"The problem with Daryl Morey...that he's been mythologized before he's done anything worth heraldin

As far as analytics go, I'm not sure it was Morey or actually the media that started to talk about a revolution, a whole new approach to basketball and that he's all about the numbers. Keeping McHale and having Adelman is proving that is just not true. What is true of course is that Morey is very calculated, does moves with thet next 5 years in mind and obviously values flexibility for the long term, so long term over short term. If he would've thought short term, because of Dwight and Harden core only lasting 2-3 years for example, he probably would've signed Parsons.

Being calculated, smart and hard working makes him think ahead of other GMs and take advantage of their ignorance, incompetence or short term vision. At first, people look at some of his moves and do not see the upside of a certain player or the value to the team right away. However, in the long run, all of these little seemingly insignificant moves pay off as a player is included in a bigger deal. Morey also gambles on certain players that are low risk, so also very calculated and this includes the likes of JT, Gerald Green but also Artest (1 year deal left).

The deals he gives players are also calculated and rarely gives out contracts (contract extensions) unless they have earned it like Scola & Lowry or he figures they can be very good or valuable to the team like Ariza the first time, Lin & Asik). The latter of course were very much needed to be even mediocre and he used shrewd methods to get them.
Though Parsons was worthy of an extension this year and did earn it, the aforementioned reasons and the fact that he would've earned Harden money made it very hard for any team to match.

Being calculated and valuing long term and flexibility in particular, has a downside, which is you are constantly looking for upgrades and moves to the detriment of the team short term. Battier for Thabeet, but also Brooks for Hamilton last year come to mind. He does this of course with a plan in mind, which is sometimes seeing if a certain player can now enter the rotation and become valuable like Budinger, who did since he netted us the pick that got us Lamb who become an important piece for Harden. The biggest downside is though that he forces a coach his hand without necessarily consulting them. He also could not care less about the impact on the team and its chemistry.

In conclusion: while he's doing some amazing things, flipped valuable players for even better ones, sacrificed short term so we could become contenders again while never having a bad team in the process. This is all hard to do which has caused admoration, but a lot of envy and ill feelings towards Morey. Some of it very deserving, some of it not so much. Truth is, he's not the sole responsibility of our results since the coach and players are the ones to do it. Leslie also plays his part in the background. I truly believe Morey has done everything possible to give us the best possible team to contend with Harden and Howard.

Still, I fault him and Leslie for several things, the most important ones being:
1. Dealing with the coaches during his whole tenure
2. The way he talks about players and handles the human side of it all
3. Not getting quality veterans around Yao and now around Howard (doing everything to maintain flexibility and not paying the luxury tax).

 

Morey didn't get quality vets around Yao? say what? Yao didn't finish a single playoff series after Morey became GM, he added Scola, Landry, Artest, Brooks and Lowry in that period.

 

Morey's greatest attribute is that he's impatient and is always looking to make moves to improve the team. Morey's biggest weakness is that he's impatient and doesn't allow for a team to grow and gel.

 

Great Article

This article by SBNation is spot on.

 

Nitpicking and false. Lowry, AB & Landry veterans? Scola and Artest yes, but outside of that, we've never had veterans truly contribute. Mutombo was a vet, but even him they only signed halfway throughout 2009!

 

Exactly!!!

 

You're new to the rockets i assume, Deke was a member of the team for half a decade. Landry was producing at a ridiculous level as a backup, then you add Battier and Scola (who were veteran's on the starter), Brooks and Scola were producing, Artest was good. That team failed because Yao and Tracy's bodies failed, somehow it's his fault that those two couldn't finish a season healthy?

 

That's your mediocre opinion. Bosh is soft... Western conference power forwards destroy him. He can't defend them.. And he wasn't coming anyway.

Hawes was a 41% 3 point shooter last year so what da freak is you talking about...???

Isaiah Thomas is a young stud...

You asked what I suggested and I told you. Don't hate because that idea is better than yours.

 

We've been setting for mediocrity every since Morey has been the GM. Had two star players last year and still settled for mediocrity.

 

Wait you believe Bosh cannot defend western conference PF but you think Hawes can? Yes Hawes can stand outside the 3 point line and shoot threes, but he also needs to defend them.

You were saying how bad of a move Morey made (and how he shouldn't have gone for Bosh), so I wanted to know what type of brilliant plan you had. I turns out you didn't have a brilliant plan. No problem, now I know I can ignore your opinion on the subject (thanks for that).

 

All naysayers will be sucking on Daryl's bubble toes before long.

The guy turned Kevin Martin and a bag of dingleberries into James Harden & Dwight Howard.

If that is not worth heralding, then GM-wise, what is? It is a freaking miracle, a miracle without tanking, without Kurt Russel. It's just crazy how good our team is and how much we take it for granted. How many times have the Anti-Morey guys come out, and how many times have they slouched back to their slimy holes under the gel lathered whips of Daryl's hair doo, and the frosty, ice bitten chains of Les's infinite cash pile? Back to your shanties negative nancies, Real mothafuggin Gssssssssssssssssssss.


Keep on keeping on Daryl. We have the best SG and the best C on planet Earth, Two of the best defenders at their respective positions on planet Earth in Patrick Beverly and Trevor Ariza and two young PFs with gobble gobbles of potential, one of which is a statistical lock for 15-10-2 every single night.

On top of that, we have plenty of ways and opportunities to get better, which is CRAZY for a team with two max contracts. The Rockets will be heavyweight contenders for the next decade, and longer If Dork Elvis is in charge. Mark my words, and above all, DON'T PANIC, and BRING A TOWEL!

 

More "Y" or a silent "Y" that is the question.

 

You must not have actually WATCHED the Portland series.

The players for Portland played WAY above their talent level.

LMA was absolutely unconscious the first two games of the series, hitting impossible shot after impossible shot. Every loose ball seemed to miraculously bounce their way. And even still, they only barely stole those two games.

Lilliard hit amazing shot after amazing shot through the whole series.

Wesley Matthews turning into a great defender for a series.

Even still, we HAD that series until Lilliard's final amazing shot - he doesn't hit that ONE SHOT, we win that whole series, even with how amazingly above their level Portland played.

It took an entire team playing so far above their heads it was almost beyond belief to BARELY beat our team, which was a better team.

You saw it against San Antonio - Portland had blown their entire wad against the Rockets - they had absolutely nothing left against the Spurs.

But sometimes a team just has some magic in them and they do things like this. See: Rocket's 2nd Championship

That series loss was not on McHale, it was not on Morey, it was not even on the players. Sometimes you just have to give credit to the other team for rising to the occasion.

You talk as though we stunk it up in that series.

We did not.

What you are doing is called a 'Straw Man'. You set up a false premise, portray the false premise as fact, and then base your conclusions and accusations upon the false premise.

Intelligent people who see someone doing this know immediately, both that you are wrong, and that you most likely know you are wrong, and are therefore being deliberately dishonest.

So, yeah, we get it, you hate Morey, and you are willing to try to spin things any way you can to try to sway other people to your way of thinking. Politicians do it all the time.

But, you're still just plain wrong.

 

God dang, man, you got me all worked up with that Braveheart speech! Lol

Honestly, I agree with you. One player can make a world of difference on defense, our biggest weakness last year. Having Bev and Ariza on the perimeter will improve our defense overnight. Posters will be asking: Parsons who?

 

Outstanding post!

 

These are the comments that baffle me. What exactly does this mean? We haven't won anything. Howard & Harden could either be one of our greatest era's or one of our biggest disappointments. Last season was a disappointment, and this upcoming season could very well be too. Your talking as if we've already won a championship with Howard and Harden. Stop counting our chickens before they hatch please. Morey has a LONG way to go

 

Great post. I agree with the gist of your post, but at the same time we should have dominated them regardless because we had a more talented roster imo. Every single game was close. It should never have been that way and it definitely should not have come down to that last shot by Lillard.

 

I guess you are new, since Battier was already there, Deke was a FA in 08-09 and we only brought him back for the locker room. That lakers series we lacked veterans since Wafer was unreliable and Barry like Deke too old.. in 07-08 we relied on Brooks, Harris, Hayes and Head where we shouldve signed proven shooters and wing defender + true PF. We relied too much on unproven or young players. Thats not a bad thing, but we clearly lacked shooting, defense and size. We simply did not make moves as if we were contenders. Morey and Leslie are at fault there.

 

Scola, Landry, Brooks, and Lowry were all young players when they were here. (Scola wasn't "young" but he was new to the NBA.) They were not "veterans" in the usual sense. Artest was the only good veteran.

Too bad, all these guys got flipped and now they are true veterans for other teams. I am not complaining, since these deals ended up with our "cornerstones." Just replying to your point.

Mutombo was a good veteran too, but most people thought he was already about 65 years old at the time when he signed with us.

Few of the veterans we got in recent years actually stuck around long enough to have any major impact to the team. Heck, few PLAYERS actually stuck around long enough, period.

 

Great post!! The most realistic post in here. That team SUCKED talent wise. The reason we were even competitive was because Rick Adelman's coaching. No coincidence we haven't been back to the 2nd round since