D - Not happy we didn't land a big name, and we lost Ish for a first rounder. Well the way Ish is playing he deserves a first rounder. Thaabet is gamble but considering that he's not going to see much action or not usable, not happy. No one is goiong to help us win more this year.
I voted for 'not happy' Wallace, Perkins, Muhamed (sp) and Pryzbilla (sp) could have ended up in the Red, instead we get nothing, yes I consider Dragic and Thabeet nothing.
I'd give him a B- Would have been nice if he could have gotten more for AB, but I imagine nobody was willing to spend anything significant for him. Assuming there was nothing better, I'm completely fine with Dragic and a 1st. Anything to get rid of that headache. Giving up Battier is tough, especially considering the one player the Rockets got in return isn't even going to touch the floor most likely... but major chances were that he was going to walk away after this season anyways. Might as well get what you can for him.
B+ is fair. Brooks was as good as gone and we don't have any business trying to resign Battier with the state our team is in. Hate to see both go, but it had to be done. So for two pieces that we weren't going to have anymore in a few months, they picked up Dragic who could potentially be solid and the Battier trade allowed him to purchase a 1st round pick from Memphis for $5mil (Thabeet's contract). Given late first round picks normally cost $3mil and up - this was a pretty good value in purchasing the pick. Glad Morey didn't cave and give Chicago Lee for two first round picks. I think Morey called Chicago's bluff and will probably deal Lee in the offseason for both those picks AND Asik once Chicago get's roasted by opposing SGs in the playoffs. ...so with all the optimism, you would think I would give him an A+ but the fact is OJ Mayo(almost) and Gerald Wallace were moving teams for peanuts and we could have used either on our roster.
C We let go of veteran leadership and scoring to gamble on the draft. The players we got today might as well be garbage. We are basically trying to re-energize this team with picks. Dragic is on the level of Ish, so that was a wash, but letting Brooks go in that trade was baffling. Shane was the last of two players on this team who played defense, but with Memphis' pick we may have a chance at some midrange talent. Maybe Morey can wine and dine Shane over the summer, throw in a no-trade kicker, and get him to sign low to come back as more of a mentor role. I'm not so wowed by Morey's ability to entice players to the city of Houston right now, so don't hold your breathe. All in all Morey didn't do anything he said he was going to do. We didn't get players with real upside and we didn't land a good big. Thabeet has size, but so what? With that attitude we might as well as approach the WWE's Big Show and sign him to a vet's min deal. The upside of these two players? Dragic is good, but he's not even on Lowry's level. Thabeet can't even find a spot on that Memphis roster. Where is the upside? Furthermore, this team still has no star to it. When your top player is Luis Scola you have some serious questions to resolve. Ultimately Houston added "assets" once again, but if these "assets" actually mature into something bigger is anyone's guess. Hell, at this point in time, had I known we were essentially throwing Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks away for nothing, I would have gladly praised Morey for the A'*mar'e trade that wasn't. In the present time we really have nothing gained (I'm not quite sure how the guy spells his name, and he doesn't warrant a cursory google search). What scares me the most is how low of a basketball IQ this team will have. Jordan Hill didn't even touch a basketball until he was in High School. Thabeet is like Tmac in that his heart is in a different sport. Kyle Lowry is so high risk/high reward, and Kevin Martin too. Both those players make plays worthy of sportscenter all the time, the question is will it be top 10 or not so top 10. Not a single player we picked up can play defense either. When you combine that with the fact that this team as a whole can't play defense, AND we gave away arguably one of the best defensive players in the game we are left with a glaring problem on the other side of the court. Expect scores in the range of 120-145 for opposing teams with talent. While there is a lot of negative, it is not all gloom and doom. We have some good draft picks. I really hope with the reformed CBA we can turn some of those picks into established players, rather than gamble on freshman players. Honestly, its disgusting to see the franchise in the state its in, but in due time I can only hope things change for the better. One step forward and two steps back.
Brooks' value was plummeting fast, as least he got SOMETHING for him. C+ Battier and Ish for Thabeet and pick? What the heck??? ISH??? D Overall: C-
Decent, B-.. I really hope Thabeet have good work ethic to be a much better player that he supposed to be
Morey has kept us flexible enough to feed the window of opportunity and now he's rebuilding the team. DM has navigated though Yao and Tracy's injuries/contracts quite well. The stockpiling of assets and young talent puts us in a position to strengthen the team through free agency,trades, and player development.THIS will be Morey's team.....At worst withhold judgment. As for me I'm sold.I've been sold. We're extremely fortunate to have him and I trust the future our franchise in his hands.
I'd give it a B because of the Brooks dump and getting a big man like Morey had promised. I would prefer to give it an INC to see what we do with the picks in a "crappy draft class". If we took our picks, packaged them, and traded it for someone worthy of our starting lineup, then I'd give this move an A.
how does trading Battier and Brooks now amount to having direction?? we added bench players and late first-round draft picks. how is that direction? trade K-Mart? you're communicating direction. trade Scola? that would communicate direction. this doesn't at all.
