Well after reading that Morey asked Buddy Baker and Landry to address the scope issue right after the season I am not a bit skeptical of the Buddy Baker/Landry side. Baker probably advised Landry not to get the scope because that would lower his negotiating value. In any event, Landry says he's fine and I tend to believe him. Had he gotten the scope right after the playoffs, he might be on crutches right now along with T-Mac and there's absolutely would be zero wiggle room for negotiating.
Less than 5% of all agents make more than $100,000/year; it's a tough business and at least he has NFL/NBA talent. Guy's just doing his job protecting his client. Nothing wrong with that.
I think Morey didn't offer an decent-enough contract last year, and that was pretty upsetting to the agent (and Landry). You can't really blame Landry's agent or himself in this situation.
It's surprising his agent is lashing back. The timing of the statement made by Morey is not good. He could have mentioned something before the free agency starts to the press particularly during his injury period and then saying something like he is playing through pain in the playoffs (it may not be true). Then he would have got a better position in negotiation.
I think morey should re-sign bob Sura,who is a great point guard and can't fit our team more.he is a white guy but can dunk the hoop,neither kidd nor nash can't do so .He has height ,strenth ,and bravery. I can't understand why morey released him and trade Howard for another trash contract.
Why is it slimmy? If you are going to pay someone multi millions of dollars a year and impact your ability to sign other free agents that could help your team don't you have a responsibility to get all the facts about that infividuals ability to physically up hold his end of the deal? I see absolutely nothing un reasonable about DM's request. The fact that Buddy Baker and Carl Landry has refused the request make them appear as if they have something to hide. Is Landry a bad sell of goods?
Well now who do you believe? 1. If there was something wrong with Landry of course his agent tells him not to do the surgery till after the signing. If he does the surgery first, he has zero negotiating power. 2. If there is nothing wrong with Landry he would not get the surgery anyways. Again unesssary surgery and it would lower his negotiating power. Why Morey wants the surgery. 1. Prove that Landry is really ok and exploratory surgery would take away his negotiating power and lower his value.
Assistant GM: Hey, Boss! The Rockets are asking Landry for more tests! GM: Really? Holy cow! That means he can be had! Let's up our offer! Don't let those floodgates hit you on the way out, Buddy.
Well, both sides are doing their job. Buddy Baker should stop talking and come up with an offer sheet for Morey to consider which I doubt Baker can find one. Last season, Andray Blatche and Amir Johnson didnt get any offer and basically negotiated with their own ball clubs. A backup undersized PF is a dime a dozen in this league. Morey has reasons to be doubtful about Landry's knee and tries to be careful. It's reasonable because Landry is probably looking for 2-2.5 mil (or even half MLE which I think will be too much) starting salary and a 5 year deal. So, we are talking about 10+ millions here. So, Morey has the responsibility to make sure Landry's knee is healthy.
The slimy part isn't wanting it, it's announcing that you want it to the press. It's a transparent ploy to lower Landry's value, plain and simple.
I don't know if you really remember correctly. He had some big moments in the playoffs....well in one game, getting his tooth knocked out and then blocking DWill's shot...but in more minutes per game he scored less, rebounded less and, most importantly, his shooting % went from 62% in the regular season to 42% in the playoffs. Second, check out Carl's hotspots: www.nba.com/hotspots Rightfully so, almost all his shots came from within 5 feet of the hoop, and he was a strong 69% there. The sample size isn't too large, but outside of 5 feet he wasn't that great. Interestingly he was pretty good with long jumpers just inside the 3 point line, but horrible with a more traditional mid-range game. Th shots that have made some of the other undersized PF's in the league so good - Boozer, Brand, West - they've mastered that 10 to 15 foot jumper. Carl was horrible at it. The approach to Carl should be simple: 1. Can you get somebody significantly better with the full MLE - i.e. Maggette, etc? If so, forget Carl. 2. Do you think Carl will improve considerably, are do you expect him to give you what he gave you last season, but this time for a whole year, and a little more consistently? If so, offer Carl part of, but NOT a significant part of the MLE. If he gets a full MLE offer, pass. Joey Dorsey is an unproven rookie - BUT he was explosive in college and I expect can also shoot 70% on dunks and putbacks. He has Landry's size and then some (especially with his bulk and vertical reach). 3. Do yout hink Landry will get even better and be, at minimum, your 7th man off the bench and get a good 20+ mpg. Then a larger portion of the MLE is fine. I'm not super concerned about his knee, though fully expect Morey to get as much info as he can first. My approach would be to feel out the FA market for #1 above. If nothing major on the horizon, offer Landry a portion of the MLE, but nowhere near the full amount.
I don't think Landry will be a starting pf for a good team. He is good, but only is a solid backup 4. How many teams in the league have the luxury to give a full MLE for a backup 4? That dude is faking IMO.
I don't think Morey would lie about asking them well in advance; they would easily call him out on that if he did. There's probably genuine concern about Carl's knee after his statistical dropoff after the injury. Landry might take exception to Morey making his request public a day before free agency, but Morey's well within his rights to do so. Let other teams know what they're getting into to: we asked, they refused, we still plan to match. What's there to hide? The whole truth will serve us better in this case.
There has to be, right? If there wasn't wouldn't it be in Morey's best interest to move ahead with Carl on as quick a basis as possible. The longer Carl's contract status remains in the air, the longer it is unclear how much of the MLE is remaining to sign other players. That tells you that if Morey is doing something to extend out that period, it must be for a valid reason. Or that Morey is pursuing other options and whatever happens with Landry happens - depends on how valuable a piece of the team one thinks Landry is...
if he can become even an average defender he will be killer off the bench. For him to make a 3 is like for Rafer to make a layup...he can really shoot and as i said earlier - i hope he will be in the rotation
