I actually agree with this assumption. The only difference is I don't think we need a Steve Kerr type coach that is going to implement this great offense. I think we need a hard nosed defensive minded coach like thibs or Stan van gundy. If we had a dictator it would do wonders for the knuckleheads we have in that locker room. None of are guys are bad ppl and get in trouble they just play to much. You see it all the time they bs around being too cute and then turn in on midway thru the 4th on both sides and look like world beaters. Need that all game.
My first post in more than a year. Morey didn't overlook the coaching situation. Let's go back to Mchale's hiring. Morey indirectly caused the firing of Adelman due to their constant clash. Instead of putting his career on the line on the next coach, he manipulated Les into selecting the next coach. The FO claimed to have gone back ten years on all the available coaches preparing for Les, really made Les believing he was interviewing the best available candidates, except they weren't. It was really a genius move if you think about it. If the next coach failed, it would be on Les and not on him. He wasn't the one who hired McHale. Les can't fire the one made the decision. But there was a catch I bet that Les didn't know about. All the coaches he interviewed, Sampson, Frank, Casey, and McHale, were all willing to agree with Morey on certain terms; such as having Morey's team of assistant coaches to implement his theory. Those were desperate coaches who were dying to have a shot at an NBA coaching job. I bet Budenholzer would NEVER agree to Morey's terms. Who knew he or Brett Brown was available shortly after McHale became the coach? Imagine this Rocket team with Budenholzer or Brown? Why do you think Morey made a statement that 'coach doesn't matter very much?' Of course it does! It was a manipulating/misdirection statement. By stating it, people would not question that he didn't go after the best available coaches--any coach would do, for as long the coach implemented his theory. Lastly no other GM gets on the social media as much as him. Why does any GM needs to do that when he has a TEAM of press personals? There is only one reason--to gain popularity, and one time, I was one of his admirers. Wake up Les! Give Morey his ultimatum. If Morey can't relinquish total and absolute coaching power to his next HC, fire his ass.
The only guy I know of right now that I would consider firing Morey so I could hire him would be Shane Battier. Battier would make a great GM. Because Battier understands, respects, and embraces analytics but has that experience as a player to know players inside and out. This is what makes Ainge such a stellar GM. He's got the analytics plus the intimate understanding of players and their career curves. Ainge can tell early by the eye whether a player is slipping or improving. Analytics, while a great tool, are a trailing indicator. They verify what has already happened. But the eye test is a leading indicator. Basketball guys, guys that know and have actually played and coached the game, see things in players before the analytics reflect it. Really what Les should do is hire Battier (if at all possible) and place him in the front office working with Morey (coach or GM in waiting). And let both men glean from each other. Morey is too good to just dump. And Battier is sitting there waiting to be a bigger Steve Kerr.
I love this idea. To me we have three absolute untouchables: Harden, Capela, and Morey. Adding Battier though would be a stroke of genius. The only thing is that if there were a chance of such a thing he'd probably already be doing it as Battier and Morey are very close.
thx for the insight. I wonder what Battier's interests are. Booth, Coaching or FO, or just living the retired life like Stockton.
100% facts on everything you posted He clashed with Adelman over roster control & assisant coaches. He wanted more control than he already had. After he ran Adelman off (who did a VERY good job given lack of roster talent) he picked Mchale who he knew would implement Moreyball & allow him to handpick his assistants. Now that we're having a coaching problem, Morey needs to be held 100% accountable. This is on him in more ways than one
Looks like I am on the same side of the fence with DD on this one. I would love seeing Battier back in some coaching or management role.
Wish we could get Battier on our bench as coach or in the FO, but don't think that will happen. His own article about transitions (Dec 15, 2015) and where he goes next. http://themeasure.trumaker.com/2015/12/15/transition-game/ What now? That’s the question asked to me daily. Worse, it’s the question that I ask myself daily. What’s next? Is there a more frustrating thing a lifelong overachiever can ask himself? My path for the last 25 years was clearly defined. Make a shot, stop your opponent. Rinse. Repeat. It was a simple formula I followed from my driveway at 2220 Yorkshire all the way to the NBA Finals. Make a shot, stop your opponent. This mindset allowed me to attain every last one of my goals in basketball. High school state championship. National high school player of the year. NCAA championship. National collegiate player of the year. 13 years in the NBA. NBA world championship. I managed to check each of these goals off my list. And while that measure of success was hard to imagine as a kid, my progression to get there was not. It was laid out before me on a daily basis. Thanks to scoreboards, records, media, fans, coaches, I always knew where I stood. As the ultimate creatures of habit, athletes rely on these metrics like a security blanket. At any given moment, I could look at a score or at the standings and know if I was winning, losing, helping, hurting. There was always a metric. Not to say all of this was easy. My achievements were the culmination of a lifetime of hard work, preparation, and dedication. You don’t get to get to the top of the hoops mountain without total and complete focus, but at least there was a rhythm to my daily life, and that rhythm is the steady drumbeat of so many athletes’ lives. Without it? Well… “So, what are you doing now?” My typical response of “Er, um, I don’t know” is usually an awkward experience. What’s especially tough for me is that I have been constantly told since I started having success that basketball was merely a stepping-stone, a stepladder to a greater life’s purpose. Maybe I’d be a CEO, a Senator, the next Oprah. “He’s going to the top! There’s no stopping Battier once he gets that basketball career out of the way.” What if everyone was wrong? Somewhere along the line, as I began to feel and live the success of my basketball journey, I maybe started to believe some of the external b.s. about me. And as I got closer to the end and started to think about the unexplored wilderness of my post-basketball life, I felt something completely new. It was anxiety, fear, the pressure of expectations. As a basketball player, I never paid attention to what the outside world thought. Now I needed to think about what my purpose and path in life would be post-basketball and if it would be enough. What in the hell was I going to do? Transitions in life are difficult. There are no manuals. No coaches. It’s almost taboo to talk at all about the fears, anxieties, and concerns about ending one venture and starting a new one, let alone when you’ve had success at a high level in your last endeavor. No one wants to hear anything about your self-doubt or pity. They’ll just say: Retire! Play golf! You got it made! Or the natural inclination is to assume that new success will just happen if you apply the old formula. But how can you define success and goals if you don’t even know the direction you want your next ‘first step’ to lead you? I have travelled the country in search of anyone who can give me insight into my transition after basketball. I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, but I’m hopeful I will stumble onto an idea or a person that will provide some clarity on my future path. Investor David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group provided me with this simple, poignant way to look at my life: He told me that there is a certain demographic, including professional athletes, that have parlayed talent and hard work into great success in the first third of their lives. They have ‘won’ the first third. Many people in the demographic seem content to rest on those accomplishments and don’t grow as individuals. The question he asked me is, can I reinvent myself to win the next two thirds of my life in a completely different way than the first? I have thought about this question, this challenge, often. I have asked myself if I am ready to leave the comfort of a championship legacy, to make myself vulnerable, to invite failure in the name of personal growth? Am I willing to try things and fail? And what actually makes me happy and passionate? That is a universal question, but I find it tougher to answer every time I think about it. I know I am passionate about my family. I’m passionate about my charitable endeavors. As a player, I was passionate about winning and interested in advanced analytics and statistics. But I don’t think I was ultimately passionate about the game of basketball, which may sound shocking coming from someone like me. “While I’ll always love basketball and the experiences it gave me, I do not want it to define my entire life” For me, it was about the journey, the training, the preparation, the camaraderie, the feeling of accomplishment. But the game itself? I don’t know. Basketball was merely the vehicle. Unless I had friends playing, you would not find me trying to make time to watch a basketball game like I try to make time to watch a football game. Weird. Maybe that has to do with burnout, but by the end of the line for me in basketball, I was just tired. Tired of the routine, the same patterns, the same speeches, and the same scenarios. While I’ll always love basketball and the experiences it gave me, I do not want it to define my entire life. I think this is the challenge I’ve felt all along, and the one David Rubenstein articulated for me. Basketball was a comfortable fit because it was easy to measure the win. I had the talent and dedication to be in that rhythm of success. The next challenge, which I can’t even name yet, will require much more creativity and a new type of dedication. By leaving my comfort zone and tackling the unknown, I’m accepting a dare to be the best version of myself in a totally new way. I spoke with Elton Brand—my college roommate and friend—who recently retired as well, and he said it best: he feels like he’s been a kid for the last 15 years. As you get closer to the end of a life stage like this, you see that it’s time to stretch the brain in a different direction, to ‘grow up’ again. It’s scary and uncomfortable, and entirely common. But I realize now the alternative for me is to remain in a comfort zone, focus on the past, and rest—and that’s not how you win the next third. You have to win the transition game, grow, push yourself, and possibly fail in the process. So, “What am I going to do?” As I write this, I don’t have a specific plan, but I do know that it will be consistent with an overarching theme in my life: helping others. I hope to take the Battier Take Charge Foundation to new heights. It would be a dream to make our modest foundation one of the premier educational based charities in the country. Maybe I’ll mentor. Or maybe become a mini-Tony Robbins. I’ve yet to find a microphone I didn’t want to pick up. Maybe I’ll follow in the footsteps of the greatest coach I’ve ever played for, Ed Battier (sorry, Coach K). The lessons he taught my childhood teammates and me are as relevant today as ever. Making people better is what I tried to do on a basketball court, and I’m sure it will lead me to where I need to be off of one.
I would also love to see Sam Cassell (bless his dolphin alien hybrid looking face) and Mario Elie (the REAL junkyard dog) involved with the Rockets.
Battier can't motivate Harden, or instill discipline like Mario Elie. Mario is just as smart as Battier, but he can kick everyone's ass.
Sam Cassell is my choice. I recall a story about Sam Cassell - How IMO he single handedly (well with the help of Cuttino Mobley) Turn the whole Clipper Organization Around They were are practice. They took a break. Everyone ran for water and goofing off Sam and Cuttino stayed on the court and practice free throws They next break they did the same thing . . .. Soon hey had a few other practicing with them until . . .the whole team started this routine . . .no one was running for water or goofying off It is anecdotal but that is SAM. He can be a loud leader but a quiet on as well He is smart and knows the game. He is very savy and knows the players When Sam becomes a coach I almost guarantee he will be a great one I think the Rockets should get Sam DOC is just in Sam's way Rocket River
Morey always underestimate the importance of a good coach. Daryl is very good at business, but his ignorance about certain aspects of basketball have been decisive in this failure. Time to BIG CHANGES!
I think I read somewhere that Battier was not interested in basketball after basketball. I am pretty sure if he wanted, he would be in some kind of basketball related job, some time soon if not by now already. He has the kind of mind to be successful in a lot of different capacities.
It isn't that hard. Hire Tom Thibs to be the head coach. In Chicago Thibs had no input on player transactions (Thibs famously wanted Draymond Green but GarPax insisted on Teague), and Morey has shown a willingness to defer to coaches on picks (Brooks, White). Thibs would establish the culture this organizations needs. If Battier wants to be part of that, great......
I heard John Wall credits Sam cassell the most for his growth as well as Austin rivers growth from dumpster fire to trash. But they're PG's hopefully he can help harden.
