See, you say you're thankful and then you do that dumb thing where people misspell his name. It bothers me, let's show this guy some respect for what he's done and actually appreciate him... Maybe the first step in that would be to get his name right?...
I agree it's amazing, but it feels like the OP was hibernating for a year. This has been developing slowly, but surely. You could see the pieces falling into place. It was just a matter of time. What is more shocking to me is that it felt like destiny. Morey wasn't able to pull off a lot of deals. All of those other options he had didn't work out (bosh, melo, DH, gasol, nene, etc). Who would have thought that after that we would end up with in the best scenario possible and get so many pieces in less than a year? Everything fell into place perfectly.
If less intelligent GMs try to do this they will wreck franchises Isiah Thomas style, and Morey will be one of the smart GMs picking the carcasses of their destroyed roster clean for anything of value left on it. The reason this has not been done before is that stability is a much safer way to succeed in the short term, and tanking is a much easier plan to formulate in order to radically change your team. I mean, driving incredibly fast is a much quicker way to get from point A to point B, but if you don't have a good driver, then it is a deadly strategy to take. As Nietzsche says, "smooth ice is paradise, for those who dance with expertise". If you don't have the expertise though, it is nothing but bruises and falling down.
Actually, I've been wondering recently if being in the West actually improved the Rockets for the long term. You have Harden quickly forging himself into a star in front of our eyes out of necessity because of playing so much against the West, to say the least the rest of the starters. They HAD to develop their weak points quickly and their chemistry quickly because the West kept on pounding against their cracks... And because of that I think their foundation is stronger now, instead of letting these 'cracks' grow because the competition is weaker.
I think OP meant Chandler was not a starter at the beginning of the season, it was Chase until it got took en by Chandler midway.
2011/2012 Lineup Lowry / Dragic Martin / Budinger / Parsons Scola / Patterson Hayes / Hill 2012/2013 Lineup Lin / Beverly Harden / Garcia Delfino / Garcia Parsons / DMo / T Rob Asik / Smith Just insane
I am not sure other GM's can duplicate this. It's not just the stats - Morey also relies on a very deep scouting team. It's a one two combo. But it's really hard to predict who is going to preform well in advance. Morey isn't right 100% of time, what he has done here is to manage talent & cap room in an unbelievable way. And he's shown an ability to find the right talent. There's always a little luck involved. But Parson, Lin, Asik, and of course Harden...not to mention Dmo Thompson, and all the other talent he pulled out of 2nd round picks to turn into tradable assets is quite amazing. We are really lucky to have him as a GM. He truly is dork elvis.
First of all, I'm glad people who doubted his approach are big enough to give credit where it's due. But second, I remember a lot of people were beating up on him for unsentimentally treating non-superstar players as assets. But being willing to move anyone and relentlessly pursuing a real star allowed for the Rockets to be in the position they're in now. Contrast that with the likes of the Bucks who have said that Brandon Jennings is untouchable. That's a guaranteed strategy to remain mediocre. Combine his unsentimentality with great talent evaluation and understanding how to exploit the salary cap to get Harden, Lin, and Asik and financial weakness to get T-Rob and you've got a great rebuild. Les should lock Morey up for a long time.
There is a reason why he is the founding chairman of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytical Conference...he's a Boss...
One thing I think gets overlooked when it comes to mediocre seasons is that the assets probably have more value because they're putting up stats while winning,.
Morey's way of blowing up the team is not the same with many of us here would have imagined. He blows up the team slowly while the team still compete to win. Some GMs would tank and wait for the draft but not Morey. He's not going to let the team being the bottom of the league. It's amazing the way he does it.
