Actually no, BMJ - I am saying that Les wanted McHale fired, but is holding MOREY accountable for THIS year, and did not let him hire a new coach because Morey has been telling him all along this is a good coaching staff, and that he knows what he is doing in building a team. So, IMO, Les is saying, great, this is your build, you will live and die with the results of THIS year. I think Les is probably thinking 7 years of trying it Morey's way is more than enough time, and that he has given Morey enough Freedom to build the team and staff that he wanted...and if it fails, Morey goes down with the ship too. DD
I agree with this 100% and I truly believe he will be the next Rockets coach... if Harden is ever going to be a winner it will be under Thibs and no one else! Morey has the relationship with Thibs (celtic days) Thibs has the defensive mind and the discipline this team desperately needs
Then why would he sign off on McHale's extension? Where are getting the bolded part from? Pretty far reach.... [ And this is Harden's 4th year as a Rocket, why are you including the other years?
I was wondering the same thing. I know Codman has been posting a lot, but I haven't seen anything from Cyberx or Plowman...
I'm putting my money down now, barring injuries, the second half of this season is going to be some great basketball for the Rockets. It's right there waiting to happen.
Believe me, I'm not advocating handing the keys to the franchise over to a guy who can't focus on winning a championship for 48 consecutive minutes 3 night a week. I simply believe that if this is indeed a sinking ship, Les & Harden wil be the last 2 on board. Les loves stars, and he spent the better part of 15 years in purgatory searching for a Top-5 superstar worthy to pick up the legacy Hakeem left behind. It wasn't Francis, or Yao, or Tmac, or Dwight ... last year, it WAS Harden. I bet Les changes out every other part in the organization before he lets go of Harden. As such, why wouldn't Harden be consulted every step of the way if a total retooling is undertaken? Just look at recent decisions directly influenced by Harden: AUG 2013 - Instrumental in replacing Parsons with Ariza (Harden's boy from LA) AUG 2014 - Pivotal in convincing Lawson to come to Houston (Harden's boy from AAU), and in convincing Les to take a chance on Ty NOV 2014 - Many (including myself) think his attitude/effort was the primary impetus in the firing of McHale If he already has sway within the franchise to influence 40% of the projected starting lineup and the head coach ... What makes anyone think he wouldn't be heavily consulted in picking the next GM? And if Les gets a promise from James that this July he can deliver another of his former AAU boys currently playing in OKC ... I'd go so far as to say Les would be FOOLISH to not involve his new Top-5 Rockets duo in how he could best build a championship team around them.
Rockets can afford it. 3rd in revenue. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some other notes from Forbes list: Knicks had highest revenue at $307m, Lakers 2nd at $304m, Rockets 3rd at $237m, Bulls 4th at $228m</p>— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevekylerNBA/status/689864015024119808">January 20, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Does it take into account the revenue sharing? Les had no problem eating McHale's contact after only a handful of games. I think Les will go all in when he thinks it's a good move, he won't do just because.
Rockets need to be closer to the Cavs <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How Much Separation In Efficiency At Halfway Point Of Season: <a href="https://t.co/E1sQdmWFcD">https://t.co/E1sQdmWFcD</a> <a href="https://t.co/y5jbSwGtjg">pic.twitter.com/y5jbSwGtjg</a></p>— RealGM (@RealGM) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealGM/status/690274547631718400">January 21, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The defensive efficiency (not being closer to the Cavs) on that graph is key. I suspect (haven't looked it up) that the Rockets were there last year.
My take is that if you really look at the monster he created, it' not Morey ball, it's more like we had to solve problems over the last few years to become competitive and we ended up creating the antithesis of Morey ball, a Frankenstein of effiecient and inefficient players, but it worked, so why flip it. Yet this little etch and sketch is not on the same page anymore. Harden is still very efficient. JB is an efficient coach. And so I think Morey, Harden, and JB are all on the same page. Which is number one. But it seems like the rest of the team are no longer ideal. They were patches. A hand's off approach with this team worked, but now seems out of control. Our physical exertion leads to mental fatigue. we tend to get into trouble when the shots aren't falling early or a few sloppy turnovers trigger a natural impulse to be conservative in the face of adversity. See Harden takinf the shot clock down and dribble driving. We need to break old habits and build new instincts again. We did it once bedore. Players need to be more efficient. More aggressive and free flowing. Stop thinking. Less Coaching. Just go. "In order for us to have a chance in any game, we can't slow the ball up and try to play half court." - Harden,
