Nice write up. For me however, I feel as though phase 2 hadn't really started until this season. If you would remember the start of last season, Yao was in uniform. Perhaps Morey should have known that Yao would once again suffer an injury, but I feel it was his duty to maintain a contender level team to support him. Our center piece had sat out a full year to recover, and his window was narrowing. Not the time to rebuild IMO. After TMac went down, Morey brought a replacement in with Kevin Martin to complement Yao. This was clearly indicative of the direction of the team at the time. I fully believe it was their intention to contend. It was only after Yao went down again that we began to see a slight change in direction at the deadline. Shane was expiring and would likely walk as we were no longer a contender without Yao, so we moved him for a project who happend to be on a very nice expiring contract, and a 1st round draft pick. Both the AB and Shane trades were indicative of somewhat of a rebuilding outlook as they were both the notable players going out for young players and draft picks. In any case, Yao officially retired this summer which to me signifies the beginning of a new phase. Morey made his intentions known over the summer by trading for Pau Gasol, which to his credit was thinking in a clear direction. Who knows what would have come after that trade. For now, I'll have to see what he does at this deadline to make a final verdict, but so far I feel he has done a tremendous job as the GM.
Morey is like Obama, inherits a rapidly deteriorating situation and spend most of his time plugging the leaks, then has to deal with a maddening bureaucracy (*cough* Stern *cough*) obstructing any chance of making real headway.
I feel, as an Oakland A/Houston Rocket fan that he is a better version of Billy Beane as his team has more money. We just are looking for that ONE deal that makes the big difference.
Remember, Morey doesn't have complete autonomy. He answers to Les. And Les made it clear that Yao wasn't going anywhere.(for many reasons) He also has decreed that we remain "competitive" instead of rebuilding. Bottom line is that we would have AT LEAST one title if Yao could have held up to the ridiculous schedule he was forced to keep.(out of DM's control) Morey fed the window, putting the pieces together...... Now, even under normal circumstances it would be difficult to recover from a title window that has come and gone. It just doesn't happen overnight. And again Les has severely crippled Morey/tied his hands....making it even more difficult. Still DM the GM has kept us flexible with quality players/capspace. Even I wondered when he brought in Lurch as coach, but it's turned out to be a sweet move. Some of you don't realize how fortunate we are to have him. Anyway, DM has navigated through big injuries/contracts to Tracy/Yao and at the same time has catered to Les's whims. The man is an ACE.....and gets an A.
I give him somewhere between B+ to A-. His strengths: 1. Very good talent evaluator. I'd say one of the best in the league. He hasn't made many mistakes so far. I think the only glaring bad moves in terms of talent judgment he has made are Ariza and TWill. He was smart enough to mend the Ariza mistake quickly. Not so with TWill. (I am not going to go into the Lin thing.) All the other busts such as Thabeet, Flynn, and Hill are really not about talent evaluation. 2. Very good at managing "assets." He knows how to keep flexibility, never over commits, and very seldom overpay. 3. Shrewd in making trade. We all know how he got Lowry. And the McGrady trade was breathtaking. His weaknesses: 1. He talks too much. That's right. He sounds sincere and down to earth. But you can tell that he also slips in showing smartness here and there. I think that gets him into a corner where it is harder and harder to steal from other teams. It also pisses off some players when too much wheeling and dealing is leaked out to the public. 2. He has not shown the ability to attract big name FAs. Perhaps it's not his fault totally. But it's hard to argue with results. Overall, I think his strengths outweigh his weaknesses. If only we had him when both Yao and McGrady were relatively healthy. We could have been contending for a few years. I think he would thrive on a team where they already have a star player or two. He is at his best in finding good role players without overpaying.
Started off great, but as of late has made some pretty stupid move as of lately. Also has made some bad statements(like that assets crap), keep that crap to yourself. Not good PR. Also Mchale I don't know about that move. What did he think he could attract big stars
top 5. he's the top 5 smartest there's no question about that. can't really blame the whole lin situation on him.
I went B... The mistakes stick in our minds - Gay, Batum, TWill, but He's made many more good moves...
First, we have been buzzing around the 8th seed for a little while. However, in addition to that level of success, we also have very good cap position, some extra picks, no bad contracts, a young team, and a number of assets that aren't even with the team. I.e., they enable us to trade players and already have replacements. These players include Llull, Motiejunas, Morris, Smith. What drives me nuts about DM, though, is that he is in no hurry to turn his assets into players, because he insists on winning every trade. He should turn our extra players into draft picks, even 2nd-rounders. The man's a genius with 2nd-round picks. Who do I think he could turn into something? Dragic, Flynn (bringing over Llull), Scola or PPatt (bringing over Motiejunas), Hill (if we sign Kaman or the like as a decent backup C, or if Smith works out), Budinger (bringing up Morris), TWill (for a 2nd rounder). I think we could turn these guys into, say, 3 late 1st-rounders plus 3 2nd-rounders. I'd love to see what DM could do with these extra picks.
C+ Until he lands us a superstar within the next couple of years. F, as in fired if he fails to pull it off probably along with McHale. But honestly, B+ Graded on a curve, considering the market and circumstances he has been working under.
Have you seen the Wizards play lately? The Whiz are taking the approach that you desire for rebuilding and man they are terrible (and for many years). I rather have the team that I have now for a few years and wait for something to happen that to be a bottom feeder and wait. I invite you to watch a Wizards game and see all the brick, clank, clank, airball, etc... You can add a number 1 or number 2 pick but there is no guarantee that you are coming back. My point is that people say that we are mediocre...no way! You don't know what you have until you don't have it anymore. I voted for A, but I will say that I placed him at the smallest A possible.
