The thing that is not being factored into your thoughts is the cap hold of Yao's salary and its effect on the team's options. And no amnesty possibility under the old CBA rules. And who could have done that anyway? We have the lowest cap hold this year (or at least one of the 5 lowest if we bring over Montiejunas and Llull). It will make Morey's job so much easier. IMHO our roster is one very good PF OR SG away from contending. And we don't need a top 5 player for either spot. A top 20 player at either position who can play on both sides of the ball. One player and the devil's luck to stay healthy. That is the reason I was so high on the possibility of obtaining Pau. And who knows - Montiejunas has a non-zero probability of filling that role.
I think the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers would disagree with that statement.
If he vehemently objects to tanking, Morey would have quit and found a new team to work with. "I agree with it" simply means "I agree not tanking is the more 'honorable' approach and is workable, even if more difficult."
I stand corrected. Never read that before. But still you neglected to highlight the most important part of that quote. He didn't say I disagree or even just say nothing afterwards. He said I TOTALLY AGREE That's his philosophy. Les: I want to keep winning. I do not want to tank to rebuild. Morey: I totally agree Les: Can you do it. Morey: It's never been done before but I think I can and I want to try. Les: Ok
He absolutely should quit, and he probably will, or at least leave when a better offer for him comes along. The constraints and expectations that Les puts on Morey are unreasonable, and Morey is doing the best he can, but he is smart enough to realize the likelyhood of success is pretty low. I would expect Morey to bolt at the first decent offer from another team.
Seems pretty clear to me he's saying he knows tanking is the way to get better..but he agrees with Les' approach of being respectful to the fans. Remember, this was at a press conference....a designed p.r. event to the media in order to communicate with the fans. Bottom line is he says taking is THE way to get better...but that Les isn't interested.
Exactly and of course he is going to agree with the guy supplying him and his family with a standard of living they never had before. This is a stepping stone for Morey too, afterall - he is just an asset.
I see your Lakers...but the Celtics were bad for a while before becoming a real contender again. The Lakers are the lone exception....they have had a waiting list of elite (first/second team all NBA players) who have wanted to play there. The Mavericks found their superstar and have shuffled the pieces around him...but they've known who they were building around for a very long time now. They have a likely HOF'er on that roster, and they've had him since the beginning.
Yes it's a little unclear what Morey means but I think he means without a superstar to build around. We have no superstars and we are still competing for the 8th seed every year. So I guess he considers that winning. It is a different approach to what Portland has decided to do.
yeah, this was my understanding as well, although i thought Morey said it was the "easiest way" to build a contender, not necessarily the best. But it was clearly implied that Morey would rather have gone the OKC or Bulls root than the first of it's kind stategy; what he's attempting to do now. As frustrated as i am with Morey, i think it's clear that he's been hamstrung by Les in doing his job to the best of his ability. For every questionable move he's made, he's made 5 good moves. Reasonable contracts (i.e managing the cap) and talent evaluation are the most important part of being a good GM, an Morey is great on both. It's the overall stategy of building through trade and FA that seems to be the problem. Maybe it's just a matter of time, or maybe not. We're likely to find out either way. Just hope it doesn't take another few years.
No doubt Wallace makes NJ better at the SF but does that really matter? NJ had a master plan to acquire two stars and I don't see how this helps them. They paid a huge price to get Williams and now they are at risk for losing him this offseason. I don't think that Gerald Wallace helps them keep Williams. I don't see any similarity in the Nets approach and the Rockets. The Nets gutted the team and went with the Miami "all in" approach that landed them James/Bosh/Wade. I don't think NJ's aim was to roll the dice with Howard. I believe that they already knew that Howard wanted to come there. At a minimum they definitely know for a fact that Howard has said that he would sign a long term deal with NJ. Houston is just the opposite, we weren't on the list of teams that Howard was willing to sign with. There certainly is another shot to get Howard next season but only if they can retain Williams. If Williams bolts then the Nets are bottom feeders for the near future. I don't think that a few more wins this year is going to change Willams mind. Maybe he think (or knows) that Howard will be there in a year so he sticks around. If he doesn't think that Howard is coming then I don't see him sticking around to try and build a team in NJ. He's at the point in his career where he wants to compete for championships not just improve in order to make the playoffs. If NJ does truely intend to make another run at Howard then that cap room allows them to take on bad contracts from Orlando in order to put together a deal that Orlando will accept.
the mavs built around Dirk, who was aquired through a draft night trade, but it's still bascially a case of drafting a franchise player. Same thing with Kobe; but if you are talking about the Gasol trade, i would just say that it's the exception to the rule (potentially the worst NBA trade ever...no exaggeration). With Boston, they drafted Paul Pierce and then built around him though trade. So bascially, all of the teams you mentioned were cases where the teams drafted a franchise player and then built around them through trade and/or free agency. We don't have a franchise player to build around.
Worst trade ever? They didn't even get the best Gasol as of right now, lmao. But ya you're right, those weren't rebuilding teams, they already had their star.
certainly looks better now than it did at the time, but it's generally considered to be one of the more lopsided deals in recent memory. Keep in mind that Marc was a 2nd round pick and hadn't proven a thing at that point.
The Celtics went through an awful period of 8 straight losing years through which they landed Pierce, and then used a top 5 pick to acquire Ray Allen (after 2 more sub-35 win seasons), and used some of their other accumulated talent to get Garnett. The Mavericks had a 4 season stretch where they averaged 22 wins a year which led to Dirk (and had been more pathetic before that). The Lakers are the exception. But they happened to hit the jackpot with Shaq because they're the Lakers, and Kobe was a stroke of pure luck mixed with some genius.
Morey said "the easiest way." He didn't say "the way" as in the way he prefers to do it. You are assuming that's what "the easiest way" means. Look it up. I don't have time today; I could be wrong, but his quotes never struck me as a definitive "this is the way I prefer to do it, because it has the best odds to succeed."
http://rockets.clutchfans.net/1901/f...ght-be-better/ “He really believes that we need to turn the corner while remaining competitive. That’s the plan. I do think being terrible is definitely the way to get better in the NBA, but it’s not the way Mr. Alexander wants to go about it. He wants to turn the corner, get back to having a strong foundation while remaining competitive. He feels the Houston fans deserve that.”
I was referring to the similarity if Morey had acquired Howard and the Nets decison not to trade Dwill. They both are betting (If we had gotten Howard) that they will not walk away from money. Both Howard and Dwill have said they have interest in other teams. And Howard has never said he has any interest in Houston. At least Dwill has shown some interest in NJ. But the situation is similar because the risk of losing them for nothing is possible. And Morey was ready and willing to take that risk as will as NJ. And NJ acquiring Wallace is just trying to hedge their bet even if it is only ever so slightly. That's whats similar. Also I think DWill is a little different than some. He is not interested in Dallas for the glamour. He is has some ties there but he is really about winning and Dallas just won a championship and with him and Nowitzki he sees a chance at another championship. But Dallas doesn't look as good as earlier and if NJ can start winning you have to wonder how eager he would be to throw awy a lot of money and a new city for a risky bet at winning a championship in Dallas. I would be surprised if DWill ends up in Dallas. Not a big surprise but he has to give an awful lot away to do it. As for cap room there is some flexibility lost but Orlando has shown an interest in him already and even if they don't want him now Wallace is a tradeable asset that they should be able. They could probably work out 3 team deal to get cap and some other assets. It's not as bad as it seems. In the end you may be right and the wallace doesn't mean squat. But you can't blme them for trying. And if Dwill walks they are sure to have more opportunities at top 1st round picks for years to come.
