Tells me why they were underrated, not even professional let alone top teams had them on their list..why should someone like you. A great part of Sports is about dark horses and not title favorites, that is why a lot of guys wanted them over OKC.
You do realise it's patently obvious that you're getting emotional and defending Morey at all costs right? You're the one who looks irrational tbh.
So what do you think of Sixers now? You think Morey did a great job? Objectively speaking without Morey bias how do you think Morey did? They had the literal MVP didnt get out of first round (sounds familiar) now they have two of the worst contracts locked for the next 5 yrs. How would you rate that? Last year they were the only tanking team with 3 max contracts. We arent even going into Morey's character, where the guy has been called a out as a liar publicly by multiple players including JLin, Dwight, Melo, Harden and Cp3. He even lied to Fertita said he was quitting to spend time with his kids and then became Philly GM a week later.
I remember when posters were mocking Rafael Stone for being a lawyer. Well look who is laughing now Stone signed some of the best contracts Sengun less than max, unguaranteed contracts for FVV and DFS, below market deals for Stephen Adams, Jabari and Capela. Reportedly he is even playing hardball with KD so he signs for less than max. Meanwhile Morey just signed Embiid and PG to super max all guaranteed deals LMAO.
It wouldn't even surprise me if that was Morey's burner account at this point with how obsessed he is with him and how much he takes everything Morey believes in as gospel, despite Morey not even really having any successes to his name as a GM.
At least you gotta appreciate the foresight to join this site before i even joined the nba and years before i was involved with the rockets.
Well, Morey's failure is one thing, the other thing is Morey/Stone was teamwork. You can say, Stone does work better alone but the thing was Stone is not some kind of newcomer/unwritten paper like all the former players, agents turned GM. He is 55 years old and tad older than Morey, he came in with Morey hence his handwriting was all there during the Morey era. Does he handle the Second Apron Phase better than most GMs, of course, I give him credit for that but awards are out of his control. It is likely his forte to navigate thru limitations as well, different than the Les Alexander years. There is more freedom.
Before you post a dumbass snarky unnecessary response you probably should check your source or know what you’re reading. That was an unsubstantiated opinion by the writer. Seems like you have trouble knowing what an opinion is from a sourced or verified statement.
Nope. As I said he tried to acquire Gasol in 2012 the season before Harden. That didn’t work out. Him and Stone put together a plan for Harden the next season in this rebuilding mode. The team was .500 in 11-12 and they desperately wanted a guy to build around. Traded Lowry that summer. They had the 12th pick Jeremy Lamb and decided to trade which is a hallmark of how Morey does business who has publicly stated he believed in building a team through trades and signings. The season after that he chose to sign Howard. What did he do in Philly? He decided to trade for Harden.
Where’s the source to this? I’m only going by historical trends and actions and what has been said publicly or reported on. I haven’t seen or read anything on Les controlling the team and Morey’s decisions and not wanting a rebuild. The team went thru several iterations since the successful late 90s teams. The rebuild came under Dawson with Francis and Mobley who were stuck in mediocrity for several years before Yao. They had vet holdovers mixed with young guys. After the yao mcgrady years they went back to mediocrity with vet holdovers and martin then the Harden era came. But Just wondering where this info is coming from that Alexander never allowed this team to rebuild through the draft or mandated them to “compete”.
It was Morey & Les who made the statement - on more than one occasion, it's been discussed here on CF for years though it was probably quite a while before your join date.
My apologies. I forgot you are never wrong. https://www.phillyvoice.com/daryl-morey-board-sixers-plan-never-tanking/ https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...ns-and-answers-concerning-Leslie-11297999.php “But Alexander made sure his team pursued greatness, never allowing tanking and as a result, delivering customers a good product.”
Again where does it say that Alexander controlled Morey and did not allow this team to tank with a mandate? The philly article was irrelevant and merely mentioned that philly couldn’t rebuild the way the Rockets did post Yao since Houston still had decent players on the roster. The Houston Chronicle article did not mention specifically about a mandate or orders from Alexander. There were no quotes or sources just Feigan saying “The Rockets have not returned to the Finals since those initial title teams, reaching the Western Conference finals twice. But Alexander made sure his team pursued greatness, never allowing tanking and as a result, delivering customers a good product.” Seems like Feigan’s own observation and opinion on his tenure. There’s no source to this. Alexander, Dawson, and Morey made a lot of moves snd trades it is known but every team in the league looks to be competitive. They happened to see openings and opportunities and made deals. The team went into several transitions but because of holdovers and deals like Francis or Harden gave this team new life. This is my observation and wondering if not tanking or not rebuilding through the draft is people’s perception and opinion not fact. Lastly I never said I wasn’t wrong but You are an a$$hole and piece of shi + unnecessarily.
I don't think it was as trendy, I believe the lottery changed, you had to be really bad....not like Dallas as a Play In team winning Number One type of mediocre. Also Alexander was honestly misled and not knowlegeable enough on the topic of rebuilding from scratch.....he wanted to fill seats only.
The Philly article is relevant to your post. You said Morey believed in building through trades and free agency. He was quoted in that article as saying the best way to add superstar talent was through the draft. So let’s use logic and facts. Morey says best way to add superstar talent is through draft. He agreed with Hinkies tanking strategy. Rockets never tanked when there was a clear time for them to use that strategy. Many writers whose job is to cover the Rockets say “Les would never allow tanking” Which makes the most sense. Les did not allow Morey to tear down the team and tank. Les let Morey do whatever he wanted in team building. Seems pretty simple, but again…you know best. Also if you could, please pull the quote of Les saying that he has given Morey the power to tank if he feels it’s the best strategy.
https://www.thedreamshake.com/2013/7/8/4501152/daryl-morey-and-the-quest-for-redemption “Phase 2: Rebuild, but Still Win” “Fans asked for tanking, but Alexander wouldn’t let Morey do it; so Morey kept wheeling and dealing, turning assets into better assets. He called every team with a superstar and offered trades. With the old CBA, he figured sign-and-trades were the best way to go. Other teams like the Mavericks emulated that same method.”
I mean Morey nowdays isn't even in the same stratosphere as Stone. That's not to say that he isn't a great mind, and that he didn't have a good run with us, but the fact of the matter is that Morey's way past his prime. Not to mention the sleazy way he left, and all the sleaziness that surfaced when handling Harden in Philly. His reputation has fallen off considerably. For everyone that wants Morey over Stone, guys just take a step back and look at the state of their teams. One is on the upswing, with great asset management and great team atmosphere. The other one is on a freefall (that everyone saw coming a mile away), with toxic contracts and atmosphere. I know which one I'm choosing.
Les was the Rockets owner for 13 years before Morey came to the Rockets. Les handpicked him to be CD's successor. Les being ignorant of Morey not tanking for 3 years is an insult to both Les Alexander's intelligence and common sense. If you're going to criticize Morey for never making it past the WCFs so be it. But the whole him not tanking thing is such a weird tangent. Also, Morey had the Rockets in WCFs in year 6 of the post-Yao rebuild. This is Stone's Year 5 of the Post-Harden rebuild. So if the Rockets don't make the WCFs either this year or next, hopefully you guys are consistent in your standards for GMs and bash Stone at that time, rather than make excuses for him.
I can quite confidently say that my expectation now we have KD is WCF at the MINIMUM in the next 2 years. I think any less an expectation is cutting too much slack based on the team and momentum we have. If he falls short I'll absolutely criticise Stone for the moves he's made.
