Morey - Words vs Actions

I'm sorry, I started laughing after you attempted to pose a serious thought beginning with "if yao is healthy".

Then I regained my concentration and saw the patented DaDakota 60-win team prediction, which you pretty much do every year no matter how far-fetched the possibility is.

Guess what your track record with these are.

The great part is that it's then generally followed with whinging and whining about how the Rockets "never really had a legitmate shot anyway" so should have just "developed players instead" of trying to win.

 

DD, unfortunately this all most likely hinges on Yao's health, and a simple acknowledgment of the odds based on history. Yao may make it through the whole season unscathed, given reduced minutes, and play well, and do well in the playoffs.

But he may not. And if he doesn't, then we are right back where we were last year, a .500 team. Granted, having KM all year would likely result in a few more wins, and the young guys a year more seasoned, so maybe you could eke out 6 or 7 more wins, hit the playoffs in the 6-hole, and maybe make another little bit of noise in the post-season.

But no rings. Not if Yao goes down again.

This is reality.

Morey would not be doing his job if he did not prepare for such an eventuality as best he can, and that means not just a big body as a backup, but possibly a player who could legitimately shoulder this team to a ring, even without Yao.

Say what you like about Bosh, but he has performed, and been the bearer of the main burdens for his team for years. KG anyone? Bosh could do this job if he has to.

This team has a lot of offensive weapons, and they are only going to get better. We just lacked size and thus made it too easy on some opponents. Bosh addresses this problem, and, with some luck regarding Yao, suddenly what was a weakness is now a massive strength.

The real hope is that we don't end up having to sacrifice too much of our young slick weaponry in order to land him, or it all just ends up as an extremely expensive lateral move.

So, if we have learned anything over the last few years it is 'Trust in DM'. I believe that he will do what he can to make this team the best he can make it, and that we will probably all ultimately be happy with the results.

Now with that in mind, it actually would not surprise me if DM does pull some kind of unexpected rabbit out of his hat - but I seriously doubt his only goal is to simply sign his own players on the cheap and cross his fingers on Yao.

 

this is like the guy with the honda civic saying that his intake adds 15hp, his exhaust adds 10hp, his new cams add 20hp, and tuning it all adds 35hp, so his 100hp honda civic now makes 180hp. no, really, it doesnt.

upgrades are not additive. everyone getting "better" only matters if they get better in ways that synergize. if brooks improves his perimeter defense and court vision, yes, that helps in a synergistic way. if hill improves his weakside defense and becomes a better finisher at the rim, that helps in a synergistic way. if kmart's being more integrated means he contributes beyond scoring, then yes, it helps in a synergistic way.

the roster as constructed has skillset holes. namely shotblocking, interior passing and defense, finishing strong at the rim, and scoring from the halfcourt offense. players simply getting better doesnt help create 60 wins unless getting better/getting healthy fills those gaps.

 

QFT

If we are going to pay luxury Tax we might as well go all in. The Magic are a prime example of what happens to you when you just build your team to win games vs. building your team to beat certain teams you know you have to go through to reach the finals.

Our Current team with Yao will gets us 50-55 wins and thats great. But the goal is to win it all. Standing pat will not get us passed the second round. We need to be better then the Lakers. If are equal to them the refs will give them the edge they need to win. We have to out class them and make them work on defense on at least 4 of the 5 positions on the floor.

The lakers cant hang with the celtics because you have to play defense on 4 out of the 5 players on the floor, and if you dont you get lit up.

We have to be built the same and have good 2 way players on the court on at least 3 of 5 position at all times.

 

Their not winning with a healthy yao either. Just what is a healthy Yao? 25mins 13-6 rebs? How doesthe offense look? Is it the standard wait, set back picks and whatever till he gets 8ft from the basket? Does it all of a sudden change when he's out? Freddy's dead and the rockets can't admit to it.

 

You are basing your predictions on the assumptions that Yao and K. Martin will stay healthy, which history tells us that is not likely to happen for a full year. The Rockets do not have a player on this roster currently that is good enough to be the best player on a championship team. We have a good enough supporting cast to win, just not the guy that can raise his level of play when needed in crunch time. Yao, when healthy, (again big if) can be the 2nd best player on a championship team, and Martin can be the 3rd best in my opinion. We are not winning it all without adding someone (like Bosh) who is big time.

 

Where are you suggesting the redundancy lies between Ariza and Battier? If one goes in an attempt to draft, for the sake of argument, Cousins- we find ourselves with only one player at the three.

 

The Rockets have a small window with Yao. Martin's contract ends about the same time as Yao.

Instead of just keeping the assets we have (a couple of lightly protected #1 picks from the Knicks, our own 1st rounder, and up-and-coming young players) you grow some balls and surround the Yao-Martin-Brooks core with some more stars.

I agree with Morey here, if you can get a Bosh or Cousins for a good price, you do it. If it doesn't work with Bosh, you can still blow it up and start over. Getting Bosh does not preclude us from rebuilding.

 

When it comes to assessing Morey's moves vs actions, I think we should compare apples to apples and pears to pears. DD is mentioning different situations/fruits

1) Going for ideal-case outside free agent (Bosh) - Morey is open about who
2) Going for inside free agent (Landry) - Morey is silent, waiting for the right $ value
3) Going for a trade (Kevin Martin, TMac) - Morey is silent, waiting for the right situation to happen

There is one more:

4) Going for second-choice free agent (Ariza) - Morey is relatively silent, until he knows he has a chance to grab him.

Hence, IMO, the only right comparison is Gortat situation. It does not make too much sense to be silent about your ideal-case outside free agent target, as you need to make him know that you are very much interested in him. So that he wants to come to you.

 

We almost traded for Amare at the deadline. Morey wants a big man that runs the floor. There's no 2 ways about it. We've even mentioned Randolph for crying out loud.

 

Don't believe that lie

 

haha, duh. Reading all these speculative trade scenarios has me forgetting who is actually on the team.

 

I would play him 33 mins a night until he breaks or he holds up. When I get a rig out the shop, i don't drive 40mph to take it slow. I take it on 45 and drop the hammer to make sure everything is flowing right.

 

a certain communist country will not have you assassinated if you break that rig though

just sayin'