[Red Nation Roundtable] - Daryl Morey discusses offseason

Those white pants really distract me during their podcasts.

 

He cannot be honest so why even invite him.

 

There is something infinitely more distracting.

Warning, this will ruin the video for you

Spoiler

The back of Morey's head is constantly being cut off by the "green screen", lol

 

too quick..

 

Yeah, I listened to most of the video in the background while watching a basketball game, very distracting video because of the greenscreen, sound recorded very silently, Morey not revealing anything interesting. Don't regret listening obviously, but nothing is happening this time of the year so not much to talk about.

 

Triple Chin

When last did he see the gym?

 

I keep forgetting that Ty Lawson bet on himself by waving that last year of his contract. That's commitment.

Morey is always honest. He may not be able to divulge some information, but he is always honest with what he can share with the fans.

 

What did he lie about?

Looked like Bobble Head Morey to me.

Good to see they see the goal is the trophy and the list of question marks are fewer.

 

So what did ol' Daryl say? Did he address...

Khloe Kardashian?
Jason Terry's status?
Montrezl Harrell contract?
Dwight & James not hanging out?

Spoiler

*We're above banners for the division.

*Warriors had a great season, great team. We needed to load up and get better. Our strategy was bring the key guys back and hopefully upgrade as well. On paper, we feel we did that. It's up to us to execute it.

*People critically pointed out we had turnover in the past. If you look at the 07-08-09 teams with Yao & Tracy, there wasn't as much turnover back then. When you're good, you want to keep the core together. ... If we don't have a chance to win a title, yeah, you'll see more turnover. We care a lot about continuity and keeping guys together. Golden State is a good model. They kept their group together, played well and had good fortune with injuries. We should be better next playoffs even if you leave Ty out just by having Pat, D-Mo and another whole year of that same group together.

*(Draft) We were thrilled. We draft for who will be a Rocket long term and the best player. Reality is, with continuity and it does seem like it will be hard for Sam to get on the floor, A) we have a history of developing players, B) McHale will play who is the best. He doesn't care about money, who you are...if Sam comes in and outplays other guys, he'll play. Reality is, it will be hard to do. We have a good team. He'll go through a normal development curve; spend some time with the Vipers. We have been surprised before (Chandler Parsons). Montrezl Harrell, he may get a shot. We had some injury issues at the bigs. We got bigs ahead of him but he's one injury, which you can expect, and a guy like Harrell may get a chance.

*(Dekker's health) He's good. He's back on the court and on track to be fine for training camp. Doing training right now.

*(Deep fishing) Some teams only go for certain FAs, if they feel it's 90% they get them. For me, that makes no sense. No one should worry we spent a lot of time and it doesn't work out. Only thing lost is our time and some of our investment from Mr. Alexander. No one should worry about that. If he can help our team, we'll go after them, even if our odds are lower. Some years it works, some years it doesn't. We'll keep plugging away.

*(Ty Lawson trade) He's so good in transition, his ability to push tempo. Last year, we asked too much of James (and can argue Dwight too). We put together a strong defensive roster. We'll work hard to maintain that but a side thing of that, our key offensive options, we asked too much of them. They were asked to beat the D themselves. Ty can break down a D and create for others. James & Dwight didn't get easy offense last year. With Ty, that will happen. ... He's great at attacking the rim, gets guys open shots at the 3PT line. We feel great about it. We got fortunate he was available. ... He's a solid shooter. A lot of that is him having to do a lot himself. When his feet are set, D is loaded up on others, he's an accurate shooter. He can play off of James.

*We feel like Pat is a starting caliber PG and would have felt comfortable going into the year with him. To have him and Ty, we have two starting caliber PGs. One of the best tandems in the league.

*(Rotation with Lawson/Beverley?) It will be the coaching staff putting that together.

*(Josh Smith leaving for LA) We did want Josh back. He's a good player & person. He had to analyze the situation, not only this season but going forward. He felt signing LA was best for him not only this year but felt LA was setting him up better for the future.

*(Ty Lawson support) Not a lot of interaction at this moment. He is getting help with his issues. We've stayed close with his reps as he gets the help he needs. We'll put all the resources behind him. It'll have to start with him. We feel good, speaking to him, that he's taking the steps needed. We'll put together all the support we can.

*We're always planning out, not only the current season, but the future as well. Next summer, there are a lot of dynamics. We needed that summer and needed to keep that open. Ty was willing to do that. It shows how committed he is.

*(Dwight Howard Team USA) He's always been part of that program. It's a great sign for how he's feeling health wise. ... Gerrson got an impressive position with USA basketball. He's the lead scout for all of international competition.

*(Any concern with international play in the summer?) It's a concern. We're supporters of international basketball. It's fair to raise a question: Is it worth it? The reality is, we have smart players who are also wanting to stay healthy. If they feel like playing for their home country is something important enough for them to take more personal injury risk (they're taking more risk than we are), then we support that decision. It helps us in the bigger picture of recruiting. These guys want to feel like they have an organization that supports their decision. That's why we take that approach. Doesn't make it right. I respect the organizations who take a harder line. That's the approach we've taken.

*(What's left to do?) There are some signings probably before camp. You can get up to 20. We're at 14 right now. There will probably be some signings, not sure we'll get all the way to 20. If an opportunity comes like Ty Lawson, we have to jump on those but they're fairly rare between now and November 1st.

*It's rare you go into a season and say Hey, if we execute and if we're healthy, you can end in a trophy. Most season there are a lot of ifs. Our numbers of ifs is shorter than normal.

*A high seed in the west could be important again. There is a drop off, we'll find out where, 5-6-7-8, such a higher seed could make a big difference. Having a higher seed this year made a big difference. SA got a tough first round opponent on the road. If we were playing the Clippers as the road team, game 7 is in LA.

 

Did he discuss the upcoming Howard for Cousins trade?

 

DM looks like he's high as a fu#%ing kite the first 20-odd seconds.

He doesn't really say anything of any substance, just the normal "Im supposed to say this" kind of stuff, but I enjoyed it none the less. Thanks for sharing.

 

Nothing about Capela's progress and how they view him for the future, damn...thanks a lot for saving me time to watch that J.R.

 

**** all y'all trynna trade Dwight when these past 2 seasons in the playoffs he's been dominant and cousins doesn't even know what playoffs are like

 

Montrezl Harrell likely being an injury away from rotation is notable (granted it has been said before that he was further along than Decker). Morey didn't seemed bother by that at all.

 

you are right about the green screen... but overall a good interview/discussion

I am starving for Rockets news at this point.

 

IDK what they use when they post videos on the Rockets.com site but they never work for me. Phone, PC Browser, none.

 

Thanks JR. Argh, why didn't they ask questions about Harrell's contract? I think him signing 1 year will be a risk to the Rockets. I think he's going to pan out and we really want him for 4 years. I'd do it even if we are hard capped. But I'm not Morey.

 

Nah,

but he did LOL at all the TJ haters in CF.

 

Morey has always been very good (and not given enough credit) at patiently and calmly explaining and re-explaining the obvious in clear terms to an emotionally charged fan-base; all the while, being cautious to not affect or endanger any current or future strategic positioning.