Buford defiantly up there, so is Donny Nelson of the Mavs. For Pat Riley I think he cleared space because Wade told him Lebron and Bosh was going to be there.
Sam Presti easily Daryl Morey is so overrated here its not even funny. Yes you could say he is the orginator of Moreyball/Metric system. But what has that led too... NOTHING.. (14th picks) Sam Presti avoids Euros for the most part. Presti would have not have traded Rudy Gay for Shane Battier Sam Presti is able to draft better as well. Plus his intangibles of the players actually liking him. Westbrook and Durant love Presti from what i hear Many Rockets players hate Morey. Morey treats players like assests, and thus alienates his players. Word around the league is no one wants to play here. Even Pau Gasol who is one of the more genuine players in the NBA
I would love for you to find me a source that states Morey was the originator of the metric system, and also a source that states Gasol doesn't want to play here because of Morey. Because from what I remembered, Nene wanted to play here.
Having high draft picks certainly helps. Let me put it this way, would Presti have Durant or Westbrook without high draft picks? Concerning Memphis, you have to consider the players available in the draft when they make their picks, and second, just because Memphis sucks in the draft does not mean someone else will. Presti deserves credit for making good draft picks, put it isnt like he has drafted at #15 every year.
Everyone knows Morey invented the current metric system that many use today in the NBA. They say it all the time on NBATV whenever he comes on for an interview But thats besides the point.. What really seperates Presti from Morey in my eyes, are the clutch decision making, and intangibles looking back at 2009 draft with Harden and Rubio.. when he took Harden number 3 overall. When many believed that Harden should have gone in the lower lottery/barely top 15 ish range... over Rubio( who was called by many draft experts to be the pick and replace a young turnover prone westbrook) Also that 2008 Draft when it was believed at the time, that Presti reached for Westbrook at number 4. Westbrook was listed at number 20 in a lot a of mock drafts that year. He got destroyed in the media for a while for making that pick for while. I remmeber ESPN saying... "I JUST DONT KNOW WHY THE SEATTLE GM, FELT THEY SHOULD TAKE RUSSELL WESTBROOK ALL THE WAY AT NUMBER 4." Looking back now, turns out Presti knew what he was doing. Presti is a better talent evaluator and better at making trades than Morey. He stole Daquaen Cook and Eric Maynor for nothing, and look at how they have performed for him I can go on and on man Sam Presti is the best GM in the NBA when you consider all of the intangibles, and iq this guy has when it comes to building a team
Presti is the best GM in the league No way Morey would have been able to keep both Westbrook and Durant Presti's being a GM is only part of the intrigue with him. His players love him James Harden wants to stay in OKC, when this guy could go play anywhere else. He managed the friction between Durant and Westbrook pretty good. Even David Aldridge was on NBA TV one time, and said that Presti is the one that keeps Westbrook and Durant coolheaded. Presti's intangibles are great I wish he was here in Houston, we probably would have gotten a star player by now
#1 Morey did not originate the metric system. He is simply very good at it. #2 Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha are both key players for the Thunder and are "euro's". #3 Presti made a deal very similar to the Battier deal when he traded Green for Perkins. #4 Please provide links substantiating that players do not want to play in Houston because of Morey.
#1 Harden was NEVER going at or near 15th. He was viewed as a top 5 pick. #2 Concerning Westbrook, he shot up the draft charts a week before the draft and was going to be gone in the lottery. #3 How has Cole Aldrich (11) and Jeff Green (5) done? Did the clutchness just not work these two times?
Jeff Green is not that good a player man... he is just solid at a lot of things, but doesnt stand out with any particular skill-set kinda like Patrick Patterson. If Danny Ainge is expecting Jeff Green to be the next Paul Pierce, he's in for a rude awakening Rudy Gay was a 19 year unproven solid prospect.. who we should have drafted, and Presti probably would have drafted and not traded unless it for something more than Battier Presti didnt draft Thabo, the Bulls did Presti drafted Ibaka at #24 in the draft, which was a great value pick for him again.. so he wins there over Morey again And yes Pau Gasol did not want to come to Houston, he just wanna be seen as a bad guy, by coming and saying it in the media. Nobody does actually. Thats why their are sources. If you notice, whenever it leaked out that he didnt wanna play in Houston. Pau never dispelled those rumors
James Harden was not a top 5 pick at all buddy. After bombing in the NCAA Tourney.. his stock had fallen, and his quickness and athleticsm were being questioned Harden was viewed by many including Chad Ford of ESPN as a Top 10 pick... not Top 5
If Portland wasn't horrible at drafting and took Durant, OKC would be nothing and your whole hypothesis comes crashing to the floor. Luck does not equal being a good GM.
How is it Pat Reiley's GM skills that Lebron and Wade are butt buddies and everyone loves beaches in Miami
Why, because they have lottery picks and we don't? And what do you mean "no way Morey would have been able to keep Durant and Westbrook". They were both given max contract and they are restricted free agents. Unless they quit the NBA all together it's literally impossible for them to go to any other team.
Let me consider that for a moment. 2008 OJ Mayo* - 3rd / Westbrook 4th. 2009 Thabeet - 2nd / Harden 3rd. But yeah the latter part of that is correct, even Memphis fans admit they can't draft.
Durant is just one player.. Presti would have still drafted Westbrook and Harden, Ibaka, and made some of the same brillant trades he is making now BTW i dont believe in curses or anything like that. But Portland is not a place of happiness these days, whose to say that if Durant goes to the Blazers he isnt the one injured for most of his career And with Oden being a better prospect 'HEALTHY" Do OKC become even more scary than they already are. A healthy Oden with Ibaka, and Collison. Plus Westbrook and Harden Either way.. Presti is miles better a gm and talent evaluator than Morey
To be fair, yes, this is part of it. Getting stuck as the best team in the lottery or the worst team in the playoffs is a horrible place to be. A GM will blow up that team or find a star - neither of which is being done by the Rockets. Instead, they are mired in perpetual mediocrity. That's not true - they could simply not sign an extension and play out a one-year deal and then move on if they want to. Or they could gripe and force a trade.
