Does Morey have any principle or direction to improve this team? Or, is he just taking advantage of circumstances? If you think he does have a principle, why did the rockets lack a backup C in the past years? And, why does he want to go after Bosh? Is Bosh the player that the rockets need the most? Or is he the best player that rockets are able to acquire?
Morey definitely has a money ball approach to the game... hence he has shown a serious aversion to overpaying for talent... and if there is one thing that gets overpaid in this league it would be size. I wouldn't consider it obvious, but I would consider this season a test case for morey's theory of incorporating players with a high production to minute ratio. since then, I have noticed a trend to accumulate players with a capacity to both get to the line and convert a high percentage. kyle lowry was the first in a deal that flew under the radar, and now we have picked up kevin martin (a statistician's dream of efficient scoring) who converts ft's at an elite level. while I don't know bosh's efficiency ranking, he definitely falls under the former approach, drawing and converting an exorbitant amount of ft's in respect to the league average. I have full faith in morey (see sig below), but the more I see him operate, the more I see a evolving statistical permutation to his approach...yes I said evolving statistical permutation....
Past years? Remember a guy named Mutumbo? He was as good of a backup as there was in the league and he was here until this season. We didn't have a true backup center this year but does that really matter? We weren't going to go far with or without a backup center. Would you have prefered for Morey to tie up $6M for a center who won't play much once Yao gets back? I'm not following your logic. Why would you go after a player if you already knew that you couldn't acquire them? Seems kind of silly to pursue a player that you know you can't get. Let's be real, Lebron James would help the Rockets more than any other player but he's not attainable so we won't waste time and other opportunities by pursuing him. Of the guys that are realistically available to the Rockets, Bosh is head and shoulders above everyone else. He's pretty much the prototype of the PF that you need next to Yao.
I think you misinterpreted the comment... the op meant...is bosh an elite player? or is he just the best player available at a position of need?
Deke was severable several years ago. But, you should remember that Deke hardly played in regular season for 08-09, and then he was injured in 1st round when we played portland. If there was another good backup C, Yao wouldn't be down in that season. And, we didn't have a true (backup) center this year and it does that really matter. Otherwise, we would make the playoffs. Moreover, if you think $6m is too much for a center, how about $8-9m for buying three 2nd round picks? My logic is not about going after a player if you already knew that you couldn't acquire them. Instead, it is about going after a player who is the rockets need the most.
Buying 3 2nd round picks for 8 million is not the same things as paying $6 Million a year in salary that also counts against the cap.
The quote is "Is Bosh the player that the rockets need the most?" and as I said the anser is "No" , that would be Lebron. Is he an elite player? Of course he is. Is he the best player available? Yes he is. Who else do the Rockets need more? I always laugh at the comments when people claim various players aren't true superstars or elite players. Other than Lebron, Kobe,Wade and maybe Howard you'll get lots of people saying they aren't true superstars or worth the money. So, if you can't get Lebron, Wade or Kobe then you just do nothing? Bosh is one of the best players in the NBA and if the Rockets are able to acquire him then it would be a huge plus for the franchise. In the end it comes down to Bosh deciding where he wants to play. If he decides he wants to play in Houston then the Rockets have the resources to make it happen and we'll be a contender. Why wouldn't you acquire Chris Bosh if your are able? Ignore all talk of the Rockets having to gut the team to acquire Bosh, they won't have to. Look at past sign and trade deals for stars, how many teams ended up overpaying for the star? Most every time the selling team gets back pennies on the dollar for trading a star player. There's tons of examples of the selling team getting back lesser value and off the top of my head I can't think of any examples of teams overpaying for a superstar in a sign and trade. There may be a case that I'm not remembering but by far the vast majority of the deals favor the buyer rather than the seller.
The difference is if you get stuck with a mediocre player for $6 mil/year for 6 years and raises, you have to trade away your 8th draft pick to get rid of him. With 2nd round picks, you can give them a 2 year guaranteed contract at a miniminum hit against the salary cap. You can trade them way or just let their contract expire in the 2nd year. It won't cost you an 8th pick to get rid of them.
haha...I like to exclude previously exisiting "commodities" from the Morey era if it was the magician making that deal, we would have kept Franchise, Cat and Cato...Boki was a hot asset at the time
I actually think Morey has a vision/principal for this team. He's an opportunist, but lets remember the moves he's made: Remember three or so years ago. We were still a team with Yao and Tmac that had yet to make it out of the first round. And what were the top 3 things we needed? In no particular order: 1. A solid PG (Alston wasn't cutting it). 2. A solid PF (remember 3 years ago our PFs were Hayes and Howard) 3. A 3rd scorer What were some of Morey's first moves? 1. Drafted Brooks and Landry in the same draft. 2. Traded for Scola 3. Traded for Artest. That's all that needs to be said. He's made the moves to improve where we need it the most. And think about what it took for us to get Artest. We had to trade Howard for James. Sign Bonzi, and then trade him and James for Bobby Jackson's expiring contract. Then remember on draft day we did the pick shuffle and ended up with Donte Green, who was the key component in getting Artest. Of course, Artest ends up signing with the Lakers. I wonder if McGrady and Yao were healthy if that would've happened. That's uncontrollable. Then of course, you have the Kyle Lowry trade and the Kevin Martin trade. And what were some of the comments made by the GM about those? "Oh, we were trying to get that guy for years and finally we were able to trade for them." That doesn't sound like an opportunist to me. That sounds like a guy with a plan.
We went into the '09 playoffs with Yao and Mutumbo at center. Scola and Hayes were the 3rd and 4th centers. Are you complaining because we didn't have a 5th center on the roster? Yao broke his foot because Scola and Hayes got the backup minutes? Yao was going to play more minutes in the playoffs regdless of who the backup was. All teams play their stars more in the playoffs. In the grand scheme of the Rockets does it really matter that we didn't make the playoffs this year? Would a first round exit have been the best thing for the team's future? Who is the center that we could have acquired that would have put us in the playoffs? Gortat? Morey isn't going to be so short-sighted that he ties up that kind of money to get a backup center who may or may not help you make the playoff and then become and overpriced backup once Yao returns. $6M for Budinger, Taylor and Llull? Right now that looks like a steal. Realize that the $6M that they spent doesn't effect the Rockets salary cap. We lost zero cap flexibilty by acquiring those guys. They are each counting a very small amount against the cap and that makes them a very attactive asset to other teams. Budinger counting $750K against the cap or Gortat eating up $6M? That's a no-brainer. Ok, then who is the player that the Rockets need the most? Who's the guy that's attainable that helps them more than Bosh? We're set at the point with Brooks and Lowry. Lot's of 2's and 3's with Martin,Ariza, Battier, Budinger and Taylor. Yao is obviously at center. So, who is the guy that helps us more than Bosh? We need weak-side shotblocking, a 4 that can space the floor for Yao, rebound and be an additional low post threat when Yao is out of the game. Bosh provides all of those things.
If you don't like the idea of acquiring Bosh that's fine, but offer an alternative. If you can make a convincing argument for somebody else then more power to you. Otherwise, what are you advocating, standing pat?
