER TOP TEAMS SPEND. Why does that fact upset you? I'm not putting some valuative judgment on Alexander's motives. Nor am I casting aspersions for him wanting to spend the as little as possible to field the caliber of team that he wants. He wants to field a winner... he just wants to field it on the cheap (and in fact cheaper than it's thought possible). Do you even comprehend the concept of Morey's moneyball? Seriously dude. He's not a terrible owner. He is a competent, average owner. He did not innovate the idea of sabremetrics nor pioneer its uses in the NBA (the Celtics did). However he was an early shrewd adopter of it and it has paid off handsomely for him. For what he's done he gets credit. What he doesn't get credit for is what he has not done yet you and others are posting.. that's he's the "best" owner or one that spend proportionate to the net value of his team and the size of his market. He does not. If that upsets you... it upsets you. QQ
I've never understood why teams would nickel and dime on scouting and player evaluation, yet willing to pay millions on players that end up sucking. I don't know the wage scale of Morey's stat/scout/office people, but it's probably safe to assume that the group as a whole isn't close to what an average NBA player makes. Yet these are the people that can save the team millions by identifying cheap players. If only the Astros would follow suit...
Kudos to you. Les/DM are the kind of owner/GM you want to partner with, because they will give you good return on the money with above average team success and a fair chance of championship(>> 1/30). However, it's not ideal for pure fans of basketball or any superstar on this team aiming championship. It's true that Cuban sometimes spent stupidly on all the boardline allstars, but it's HIS money and fans DON'T CARE. He could spend it more wisely and may got better result by doing so, but it's not a given either. Ideally the owner should be a combination of Cuban and Les.
Would this be considered witty? nice logical response genius. why don't you go the full 9 an say "your post angers and or frustrates me and challenges my love for Les Alexander but I don't have the brain cells to rebut anything you posted. However I dont have the self control to ignore my feelings so I'll post something random about your screen name." sryly quality post Deckard
Yet Cuban himself has said at the Sloan conference that the most profitable way to run your franchise is to always be in rebuilding mode. The costs are a fraction of actually building to win but people are excited about the possibilities for your team and support it with revenue. That's not entirely accurate, I think for an owner like Les the thing is to build overall value so that when you go to sell your asset it's worth a couple hundred more. Even a very profitably run franchise year to year isn't a huge money making venture, it actually loses money in most cases. Les wants a decent chance for a ring but certainly hasn't historically spent to win like the top owners. In the interview linked to him from this site yesterday he even says that second championship to him was unforseen. He says he BOUGHT what he considered the best team for the first ring but that he didn't think the team was primed for the repeat. He's made some bold moves including getting Clyde and Barkley but he spends to be on the cusp but isn't one of the top owners who spends like he wants to win it all. I don't see how this should logically upset anyone. Seriously, lots of guys overvalue their players but overvaluing your owner lol.
If the only thing I can come up with is that Les doesn't like paying the luxury tax I can't say I really blame he. What reasonable person likes to pay taxes?
And you think Isiah Thomas is the only person who values winning over everything? And you think that Isiah owned the Knicks?
No, but notice those who actually win for the most part spend "judiciously". Now, that's a key word you might want to start observing, because Les is willing to spend, just not stupidly like Dolan did with Thomas, which currently, unless you actually bother to clarify instead of lashing out like a blind man, seems to be what you are supporting. I brought up Thomas as an example of the only thing you wanted. Winning > all else. We see how the Knicks are doing thanks to that approach which was heavily approved up by Dolan, the owner of the Knicks. Now, you tell me you want who is willing to spend all money necessary in a judicious manner, then I say that's a good approach. And I also say Les Alexander has brought that approach to our team with Morey at the helm. Can't say all the same things while CD was in charge, but since Morey has been our GM I gotta admit, Les has spent money on just about everything except the luxury tax. Now, stop being so defensive and grow a little logic. It might surprise you.
lol so your argument is that Les Alexander is not Dolan. HI KWALITY POST. instead of posting straw men arguments and ad hominem like you're backed into a corner and cant support your argument, try addressing the points I made. if you're confused how to have a logical discussion, a rule of thumb is to ask yourself is you're countering the points I make or if you're characterizing the points I make I say that Les is an average owner who spends shrewdly and that Morey is a cost saving measure to deliver a team which is to Les' standards (but short of a clearcut championship favorite which would be an order more of expenditure).. so you characterize that as me saying that Dolan is an ideal owner I say that it's hyperbole to characterize an average owner as someone who's among the handful of best in the league who do everything to deliver the best chance for a championship and you characterize me as "not wanting" Les or disliking him. get a grip. if you actually have something to post where you can show that Les has spent proportionate to the value of the team and the size of the market vis a vis what the top owners spend to support championship teams post that. but you're going to post again get ahold of yourself and post logically. posting ludicrous characterizations of "this and this and this" and "you're this and this and this" into randomness doesn't advance your argument
Thank you. I thought the irony was palpable. You responded to a post you claimed was a rant with a rant. Now we have personal insults. Very classy. As for Mister Alexander, some of us don't believe he is the NBA's best owner, but firmly believe he is an above average owner who has consistently tried to field a winner.
I said his rant did have anything to do with my post. That's ironic? If you think that's a personal insult, then a sincere thanks for that clarification from a guy who thinks making cracks about a user's nick is appropriate and edifying posting. I'm trying to stay classy in your eyes dude. I really am.
