If you can get that information than it doesn't really make it "insider" info in all honesty. Im not sure if you have known any Sports agents before or known anyone that has ever tried to make it in that business, but as someone who has friends who have worked in it, I will tell you this now. For every Dwight Howard they have, those agency's carry 20 mediocre players going into next years draft as unlikely players to even get picked. Sports agents suck up to every NBA/NFL/ MLB front office like its the last crusade trying to get teams to pick those guys in the last few rounds. It makes NO sense that Dan Fegan would want to burn any bridges with an NBA front office when there is a good chance he will be kissing their butts to take his guy in the second round next year. Fagan has 3 client (Howard, Rubio, Wall) that the Rockets would be interested in. Thats it, just three. How many crappy ones do agents have that need contracts? Do you really think Fegan would burn that bridge when it could mean millions of dollars for a future client of his. Ingram is clueless if he think that agents really have that much power over NBA teams. In reality its the other way around. Either that or he is just trying to stir up controversy and smeer Morey's name.
OK, if I follow you correctly here, what you are implying is that the Mavs' signing of Yi was a happy coincidence and nothing more. I can see that as a possibility but as I stated earlier, the timing was suspicious to me. Yes, all agents have good and crappy clients and they all need contracts - thanks for stating the obvious but that is not the point here. The point Ingram brought up that apparently no one here can confirm is that Morey's treatment of players as disposable assets seriously impedes his ability to lure star free agents such as Howard to Houston. Now that in and of itself is a very broad statement and I don't go as far as does Ingram to assert that Morey's approach is too arrogant to work but I still feel that there's a germ of truth in there. In the end, a GM does need to sell a star FA (like Howard) on the virtues of playing in a place like Houston. I don't believe that all Morey will have to do is simply offer money to the Howard camp because all of the potential suitors for DH will be offering around the same amount of money so it will take something more to convince him to play here. Exactly what bridge is there for Fagan to burn with the Rockets with respect to Dwight Howard? As I see it, they (Rox) need him more than he needs them. His client will be next year's big free agent prize and there will be no shortage of suitors lining up for his services. So Fagan really doesn't need to buy into Morey's agenda at all. Also, there's nowhere in that interview that Ingram asserts that agents have that much power over NBA teams. Again, I sense that because Ingram is saying things that do not ring with praise for Morey the Magnificent, folks here want to put their fingers in their ears, look the other way and ignore/dismiss/denigtrate what he's saying. It's like everything you read/see/hear on this subject: in the end, it's all conjecture that may or may not be true. While some of the stuff he's talking about is unrealistic like for example: A GM who can't sell FAs on playing for his team has no business being a GM (total hyperbole), or that Rick Adelman turned down the Rockets contract offer because he believed that the front office was not committed to winning because of the Thabeet deal. However, he does raise some interesting issues about how Morey operates (such as what was the collection of 2009 draft busts supposed to achieve). As for his smearing Morey, I just don't buy it. Exactly, what is there to be gained by doing so? In fact, I can see something like that hurting Ingram more so than Morey. Something like that could end up putting Hoopsworld.com out of business.
EVERY GM treats players like assets, because despite the fact that as fans we can come to have emotional attachments in them, they ARE business assets (or liabilities). Morey made the mistake of using that word during an interview and lots of people on this board went apoplectic about it. I'd bet my house that if you read through transcripts of GM interview across the league, the vast majority of those GMs will have used the word "assets" to refer to players at least once during their tenures. Because they ARE.
Many players felt the interpersonal relationship was missing and that they were not comfortable being treated like assets. Morey, IMO, has a long way to go in understanding how to manage egos and personalities. DD
Got a source on that? Not trying to be a dirk here, but when you say "many players felt," you sound like a politician just throwing a phrase out there to make his case. Got any actual proof, apart from players (Scola and KMart, for example) being upset that they weren't told in advance that they were being traded, which is actually common and completely understandable for a number of reasons, including the possibility that such advance knowledge could sink the trade.
The source was primarily from the player exit meetings at the end of last year, there was a chronicle article about it, I recal KMart talking about it, and I think Lowry too... I am too lazy to go look it up, but if you like I am sure you could search for it. DD
We never heard one word of discontent from Yao about how he was treated. And he went through times where he was on the trade list. Immature players are players that moan about stuff like this. Nonsuperstar players wanting superstar treatment, to be shown deference, etc. It's a bunch of bull and it's one of the knocks on Lebron right now. We don't need all that monkey clown act. Just ball man. Like Luis said. They gett'n paid. Go ball.
Yao was never on the trade list, Le$ was gonna milk that guy dry, and the insurance money that was covering his contract. DD
I found the following quote from Martin on 4/15/11: Sorry, but you're a non-superstar on a professional sports team. That means you are on the trade block ALL THE TIME unless you're the defending champs, and even then if you have a smart GM. Would it be better if Morey lied to the players and told them they were definitely in our future plans, then have to trade them anyway because a sweet deal that improves the team comes along? Wouldn't they feel MORE alienated then? If Kevin Martin wants the team to guarantee him a spot, he should play some defense occasionally.
Dada, They would have traded Yao for Lebron in a heartbeat. My point was you never heard him b****ing and complaining. He went out and played. He played hurt. He played when he was the only decent guy on the floor. He didn't gripe. He led. And he was a superstar.
What I would like to see are the number of trades and moves Morey has made compared to the franchise before he arrived. I doubt that it is abnormally high and this is all just a perception thing. In my opinion, the Rockets have been one of the more active teams in the NBA for personnel moves throughout the last 20 years, NOT just while Morey was here. CD was a friendlier guy. That netted him a few blockbuster deals, but overall, we were a hollow team throughout his tenure. We typically had one or two great players, and a roster of chumps because we couldn't afford to get out of the terrible contracts that he signed because he over-valued stability. Some people just prefer handshake deals and the favor system. Morey goes against everything their parents taught them and they can't comprehend how the world can function otherwise. I get the criticism, it is valid and it doesn't need to be repeated any more. I promise I won't forget.
That data is available. It shows he hasn't traded any more players than anyone else has during his time. The difference is he keeps making over our core. We don't have anyone outside of Yao and TMac that spent more than 5 years with us. And the average Rox career of our core players has been around 3 years since Morey got here. It's been a unique situation dealing with Yao and TMac's injuries and not having a superstar on the roster after the trade of TMac.
Daryl Morey has always said that free agency is an extremely ineffective way to team build. "Draft & Trade"...
No links, no nothing... The "conjecture" is coming from Ingram and his supporters, not the other way around. Players want to play where they can win. That is what the Mavs have over the Rockets right now, Dirk. All that other nonsense is miniscule. You add Pau Gasol, Nene considers coming to the Rockets... Talent is what brings talent. Not relationships... Hell, look at the Clippers. Again, talent will come through trade and the draft. We will not add our best player in free agency without a trade that comes prior...
Free agency is an extremely ineffective way to team build for GMs and owners who are repugnant human beings with teams located in unattractive cities. Such people must build teams on the basis of involuntary labor acquired through drafts and trades.
Thanks a lot cod for being the source of hsf09's thread "veering off course." Look at the title of the thread...Morey and 610. And you post a Ingram and 1560. Also, the Ingram interview was already posted in a thread about Hardisty on 1560 the game. oh well
I don't care(ok maybe I do but who the heck am I? No one.) but no, I already did that Ingram interview too. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=6568473 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=6587130&postcount=370 We can take all our Morey love and hate there
Spoiler Good morning Daryl, how's it going today? Good morning Marc, John. How you doing? Doing great. Congrats on the win last night. We'll get to Lowry in a moment but overall, that was a good one. I know you let the lead evaporate but you held on for the win and that's what counts. Getting that one away from Toyota Center a big one as you currently stand, and I know the standings are tight, but you are 4th in the Western Conference this morning. Yeah one game out of the playoffs and 4th in the whole thing. Pretty amazing. I do think that was the best win of the year. I was really happy for the guys. We did let them back in it but the way they fought until the end. Portland is an extremely good team and pretty much at full strength and at home, where they are dangerous. Probably our best win. Hopefully our guys can build on it. I'm guessing you're out of town scouting? Yeah. I was at that North Carolina-Duke game that went down to the wire as well, with pretty much every other NBA team that was here. Nice. Obviously you werent here for the big announcement. Afterwards, Stern said the trade wasnt really official and he did the best...you've heard it all before. Your thoughts on, that it was kinda an akward moment and you guys trying to move on. We're excited the All-Star game is coming next year and thats about all I can say. McHale, I'm watching this team play, when you have superstars and have to get them touches or have keep them in the game, there are certain advantages to what McHale is doing with this rotation. If you're not performing, you're not McGrady or LeBron, we'll get you out of there. Seems like its working right now. Yeah. Seems like we have different phases where each was doing well. Early in the year, our starting group was carrying the team. Patterson was struggling with his injury, Dragic wasnt going yet, the bench was really struggling. The starting lineup was giving us big leads and carrying us. Now the bench has come in and given us a lift. Kevin has been going with whats best on a given night. I agree, its been working. The starting group, inparticular Martin and Dalembert, who were hot early, are down now but they're gonna come back and give us a lift again I think. Kyle Lowry elbow problem. What can you share? I did talk to Keith Jones. They were cautiously optimistic it wouldnt be too bad of an issue but couldnt be for sure until this morning and saw how it reacted. We're still waiting on the final word there but looks ike there is some optimism that it wont be bad. If he cant go, Dragic and Flynn(?). I dont know what Coach McHale will go with after Dragic. We actually got quite a few guys who can handle the ball and bring it up. We'll see how coach handles it. Samuel Dalembert a mystery here. Clearly early on, you saw good things and gets into these funks or whatever. Thoughts on him lately? He came out of the gates as probably the best center in the league almost, short of Dwight Howard. Its a pace no one could keep up. Its natural. You go through a season, you'll have ups and downs. Look at Budinger last year. You'll naturally have ups and downs through a season. We're not concerned about Sam. I think he'll give us a lift and with these short minutes lately, he'll get his legs fresh and give us some strong minutes here shortly. Thought process on with what went on with Adrien/Smith. That was unfortunate timing. Smith was someone who we obviously saw day to day. A guy with a lot of potential that we didnt feel like we could lose. The cut down date, there are also a lot of players who get signed because contracts, you can sign 10 days, yu can sign different version of contracts. Greg Smith was going to get signed by another team. We didnt want that to happen. We like his future. Unfortunately, Jeff was the only contract that we could go with at least until the trade deadline. We really like Jeff. We hope we can bring him back and hope to get him back on the team when we get a chance to do that. Prognosis on Greg? He got NBA size and athleticism. Really developing as a player. We're excited about his potential. We like to bring in guys with a lot of potential. A lot of times they pan out like Chandler Parsons, sometimes we have to waive very good players as well, which I think people are seeing right now. Patrick Patterson year two - thoughts on his development? I thought he was incredible yesterday. The last week he has really come on strong. The offseason surgery took longer to heal than anyone thought. Now he has fresh legs and is feeling healthy. He was dominant, his defense inparticular. But hes a guy who can contribute on both ends, a smart basketball player and we're thrilled for Patrick. Our second group has given us a lift and yesterday coach rode them to the victory. You got five teams in the hunt with 11 loses, another one with 12, two more with 13. This could be a mad scramble. Yeah. Its gonna be tough. We had the hard early schedule, then really easy, so now we're balanced. Looking at it, it will be tough. we forcast the season every night. Right now, no one has any idea of whats going to happen. There are 11 teams chasing 8 spots. Right now, we would forcast ourselves to barely make it in but honestly, it changes every night. Except for OKC and SA, no one has seperated themselves from the pack. Every other team its up in the air. They could make it or not. You mentioned Duke-North Carolina. That must've been a tremendous game to attend. Unbelievable game and environment. A lot of upset TarHeel fans. Thoughts on what Jeremy Lin is doing in NY? It's impressive. Im happy for him. A great kid. HE was here in camp. Unfortunately, Linsanity wasnt going to happen here with Lowry and Dragic ahead of him and Flynn playing really really well. It was something where, if we could get Stern yesterday to give us extra roster spots, obviously we didnt want to cut him but....we bring in good players. Sometimes they'll pan out here, sometimes they'll unfortunately pan out somewhere else. Hayes was waived twice before he made our roster. It happens. Obviously he should've been drafted and looks like he'll have a long career in the league. Hats off to him. Hes a really, really good kid. Its funny. We talked before about Billups. He was one of those guys who made the big leap. What else goes into that? The kid has to work but environment and system, so many things come into play, don't they? Yeah, we were thrilled when he was waived because we had our eye on him for awhile. I dont think anyone could predict he would do this. In fact no one in the NBA did or he would've been drafted or picked up multiple times or got a lot more attention prior to this. We believed in him. I remember a converstaion at the Portsmouth Invitational with him. I talked to him in the elevator. Obviously, We had Yao Ming at the time. I said, "Hey, I think you're gonna have a NBA career." He didnt believe it. He thought he would have to go to Europe. He didnt even know he would have a chance in the NBA. Real humble kid. Works hard. I really like kids like him. Work hard, are humble, and the success he is having he deserves. He works hard at his game. Im happy for him. Philly and Indy in the top 4 in the East. Thoughts and are you surprised? No. Both of those teams we thought would be good this year. INdiana has been building really well. Larry Bird obviously a great friend of Kevin and myself. Hes been doing a great job putting that together. Philly another young strong team. 3 games here, all on the road, all against .500 teams or below. Phoenix tonight with Nash and Dudley in the backcourt. Comes down to whether we have Lowry or not. Lowry has always played them well. Nash has some trouble with his physicality and size and has had success containing him on the D end as well. Phoenix is playing well though. Its going to be tough. They'll be looking for revenge. I think our starting group will give us a lift tonight. I expect them to come out and give us some strong minutes would be my guess. What will the shortened season do as far as teams looking to make deals before the March deadline? Before the trade deadline, we're very aggressive, always trying to upgrade the teams. Its a little frustrating teams that will just hang onto the deadline. Which is fine. We like how the team is going. We'd like to upgrade the team right now if we could. It looks like it will come down to the deadline and then I do think there will be a lot of activity like normal in terms of teams that are in, teams that are out. Teams trying to go one way or the other. On Luis Scola, shooting percentage has gone down. How are you handling him on day to day basis to get consistency again? We're trying to keep his minutes down. Keep him fresh. McHale has been able to do that better with the bench being stronger. Thats gonna help. I felt like he has been a lot better, moving better because we've been able to keep him closer to 30 minutes than the 35 early in the season. Thats gonna help him. I feel like he has moved better the last 3-5 games. We're gonna manage him the rest of the year. Obviously one of our best offensive threats and really the guy who is professional and one of the best leaders on the team, so we're gonna need him the whole way. Seems like he has been playing professional basketball since he came out of the womb. A guy like that, are you fine with the international play? Luis is a guy who has played a lot of games and a guy who loves to play basketball. He hates practice and likes games. He'd be that guy, when he finishes his career, I bet he finds a place to play pickup everyday. His skill comes through playing a lot. He got as many moves almost as McHale has. Its all from skill and playing a ton. Thats what he loves to do and will continue to do until someone tells him he gotta stop. ... Kobe passing Shaq this week. Greatest Laker ever and then we had Pierce passing Bird. Greatest Celtic ever? Thoughts on both those teams? On the Lakers side, I think you gotta say Kareem. I think an effective big man like Kareem, there is nothing like it. Celtic? Thats tough. I think I gotta go with Bill Russell. What he was able to do winning wise. Again Im going with the big. There might be a theme here. 2nd greatest Rocket? Obviously Hakeem the greatest. I'd say the 2nd best player to ever put on a Rockets uniform is probably Charles Barkley, but obviously his run was short. I'd probably go with Moses Malone maybe. Those two come to mind. If you talk to people who played against Charles, Dream Team and everything, if you talked to Larry Bird, he'll tell you Charles was the best player on that Dream Team that year. An amazing player. OUr international scout actually got beat up by Charles in the 1992 Olympics. He was a starter for the Lithuanian National Team. Folks should check out, theres a documentary at Sundance this year called, "The Other Dream Team" which is about the Lithuanian National Team. Our scout Arturas Karnisovas was a starter for that team. He was the idiot taking pictures when they were getting beat by the Dream Team by 40. He was young. Played at Seton Hall. You should talk to him about it. They were great. Sabonis was probably top ten player in the world at the time. He would've been on the Dream Team if he had came to the NBA at that point. Pretty amazing story. The whole thing. That early 90s USSR team would've been something. You know what's funny, that actually early 90s USSR team was the Lithuanian National Team. All five starters in 88 were Lithuanian I believe. And they were calling them Russian. If you know Lithuanians, I've gotten to know them pretty good, they don't like the be called Russians. Thanks for joining us. Best of luck tonight. Thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. Why does Lopez always bring up that failed trade to Morey? As if he's trying to get a different response out of him or as if he feels Morey is keeping a secret from him. What an idiot!
Thanks. Morey made some interesting comments about Lin situation, but I can't remember what was the last time "Flynn playing very well".
