Heat From a 5 seed the Heat literally let everyone on their roster go except for Wade and Haslem to get Lebron and Bosh and a completley new team the next year to surround their big 3. Not to mention the start of Wades career they were promising upstarts with Odom him butler and brian grant. Riley lets all of them go except Wade to get Shaq. The year they win in 06 is the year Riley pulled off the biggest trade in NBA history in acquiring Williams Posey and Walker Great stability there right????
Lakers The Lakers are literally defined by taking risks for stars. They don't care for chemistry. When they had a chance of going after Paul and Howard look how fast they were to dump Gasol Odom and Bynum. Keep in mind these are their core guys who helped them win back to back titles. They would let go of all that "chemistry" in a heartbeat to form a new big three of Paul Kobe and Howard. They would've done it too if it wasn't for basketball reasons
Spurs This I saved for last because yes chemistry is almighty there. But lets take a look at how this chemistry was developed. No other team in the NBA has the superstars they do. Ducan Ginobili and Parker. Not in terms of skillset but in terms of personality. They routinely throughout the lives of their contracts have taken paycut after paycut to go after great role players. They already have their big 3. But instead of taking up 25% of the cap each they take hits to field amazing role players. So look at those role players. Duncan started off with Robinson Avery Johnson Bowen and the likes of malik rose. He went on to players like Speedy Claxton and Stephen Jackson. Who they let go and replaced with role player after role player. Thus my point is. The only chemistry that matters is between the stars of your team. Everyone else doesn't matter. Look at the teams in your example list. They are living proof to that. Once you have your superstars that take up most of your cap. Then worry about chemistry at that time. Don't be stupid enough to think chemistry between role players that share the cap between them will win anything in this league.
I think this is a good post however IMHO this is as false as the "DM sees players as assets" argument because there's a time and place for everything, the last thing I want Morey is doing is paying people 10M each because they're his "homies" and he feels one with them (like what happened in the end of the Rudy T era ). DM is in charge of managing payroll and transactions, I don't think there's anything wrong with him seeing players as assets, because guess what, that's what they are. Players are paid a very lucrative salary, just one season of an NBA minimum wage is equal to decades of pay of the common man. For that salary they agree to play basketball to whichever team they play in, and they can also be transferred to teams as long as it won't violate their contract. Maybe some players are dumb enough to get offended by that, but to be honest a guy who is dumb enough to get insulted when he's called an asset to his team is probably too dumb to be good at basketball. Hasn't it ever occurred to these people when the players say "it's a business" it basically means the same thing as them acknowledging they're assets or liabilities to be acquired or gotten rid off? Oh yeah, family-kum-ba-yah rah rah rah! I heard Boston and Miami were big on that "it's a family" mantra. Oh wait, didn't Boston pawn KG and Pierce off to Brooklyn and isn't Rondo now demanding a trade? Didn't Lebron leave the Heat for his "real" family and Riley had to pay both Dwade and Bosh the max just to stay relevant? So much for that nonsense LOL!
I agree with your statement 100%. I wish I had changed the title to mutually beneficial instead of making it seem like D Morey is acting in the players best interest. I was just trying to go the hard opposite of the general consensus.
It's funny how some people say that Morey is just doing what every other GM does, but then turn around and say how Morey is a genius and not like other GMs. It is true that all GMs treats players as assets. But it's not a matter of black-and-white or yes-and-no. It's a matter of degree. It's like saying JVG is not a defensive specialist coach because all coaches want their players to play defense. Well it is of course true that all coaches want defense. But not all coaches approach coaching with defense as their utmost priority, like what JVG and Thibs do. I don't think it is a moral issue about treating players as assets. It's a matter of management style. Every style has its strengths and weaknesses. So far, Morey's style has strengths out weighing its weaknesses. But that does not mean that the weaknesses aren't real. And I am still waiting to see how the weaknesses affect the long term. Some people can only see it in black and white and either hate on him or blindly defend him.
Damage control thread. All players are assets. Morey's biggest problem is talking too damn much about them. I remember early last season when he went on the radio and announced he didn't feel we were contenders and probably a "star away" from being elite. Why would you do that? As GM you don't say those things mid season while the team's trying to find itself. I don't think he comprehends team chemistry and all the other stuff that analytics can't measure. He's a pure numbers guy. All he sees is per stats & contract worth. That's great for a team that's tryna rebuild. But the fact he still goes to the media and does this unnecessary chirping, probably contributes to his negative asset reputation
Hopefully you're not serious and not the illogical zealot that a comment like that leads people to believe.
I'd rather have a general manager with a reputation for trading non star players incessantly in the attempt to upgrade the team, than to have a general manager who has a reputation for incompetence (e.g. David Kahn). You know what other team changes out role players like dirty socks? The Spurs. The only difference is Morey didn't start off with Robinson and Duncan. He started off with Yao and TMac (without feet and knees, respectively). And yet he managed to reboot the team into one with two star players and a chance of being a contender without ever suffering a losing season or having a draft pick her the number 14.
+1, Agree 100%. bbllr3431 great write up and thoughts on the subject. We, as Rocket's fans, critique our team more than other teams so it is understandable why some Rockets fans think the way they do about Morey in terms of treating players like assets. But, looking at it from the opposite side and perspective, shows that it's not much different with other teams when having a chance to go after a star quality player.
This thread whilst worded eloquently is but a new spin. I don't think its 100% accurate but the message that Morey is no monster is certainly true The NBA is a business, would you want the guy in charge to strive to improve your business wherever possible? Yes of course Because Houston isn't a high profile destination (potentially getting there though), Morey has to act differently to the big markets but he also attempts to differentiate this team from the bottom feeders as well. That's why we don't tank. We view ourselves as separate from the low seeds, our modus operandi is to move up with as little compromising as possible, not backwards in the hope of striking lucky Business can be ruthless at times. I think most players understand that, you have to be special or have quite a legacy to be stable. Morey sees players as assets? Who would hire a GM who didn't think in these terms? The GM isn't a warm fuzzy camp leader, he is the guy charged with pushing the business forward. Morey is exceptional in his ability as a GM, I'd challenge anyone who says we won't win anything under him to sit back, try and think of a way you'd prefer him to operate and really think if that is a realistic viewpoint with all the constraints that come with the job and this organisation.
While Morey (or any other GM's) treat players like assets, players treat their employers as cash cows. Like Parsons, Morey should be offended.
