Not sure if anyone has seen this or if it has been posted before but thought it was interesting, also a little bit on Brooks in the question below. Link http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9403688/Vox-Populi:-Suns-need-wholesale-changes How would you rate the job done by Darryl Morey, the GM of the Rockets? — Mike Smith, Baytown, TX So far, Morey has done an outstanding job. Aaron Brooks — Houston's first-round pick and 26th overall in the 2007 draft — is a diamond in the rough. He has the quickness, speed, and perimeter shot to become a top-notch point guard. Two years down the road, Brooks will be better than Rafer Alston ever dreamed of being. Carl Landry — a second-rounder obtained from Seattle also in 2007 — is about three years away from being an All-Star caliber player. Aside from the high-profile young players — like Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and so on — Landry is the guy every other team in the league wishes they had. Rescuing Von Wafer from the waiver-pile was nothing short of a stroke of genius. Indeed, Wafer has become a crucial part of the Rockets, representing the team's only scoring threat off the bench. The Spurs dealt Luis Scola (and the easily forgotten Jackie Butler) to Houston in exchange for Vassilis Spanoulis plus a second-round selection in next June's draft. Unless Spanoulis ever arrives in San Antonio and is the second-coming of either The Big Aristotle or of Herakles, this trade was an absolute steal. However, any definitive judgment of Morey's expertise will be solely determined by how Ron Artest performs in the playoffs. Thus far, Ron-Ran has behaved himself — in public at least — although his unpredictable mood swings have been a trial for both his teammates and his coaches. It should also be noted that in his previous playoff appearances Artest's performances have been profoundly underwhelming — so much so that several of his peers deem him to be a habitual choker. If the Artest gamble works and the Rockets advance to at least the conference finals, then Morey is an undisputed genius. But an early exit makes Morey one more GM who made and lost a sucker's bet on the most unstable player in the league. So, despite his many brilliant moves, Morey carries a grade of "incomplete" into the postseason.
lol wut? Let's poll every single GM in the league to see who would trade Bobby Jackson and Donte Green for Ron Artest. If they all say yes (as they all would) doens't that make it a good trade no matter if we win a championship? I mean there are so many factors that could determine whether or not we win in this postseason. Artest is just one piece. Whether or not he plays well in the postseason is irrelevant to the fact that it was a good trade. I'm not gonna say Morey's a god or anything given he's only been at it for 2 years, but every single move he's made has turned to gold. The GM can't suit up or coach the players himself. His only job is to assemble the team. Given the circumstances (guy didn't mention how we have a competitive team despite a 22 million hole) he has done as good as anyone could hope for. Grade: A
I could see Carl Landry being 'a' guy every team wishes they had, but 'the' guy? Everyone loves a cheap, young, and quality role player who plays with heart and can still improve. Lets keep in mind the fact that as a RFA, he only got an offer sheet from the Bobcats. And he hasn't gone to another level since signing the contract. Now if he takes a Millsap-like leap during his next two years, then I see him being one of 'the' guys everyone wants.
To say 'incomplete' is asenine. The Rockets have been a success this year with the injuries & all BECAUSE of the job Morey has done in finding these players. He can't control whether or not Artest flies off the handle or chokes in the playoffs. It was a trade that had to be made, only a fool would've passed it up considering what we gave up.
Bah...the guy deserves an A. "Gambling on Artest?" The guy is a $7mm per year rental and we gave up jack and $hit to get him (Did Green play more than 20 minutes in a game once this season?)
Anyone else notice that he says Wafer's our only bench scoring threat right after talking up Carl Landry? Also leaving out that we haven't skipped a beat since swapping Rafer for Lowry. The guy's been an A+
we went from Rybo and Juwan to Scola and Artest... regardless of what Artest does in the po's... DM deserves better than an incomplete.
who give a f0ck? i would think the celtics gm did a better job cause they won the championship or the cavs or the lakers....people getting pay for looking at the obvious....wish i could be GM :*(
This is a ridiculous claim, because he fails to point out just how little the Rockets gave up to get Artest. Nor does he mention the fact that Artest is an expiring contract, which lessens the risk even further. And part of the excellent job that Morey has done is bringing something back that the Rockets haven't had in years - financial flexibility. In truth, that accomplishment might be Morey's single greatest accomplishment so far. Let's cut to the chase, if Les fired Morey tomorrow, he could have his pick of almost any GM job he wanted.
The Rockets gave up good, young talent for Artest. That's not the same as giving up nothing. Artest makes us better right now, but if the results are the same as before (1st round exit -- a distinct possibility), what would we have gained from the trade? I still think it was a great move at the time, but since our chances of winning it all plummeted with McGrady's health problems and eventual shut down, in hindsight perhaps the Rockets don't make that trade.
But is it Morey who gets the blame for that? The GM has one job: Fill a roster with players who can succeed. Our highest paid (and theoretically best if healthy) player is out for the season, yet we are among the elite. Why? Because we have a ton of players who are more than capable of filling in. In fact even with McGrady out we still have players on this team who don't get enough playing time considering how good they are. Team failure and GM failure are not necessarily linked. Besides Donte Green wouldn't be getting playing time now anyways.
I agree with pretty much everyone else. . .ridiculous. 1. The Artest deal can hardly be called a gamble. Slice it any way you want. We needed a third option, and he provided that. We're a defensive oriented team, and he buys into that (in his own way). 2. Even if we don't advance past where we got to last year, how can that possibly be attributed to the job Morey's done? Morey put our team in a situation where we could have been rolling out Yao - Scola - Battier - Mcgrady - Brooks right now, with Artest / Landry / Lowry / Wafer coming off the bench. It's not his fault that Tracy went down and has a huge contract. I'm sure this guy's just trying to write something different, but I don't see how you could possibly make an argument for not giving him a very high grade.
When I wrote the question, it was more detailed than what was posted by Mr. Rosen. I was asking how he compared to other GMs in his ability to spot talent in comparison to other GMs in the league. Other than that, I generally enjoy his writings. While I don't agree that the Artest trade is the litmus test of Morey, I like the rest of his answer, and it seems fair.
BTW, we gave B. Jackson, Donte Greene and another first-round pick for Artest. And it has been well worth it so far. I agree. Artest wasn't brought into fill McGrady's shoes. He shouldn't be judged by that standard.
What would have been lost? There are two components to opportunity cost. And at the end of hte day, Morey is doing a better job if he's putting together 50 win teams rather than 30 win teams.
