Yep, Morey is finally getting a chance to do what he wants with the team and not clean up and adjust to old contracts he has nothing to do with. As soon as Morey handles Yao's contract, this is 100% his team.
Comparing the 8-man rotations Yao Ming >= Yao Ming Tracy McGrady >> Kevin Martin Rafer Alston < Aaron Brooks Juwan Howard <= Luis Scola Derek Anderson = Trevor Ariza Jon Barry = Kyle Lowry Ryan Bowen <= Shane Battier Dikembe Mutombo >> David Andersen Rest of 2006 roster David Wesley Chuck Hayes Luther Head John Lucas Lonny Baxter Keith Bogans Rick Brunson Josh Davis Richie Frahm Stephen Graham Maciej Lampe Moochie Norris Stromile Swift Rest of current roster Chase Budinger Jordan Hill Patrick Patterson Chuck Hayes Mike Harris Jared Jeffries Alexander Johnson Jermaine Taylor It seems to me the 2006 roster was much stronger on superstars and weaker on support roles. I'm not sure we're better off now. The other big thing is the 2006 roster was pretty old, and our current roster is pretty young. That 2006 roster had guys like Wesley, Barry, and Howard that were slowing badly. And, the young guys we had weren't nearly as promising as guys like Hill, Budinger, and Brooks.
Man Stromile alone brought our team's IQ average down by 50 points in that 05-06 team. Either that or JVG's system was way too confusing. I heard his playbook was like 3 encyclopedias thick.
Before Morey: undersized 2-guards limited athleticism old veterans 1-dimensional players no third offensive option. After Morey: 6'-7" scoring threat Kevin Martin, supremely athletic Jermaine Taylor athletic forwards Ariza, Budinger, Hill, Patterson young, but also productive, players (MIP Brooks, Lowry, previously Landry) more versatile players, can play/guard multiple positions overall balanced scoring (about five players able to score 20+ on a given night) veteran leadership still present (Scola, Battier, Hayes, Yao)
Not saying Morey is a master "BIG" trade machine but the TMAC trade was an incredible get for a broken down diva. We haven't seen him pull off the "BIG" move yet but he really hasn't had a opportunity but that has changed with all the assets he has at his disposal.
Definitely. Unfortunately fans are under this illusion that the current roster is so much better than the team that finished 2005 but the truth is this is a star driven league. Young players and minor stars are great but in this league you don't typically win without the big dogs and we don't have any right now. In 2005 we had a healthy 25 year old Yao and a relatively healthy 25 year old TMac which is how you build a championship team in this league, young talent that can become elite level. We know now that both were injury prone and overrated, what have you, but before you knew these things that was a hell of a nucleus to build a team around.
His trades for Scola, Lowry, Artest, and Martin/Hill were all very good. I suppose none of those are blockbuster moves, but then blockbuster trades are difficult to pull off when your star talent is broken down and you're not stockpiling high lottery picks.
He's done a good job, but we are no closer to competing for a ring now than we were then. We are doing a good job of staying above water which is cool i guess.
Love how the only two guys still are on our roster are the only two guys worth keeping from the old one
