So I just wanted to shed the spotlight on the guy who I think is one of the most underrated players in the league: Anthony Morrow. In case you have no idea who he is, Anthony Morrow is a graduate from the Golden State academy for No D all O shooting guards who was traded to NJ for the low, low price of a conditional 2nd round pick. While at first glance Morrow's 12.3 stats is nothing to pay attention to, please take note that 1) he is shooting 3's at the ungodly clip of 0.434%, virtually in the elite category 2) He just recovered from injury and for whatever reason the little general is only playing him 31 minutes a game. 3) Even more amazing, his TS% is at 0.601, just a few basis points behind Kevin Martin. For a guy making only 4 million a year, that is one good bargain. I just thought the boxscore below shows just how underrated Morrow is. The nets just defeated Nuggets, and Brook Lopez got the best player for the Nets despite shooting only 11 of 18 and only 4 rebs. Morrow hit 6 straight 3s without a single turnover. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=AvWhqMHkcp5W55xFePsg1xSQvLYF?gid=2011013117 Anyway if we're going through the rebuilding route I think we should look at the Nets as a good trading partner. 2011 pick+Hill+Scola+KM for Favors and Morrow is a good deal for both sides I think, as well as positioning us rather nicely for the 2012 summer.
Unfortunately, if he continues having games like that one he will not stay underrated for long, meaning Morey won't be able to acquire him for a bag of beans.
Morrow was a guy I had wanted the Rockets to look at this past offseason, he would have been IDEAL with Yao, *sigh*. No secret NJ wants Scola but if we're going to move Kevin as well, then we need one of their draft picks along with Favors and Morrow or not include ours, maybe the high 2nd for this season or take on Petro's deal instead.
Don't know what you are smoking, but this guy isn't a new story. Maybe flying under the radar, but definitely not underrated. Just look at his numbers from last year with GS and you will see what he is capable of...and what he isn't. He was traded for a future 2nd rounder!!!
He had some insane shooting games in Golden St. I remember a lot of us asking why wasn't he invited to the 3 pt contest last year.
its hard to say it was a true trade, NJ pretty much was going to sign them outright and did GSW a favor by doing the sign and trade so GSW could save some money. After GSW basically gave them a first round pick for nothing.
He's decent. I mean, unless this type of player is insanely good at what they do (like Kevin Martin), it's hard for me to consider somebody that contributes nothing when their shot isn't falling to be underrated. Regardless, I get your point that he's a solid player that carved a spot out in this league without the pedigree or hype of an O.J. Mayo type that's on the same level as a player. I'll always respect somebody that finds success in the NBA that way. Hell, one of my all time favorite players is Mike James.
Morrow is not underrated and is quite well-known. His very first start as a rookie he put up 37 points. Ever since, he has established himself as quite the specialist player. If you don't overpay him, you definitely want him on your team. OP, just how many minutes do you want AJ to play him? IMO, 31 mins/game is Morrow's maximum. But if he's playing that many minutes for someone, that roster must be awful. jopatmc, Morrow is indeed like Novak except he has legit basketball instincts and isn't completely clueless on what to do in an NBA offense. He also has some athleticism. Despite his shooting stroke, Novak was actually a very poor offensive player.
Way to overrate the guy. He doesn't play any defense, doesn't do anything other than score, can't really create for himself or others and shies away from contact. He's a good spot up shooter though. As for the trade, Golden State wasn't going to pay him, so to get anything of value for Morrow, however slight it may be, was a plus for them. Also remember that early second rounders are just as valuable, if not more valuable than late first rounders.
How is his defense? I'm not interested in making the Rockets more of a matador than they already are.
The point is the clip that he's scoring at is in the Kevin Martin territory. Basically if you wanted a Kevin Martin who is 2 years younger,a bit more athletic and has a contract at half the size Morrow's your man. I don't think he shies from contact as much as other poster here claim, you don't reach 0.60% TS unless you take and make fts on a consistent basis. Also take note that NJ is a horrible team, meaning just like KM his %s would be even higher if he had a legitimate superstar drawing double teams. @A3po GS gave him away for a protected 2nd round pick...and nobody offered anything better for him. Doesn't that show how underrated he was? If anything his stint at GS seemed to devalue his stock, much like Matt Barnes who after having a career year in GS had to settle for a 3M contract the year Jason Kapono got signed to the full mid-level. Rather than his minutes his touches should be increased, after all he was basically a 20 pt scorer in GS.
Yeah he is basically scores like Kevin Martin since he scores 10 less points a game. Not to mention he does even less on defense, doesn't create for himself, doesn't drive to the hole, and shoots about 8 ft's less a game. Pretty much the same thing as Kevin Martin. Anyhow, Morrow is a great shooter, but you are WAAAAY overrating the guy.
And the Nets' record is? There's a reason he wasn't highly sought after this offseason: like you said he plays no D. We've already got several of those types of players on this team and you can see the results. Balance is the name of the game now for the Rockets.
If you're going to the line only 1.8 times in 31.5 minutes you definitley shy away from contact. His TS% is so high, because he's a very good (spot up) shooter. I didn't know that the pick was top55 protected, so that changes things as far as the trade is concerned, but like I said GS wasn't going to pay him, so to get anything of value ($2mil TPE) is still better than nothing. Since he's such a good shooter, you obviously would like him to take more shots, but like I said, he can't really create, so unless someone is going to get him open, it's just not going to happen. To call him a 20 point scorer is just wrong.
13 PPG on 10 shots is NOT the same as 23 PPG on 15 shots. So, no. Respectfully, you place WAY too much emphasis on a stat like TS%. Mind you, it's called true shooting percentage so, naturally, any player that shoots well from the field + 3-PT + FT is going to have a high TS%. Sure, there's a formula that complicates that simplicity a little bit but generally speaking true shooting percentage is an all-encompassing stat that describes how well a player shoots. The idea that you can completely disregard what you see before your very eyes (i.e. Morrow's inability to create his own offense, your boy Wilson Chandler's inability to get to the FT line) and instead choose to harp on TS% as if that stat somehow makes that particular player just as good of a scorer as some of the best pure scorers in the league is ridiculous to me.