That is probably the biggest thing that keeps him up at night - why can't he pick 1st round gems with the same jedi mind tricks he uses for 2nd rounders. We only have TJones and Rolls Royce left as a reminder of our 1st round woes. Ah well, better to stockpile assets and trade up than to stub your toes constantly waiting for a 1st round draft winner.
Remember when Asik was connsidered "overpaid"? Feels like it was yesturday. Its like Morey can see into the future and see how the player turns out
I think it's the expectation that those first rounders be well rounded and be able to contribute immediately that tends to create let down. With the 2nd rounders, its okay to focus on the one or two things they do well and then wait for their all-round game to take shape. Conversely if those 2nd rounders completely flop then you're not terribly upset about it. Plus the NBA draft is all about impact players and usually once you get past the top 5 you're really just looking for someone who can make a contribution. Yet the title "first round pick" still has heightened expectations.
Well it's not like his first round drafts have been horrible. At 14th the chances of your picks becoming all-stars are miniscule, so the fact that Morey got two good solid players out of it (Patterson and Morris) is a success in my opinion. Not a home-run, but success. Jeremy Lamb was a home-run, D-Mo is looking pretty good so far for the 20th. T-Jones is still up in the air and White is not looking good, so the jury is still out for these guys. So can't say he failed with his first round picks.
he's a lotto pick. This isn't really the ranking of overall best bargains, otherwise Kyrie Irving, Kenneth Faried, Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond etc would all be near the top of the list. He excludes 100+ best bargain by definition.
"Dork Elvis" nickname was actually affectionate and it was in reference of his star status at the MIT basketball conferences.
Because with their 1st rounders Morey swings for the fence. On 2nd rounders, he tries for the single. And Morey's apparently more of a Tony Gwinn type of a hitter than a McGuire type. Motiejunas and to lesser extent Robinson(a player we definitely targeted to trade up last draft) hopefully breaks that trend.
It was all BillSimmons...he never meant it as an insult.... "A few weeks ago, I spent a Saturday at MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, or as I dubbed it, Dorkapalooza 2009! A slew of statistical rock stars showed up: Dean Oliver, Aaron Schatz, John Hollinger. Panels argued topics like "Where are basketball analytics headed?" and "What's more important, coming up with a cool formula or kissing a girl?" The hottest celeb? My friend Daryl Morey, the Rockets GM, who was hounded by MIT students as if he were Britney among the paparazzi. I dubbed him Dork Elvis. Even he admitted that was funny. Begrudgingly"
