Serge Ibaka as an athletic, shot-blocking, defensive big. Young, and seems very raw, but was fun to watch in the playoffs last year. Active, energetic, and showed a lot of intensity and hustle.
I would love having turiaf, even though I hate his personality, but we really need that athletic, intense player off the bench.
Garrett Temple. Look at his EFG% and TS%.....I mean the dude is very efficient and only a rookie, we should have kept him last year. DD
The natural extension to the initial question is: who on this team is not a Morey-list type of player? Hill and Jeffries comes to mind. Which makes me think that they will be the first names thrown out there in most trade scenarios. Also, I think that the NY picks are more valuable to us than most other teams because of how well we've been able to draft in recent years. The 14th pick this year gave us a player that was 6th on our draft chart. If NY's pick is in the 8-14 range, our ability to draft players better than their projected position might make the picks even more precious...
Can you imagine if the stars align so that we get Melo for Jeffries + Hill + one NY pick + asset, then the other NY pick becomes a top 3 pick? LOL. I can see Dolan's head exploding...
Wasn't Morey interested in Philly's pick this year? Turner, Favors, Johnson, or Cousins might have been on his list.
To be honest I don't know!! However I am sorry to say I believe all of the above names to be incorrect! Sorry Carl!
(I've updated the list based on the posts. Can someone please post the edit at the start of thread?) Over the past 3 years, we've been hearing bits and pieces about various players that have been coveted by the Rox. The candidates are usually revealed once we acquire that player (Martin, Lowry, Lee, Miller, Pattersen, etc). In light of recent rumors as to which team can offer the best package in trade rumors, I've seen a lot of homers argue that their prospects trump any other offers. This is usually worse for bottom-dwelling teams (NYK with Gallo, prev GSW with Randolph etc). I would often find myself asking, "if these prospects were so great why is that team so bad?" But then again, Martin, Lowry, and Lee were all acquired from sub .500 teams... My question is this: Which under-the-radar players on bad teams fit the current Rox mold and are likely to excel if brought in via trade? In short, who is on Morey's list? The players are divided in to tiers based on how certain we are that Morey covets the player. I've also included the main reasons why the Rox like that player. Please feel free to add your input. _________________________________________________________________ [Tier 1 "engraved in stone/man-crush" (would slightly overpay for)] - Ricky Rubio: His elite skill is passing and being able to control the tempo/flow of the game. His ability to set up easy buckets for his teammates is sorely needed on our team where creating offense is a weakness. His defensive tenacity and basketball IQ are also underrated aspects. - DeMarcus Cousins: His size/skill level ratio is elite. From a statistics perspective, Cousins is one of the top prospects out of college in the last decade. He would command double teams out of the post that a healthy Yao was supposed to command. - Anthony Randolph: His length/athleticism and versatility are game changers. The attitude and health concerns are questionable but there is no denying that he is exactly what the Rockets need with their current roster. - Danny Granger/Gerald Wallace/Carmelo _________________________________________________________________ [Tier 2 "Would-like, but only for the right price"] - Marcin Gortat: We all know about Morey's 12am visit to the Gortat residence. However, the asking price of ~5mil/year was too much and the Rox backed out in the end. - Elliot Williams: Guard with penchant for getting to the line. Good athleticism. - Rudy Fernandez: It's common clutchfans knowledge that the malcontent-Spaniard has been on HOU's radar dating back to draft night. His ability to shoot and move off the ball would be a good fit for the Rox. If A Melo trade goes down and depletes the roster of Martin, I can see Morey making a move to salvage Rudy from PDX. He and Lee would compete for minutes at the SG spot. - Andre Iguodala: Iggy is Ariza anti-lite. He does everything a little better but is not as good a shooter from distance. If Morey thought that he was worth the Sixer's asking price, there seems to have been ample opportunity for a deal to have been made already. _________________________________________________________________ [Tier 3 "Might-as-well if he's on sale"] -Brandon Rush -Thabo Sefolosha ________________________________________________________________ [Tier 4 "Not sure he's on the list, but should be"] - R. Turiaf: The only thing the Rox lack in their front court is an athletic shot blocker. Turiaf is a tough no-nonsense big that is quietly one of the league's leaders in blocks per 48. He also has a decent jumper that can keep defenses honest and his gritty on-court personality would fit right in with HOU. - Amir Johnson - Louis Williams - Dejaun Blair: Is what Dorsey was supposed to be. - Robin Lopez/Verajao/Noah
How is Jeffries not a Morey-List type? his defence and ability to draw charges are prototypical Morey characters. and even though he can't score at all, he's well aware of it and does not take ill-adviced shot, which goes well with Morey as well. Is he overpaid? grossly. Is he a Morey-List type? I'd say he's probably as Morey-type as it gets.
Do we really that sure about Randolph and Melo? We fans love them, but as far as I can remember, I don't recall any instances that indicate Morey has a huge love of those two. Randolph has rumoured to be available for the right price numerous times last year, and we have not heard about any concrete rumor of rox trying hard to get him. Take a look at the rox roster, do we have ANY player that has a questionable character or motivator? I would bet that Morey places significant considerations to personalities when evaluating talents. Melo has been routinely criticised for his lack of offensie efficiency among stats oriented researchers. While we have not heard about Morey's stands on it, I would not automatically assume he loves Melo.
No, from the games he played in the NBA last year. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/templga01.html Look down the page and you will find the TS% and EFG%, he is off to a very nice start for an undrafted rookie. And Popovich liked him so much they signed him to a 2 year deal. We should have kept him. DD
I agree that character is a big part of the player evaluation. However, the Rox have and were willing to gamble on questionable/misunderstood characters before (Artest, vonWafer, Cousins etc). Randolph is a player that doesn't really get into trouble with the law, but is more frustrated with frequent visits to Nellie's doghouse and youth in general. I think that the organization believes that the team can absorb 1-2 projects a year. As for Melo, I think that this is a case where statistics take a back seat to the fact that Melo is a top 10 talent in the league. Melo may not have the efficiency that Morey values but he still gets the job done and his production level doesn't decrease with his increased usage. On the Rockets, we would probably assume that his efficiency rating will increase because he no longer has to carry as heavy a burden as he did in Denver. The biggest thing with Morey and Rick is that they will bring in players that have the ability to shine if you place them in a success inducing environment.
