WPeace was never elite, he was a borderline Allstar in best years. One of the best defenders on the market
If he had to give up nothing for Ibaka, maybe. But would Morey really trade anything of value to get Ibaka? Absolutely not. Ibaka will never be a third star, let alone a borderline star. "Stars" don't average 12 and 7 in the playoffs with poor man to man defense. Terrence Jones can provide that at a fraction of the cost.
Its not about whether the 3 star doctrine is the right choice....its about.... How far is Morey going to go in search of this third star that it ends up hurting the team more than helps?
And Parson goes to a divisional rival, which makes it twice as bad. It was a #### up of the highest order to let him become a RFA unless they were prepared - seriously prepared - to match no. matter. what. Bottom line is that the Rockets blinked.
From the sounds of it he had to let Parsons out of his contract because of back room dealings/complaining from Parsons and his agent.
Dwight isn't getting any younger/healthier and Harden isn't getting any slimmer, either. Next season, if they lose in the first round again, unless injuries are a factor, Morey should be replaced.
Right on. Elite some basketball skill. If Pawould have shot %42 from 3pt land Morey would have matched.
I have no problem with him wanting a third star, thats fine. And i think Morey is a great GM. But look at what its done this summer. Morey has a losing record when it comes to courting stars. Going from summer to summer looking for that third star is going to waste Dwight Howard. I also dont think after listening to the interviews this morning that Morey had any intention of signing Parsons back. They could have just held onto him for cheap and signed him with bird rights next summer. I think the switch from Parsons to Ariza is more about surrounding Harden with defense
I don't think the Wizards would do this. They were the 4th seed in the East last year, and two teams above them collapsed. They finally gave their fans hope and excitement and have a chance to go deep in the playoffs this year. I agree they can't win a title, but not every team builds the way the Rockets do - the Wizards are slowly improving and building, and probably are committed to that philosophy and seeing where it takes them. Side note - I disagree with the Morey approach, but good analytical thread.
Well that's why I said if they hypothetically weren't contenders. The part of my quote you cut off said just what you said. Nene isn't available and people can't just throw out a name "Like a Nene" when that guy isn't available. Who are the other players "like a Nene?" Fans just throw names out there with no regard to whether or not they are on the table. Obviously not a good thread though as it has 2 stars.
I don't believe you need three superstars, if that's what the "Morey Doctrine" is. I do agree that you won't win a championship by pretending that Chandler Parsons is your third superstar, paying him that way, and losing the ability to add other significant pieces. Going forward, Morey can build a championship team if he lands another star, and he can (in my opinion) build a championship team by surrounding Howard and Harden with a good mix of complementary roleplayers on value contracts. Neither path was available to Morey if he matched Parsons after Bosh opted to stay in Miami. I just wouldn't want to have to explain to the team that they weren't good enough to win a ring and they have to get worse in the short-term merely to maintain the possibility of assembling a championship roster in the future. This also shows why it really was a terrible mistake, not just in hindsight, to make Parsons a RFA. If Morey picks up his option, if nothing else, he buys himself some time and - gasp! - some flexibility to make his next move(s). "Mistakes were made" but I still think he's a very good GM.
In regards to Nene, whoops - that's what I get for reading quickly. In GARM, I'm not sure you want a 5-star thread! It just means you posted something boring that everyone agrees with.
But we ARE mired in mediocrity. In the last 17 years, we've been in the playoffs 9 times, the lottery 8 times, and won a single playoff series. In the Morey era during the last 7 years, we've been in the playoffs 4 times, the lottery 3 times, and won that lone playoff series. So Morey's pretty much par for the course during his tenure as GM when it comes to the Rockets recent track record. Which proves the problem is not Morey. It's Les. It's obvious at this point that the Les Alexander doctrine includes the following: 1) Don't tank. If we're in the lottery, so be it. But try to maximize the talent on the roster for as many wins as possible. Which is why we've seen so many #14 picks in recent years. Hell, even the year we got the #1 pick and took Yao, we unnecessarily won a few games late in the season that left us with the 5th worst record. We just got lucky with the ping pong balls. 2) Always look to package a draft pick for something else if possible. Instead of hanging onto a Richard Jefferson or Rudy Gay, we're always flipping them for something else like an Eddie Griffin(which was a disaster) or Shane Battier(which worked somewhat, but arguably wasn't worth the #8 pick). 3) Try to trade talented role players for better players or other assets that can eventually be flipped for better players. We've had lots of talented players come through here over the years who've been sent packing. Carl Landry was traded for Kevin Martin. Kyle Lowry was traded for a pick from Toronto. Now both of those "assets" were eventually used to get Harden from OKC, but for every one of those successes, there have been plenty of other examples of moves that netted us little to nothing. And worst of all, it creates a ton of turnover and a lack of continuity with the roster. 4) Always try to land a star player via either trade or free agency. I don't have a problem with this when the Rockets have no superstars as was the case 2 years ago after the Yao-T-Mac era and preceding the Harden-Howard duo. But when you have star players on your roster, the priority should be finding the right players to surround them with. Based on the results of the last 17 years, I'd argue this approach clearly isn't working.
What is our playoff appearance and record during the Morey era? Your records says what you are. No wonder we are falling behind in the world, we readily accept mediocrity!
My apologies for the preceeding message, didn't see the other OP's message. However, this isn't Les's fault, he's given Morey the opportunity to develop a stats team with poor results.
