[TheVertical] Woj and Marks discuss Morey as Executive of the Year

Yeah, but then people will say that he's the same player as last year and should have made all nba, therefore disqualifying him while having disqualified the man already last year.

 

Woj & Michael Lee discuss COY & EOY (Mainly about Miami & Utah but a brief Houston mention or two)

Spoiler

Coach of the Year?

ML: It's tough. There's so many superb jobs being done right now. Mike D'Antoni was at the forefront for a long time. If you pay attention to what's happening in Dallas, if they can get in the playoffs after their sluggish start & injuries or Miami.

Woj: That's the one for me right now. I'll read you your tweet: "MIA has won 19 of 23. Erik Spoelstra really working his magic with guys casual NBA fans might've heard of, kinda heard of or never heard of." -- That's it in 140 characters.

ML: You go down the list of guys on that team, it's amazing.

Woj: Wayne Ellington, Luke Babbitt, Rodney McGruder, Dion Waiters has become an impact player for them. Dwyane Wade & I talked about this on the podcast. That's when Miami was on that 13-game win streak. He was marveling at it. His appreciation for Spo has grown since he left him. We had the 27-game win streak with the Big 3. That 13-game win streak by-far was more impressive. When people talk about culture & environment, what does culture mean? When your team...when they were competing with Brooklyn for bottom of the east, that bad organizations, guys go their own way. That's when organizations come apart. When you have a coach like that, to galvanize that group & fight back to closing in on .500, it's as remarkable. COY is hard to judge. You have D'Antoni turning the 8th seed into the 3rd seed. Quin Snyder turning 9th into 4th. Or is it Steve Kerr because they break the win record? Or is it the guy getting the most out of the least? Erik Spoelstra didn't need validation but other people in the league know how good he is. General public says anyone could win with the Big 3. That was never fair. That was not an easy team to coach.

ML: Heat have been one of the best franchises in professional sports for the last 20-something years. Whether it's Mourning or Hardaway, Wade & Odom or Shaq, LeBron, the list of guys who come through there, you have to conform to be a part of the HEAT. There are certain things established. As great as LeBron has been in Cleveland, turning them into a winner, he learned so much from being around that organization. That HEAT way cannot be overlooked. They always find a way to bounce back. They can catch six. A culture can be just as impactful as having a great free agent pickup. If you're Pat Riley, you have to love this part of the season. While blowing a chance for a great player in the draft, you're proving that if there are any free agents who want a chance to win, to thrive, have great weather, all the things that attract you to Miami, you can come there & it'll help you. Often overlooked, LeBron's best years as a pro, you'll remember those 4 years in Miami we saw him truly unleashed & truly maximized as someone who understood his physical gifts & expanded mentally as well. If you're a superstar & struggling where you are, you can look at the Heat - they got a coach who knows what he's doing, a structure & culture that I know if I go there, they'll maximize my talents. If you can turn around no-name guys & take a Hassan Whiteside & make him a max player, that's maybe where I want to extend my career as well.

Woj: As players look at Miami now, how much longer will Riley be around? That's a fair question. You look at that organization and say "But if they have Erik Spoelstra..." At some point there will have to be a succession plan to Pat Riley. I do wonder, does it make sense to look at Erik Spoelstra as President & coach or becomes the indispensable figure there that Pat was. There will never be another Pat Riley. If you want to continue that culture...they have a front office that has been together a long time. They don't leave. If you were able to keep that structure around Erik, and I'm not suggesting that's an idea there but from the outside, that's the succession plan that makes guys go "OK, that makes sense for me to sign up long term" or if I'm Micky Arison, how do I...we don't want to hit this valley when Pat leaves.

ML: Spoelstra has proven his loyalty. Riley, mentioned the other day about how he was shocked LeBron left, LeBron's departure is the greatest motivating factor in why he didn't walk away. He wants to get back to the top. He doesn't want to go out with just those LeBron titles. He wants to get a couple more & say he could do it again with someone else. Considering his success as a team builder, he'd love to have another free agent coup where he could bring in the top guy & do it one more time.

Woj: They're limited because of the Dragic trade. 2 picks long term to Phoenix. That's impactful. Miami has always wanted to do it through FA. Draft & develop some guys. There ability with their D-League team, 8 guys on their roster who played in the D-League.

ML: It's amazing. Some franchises have it together & some always seem to be stuck in the mud.

Woj: We talked MVP & COY. Executive of the Year - two people jump out. EOY is always interesting to me. People want to base it on the last 10 months. What home runs did you hit vs. who has been building over a long period. Two top guys - the short term big jump, hiring of a coach & free agents: Daryl Morey in Houston. They were in trouble. There was pressure last year because of the way it went & how it ended. The other one is Dennis Lindsey in Utah. Being a GM is not a home run hitting...you can say Bob Myers did get KD. Just give it to Bob again. You can make that case. But you look at Utah. The systematic building of an organization: how well they drafted & developed guys - Rodney Hood, Rudy Gobert. Quin Snyder was a genius hire. He's becoming an elite coach. Gordon Hayward's growth. Look at how well they've drafted.

ML: They had the pieces in place and this summer, how do we stabilize it? George Hill, underappreciated in Indiana. Joe Johnson. Boris Diaw. Add those 3 to young guys trying to figure it out, you see a team 4th in the West and will have a nice playoff run. I love what Utah did & the patience they displayed. They got the right veterans to help shepherd these guys.

Woj: The interesting thing with Utah, people might look and go they're on the upward, no pressure but there is pressure because Hayward is a free agent. Boston has cap space & Brad Stevens. He's played longer with Quin than Brad but who knows what happens in the playoffs. This isn't the reason Boston didn't make a deal but why give up assets for George & Butler when we can go sign Hayward in free agency? They'll go hard after him. Utah has advantages to keep him. George Hill is a free agent. There is a crossroads coming. They want to have success in the postseason to show Gordon we have a group here you can win big with. Boston has a good situation. They'll take a shot at him, assuming they don't do something big at the draft. That being said, Dennis Lindsey - he was in San Antonio & Houston. He was there when they drafted George Hill & Kawhi Leonard. His pedigree is as good as anyone's. He keeps a low profile. He doesn't do podcasts, not on twitter. He just does the job. Very influenced by R.C. Buford. Dennis & I were talking last year & talking influences & organizations he looked at. The Steelers intrigued him & how they built their teams. R.C. used to say they looked at Utah as their model - Stockton/Malone/Sloan was the Spurs first model as the way we want to do it. Dennis goes to Utah & the Spurs are his model. Funny how it can be circular.

ML: That's what I love about Utah. You see franchises struggle for awhile, a lot of lottery picks & don't have patience. They panic when it doesn't go right. Use Orlando as an example. You don't know where they're headed now.

 

Very much disagreed.

Had a chance to trade himself for Rubio and didn't pull the trigger. Huge mistake for this franchise.

 

With the revelations that the Golden State Warrior players were trying to lure Kevin Durant as early as the regular season last year, it's easy to question how much credit, if at all, Bob Meyers deserves for signing him.

 

Morey is EOY for not signing Bogut.

 

He deserves credit for helping build the team that was attractive enough to lure Durant but that's enough. They took advantage of a ridiculous jump in the salary cap that allowed them to sign him. That's not gm of the year.