Maybe..just maybe... Daryl Morey isn't "that" smart

I think most fans are willing to admit that Morey isn't perfect and frankly it is often the anti-Morey crowd that expects perfection when they list mistakes like Ariza and Joey Dorsey as if they are moves that set the team back in any significant way. If missing on Joey Dorsey in the 2nd round is among your worst mistakes you're doing pretty good. Pick your GM of choice to replace Morey and see who that GM missed over the same stretch of time, particularly when picking in the late first round and lower range the Rockets have drafted. Even the best GMs are going to make mistakes.

If you think Morey should have us contending you have to explain what GM would have made us contenders after both Yao and Tmac went down to career ending injuries and how?

Sure the "genius" label is hyperbole, though it seems to be thrown around most often mockingly by his critics. Personally I have never called him a genius. There have been plenty of moves that at the time I questioned. But in the end he has made the right choice more often than not, and when he has been wrong the mistake is usually minor and/or corrected in a timely fashion. The measuring stick is what I think another GM would have done better in the same circumstances. The idea that if we had a different GM suddenly all the superstars would be lining up to play in Houston is just unrealistic. The players who are most likely to be treated like "assets" are still willing to come here, and he hasn't given out any crippling contracts to this point.

I am not ready to say Jeremy Lin was a better choice than keeping Lowry or Dragic yet, but at worst I expect he will be an average PG, and there is the potential for him to be more. It isn't like Lin was given a max contract, it's Rodney Stuckey/Devin Harris/Raymond Felton/Goran Dragic/Kirk Hinrich level money. Very worst case he is a big expiring contract after two years since most of his money is backloaded into the expiring year. Either way I'm not making a condemnation or throwing him a parade til I see what happens.

So Morey may not be a genius, and there may be other GM's who would do an even better job. But there are even more GM's who would do worse. If you expect your GM to never make mistakes then there isn't a replacement out there that you are going to be happy with. Morey may make a move tomorrow that I completely hate, but overall I am happy with what he has done under the circumstances so far.

 

Is this thread title a wire reference?

 

idiot

Dreamshake, more like Moronicshake. This "thing" is an idiot. Don't know y it continues to make moronic threads like this.....

 

Yes and for every center drafted I can also name billion flops so what's your point. Did you really think that there was a sure fire way to acquire talent? If it were that easy every team would have stars.

 

Brandon Jennings? The point guard who shoots a career .393 from the field and can't even average 6 assists per game?

Haha wow. He's easily one of the worst basketball players in the league. Are you serious man? Shows how much you know.....

 

Interesting, I know someone else that liked to use that word.

 

Awesome job. Repped.

The hilarious thing about anonymous internet trolls is, they always think they are smarter than everyone else.. but it NEVER turns out to be true.

 

Alright somebody add Dreamshake1 to the list. How many is that now?

 

Well then sir I give you the master of analytics Daryl Morey. So master of analytics is it typically wise to give large contracts to players who have averaged 12 minutes a game and have zero ability on one end of the floor?


Let me get this straight.

Brad Miller
David Anderson
Hasheem Thabeet
Jordan Hill
If we don't land Dwight and if Asik is matched: Patterson

These have been DM's picks for our Center position (Ill fated, used at postion due to no one else, or for whatever reason) since Yao has retired.


Yeah his track record is astounding.

 

Dreamshake, none of your arguments are valid. Most of Morey's mistakes have been dealt with. Unlike most GM's, Morey doesn't have an ego and acknowledges when he's made mistakes. Not a genius, just has common sense.

 

Wrong. Brad Miller came to play backup to Yao. David Andersen came to play backup to Yao. Hasheem Thabeet was a throw-in and a large expiring contract.
Jordan Hill was a throw in, with the McGrady deal. If you would remember, Rockets weren't too high on him. Don't forget we had Dalembert and Camby last year.

This year,

Donatas Motiejunas, Terrence Jones (6'10 260), Josh Harrellson

 

Yao retired a year ago. Get over yourself.

 

You good.

 

Really? That's your complaint.

Ok, here we go.

Brad Miller - That was an Adleman move. Not much question there.

David Anderson - We burned a whole 2nd round pick on him. I'm sure that set the team back a decade.

Thabeet - Taking his deal that expired in a year and a half was the cost of getting a first round pick. Is Pesti an idiot for signing him now?

Hill - Just another piece of the McGrady/Martin/Landry draft day deals. We traded him to the Lakers and turned him into the Dallas pick that we now hold.

Interesting that you didn't mention Dalembert and Camby. Yao retired just over a year ago. Those are the two guys that were actually acquired to play center here rather than throw ins on deals like the guys you mentioned. Are you also upset about the players from NY that we acquired in the Camby deal? Do you think they were the main purpose of that trade ? How about the guys from Milwaukee? You can add them to your list.

To answer your question, no you don't typically give big contracts to backups. Of course if you have an entire staff that does analytics and they decide that the player will be successful then you do it.

The funny thing is that if Asik's skillset were flipped and he was an elite offensive player that played no defense then nobody would complain.

 

That would be Brook Lopez, on a max contract!