How did leslie alexander make his money? in all honesty, if the way he speaks is any indication of his intelligence, he sounds like a ****ing idiot!
My reaction: it was an uneasy press conference; Les was defensive, MDA was confident yet humble, and Morey seriously looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Frankly MDA came out looking the best of the 3, but not a reassuring press conference at all! That said, I have to move on because being mad is really exhausting. I respect MDA realizing this is his last chance to show the league what he's made of. I hope he really approaches thus with that kind of vigor and intensity. I don't think it's gonna work, but let's see who they bring in. Unfortunately this is the kind of press conference you see from bad organization's; if you are gonna fake it and put on a happy face, at least make it convincing. And for Gods sake, get your facts straight and come up with a more intelligent rational than, "we just felt like we wanted to win all the time". Wtf does that mean?
"great defensive roster" Edit, to Aruba77, great post. I think they should have acknowledged fan unhappiness in two simple sentences, like "we realize we had a disappointing year and fans understandably have a lot of gripes. We're working to have them sing a different tune one year from right now." And then totally move on and don't be defensive (oh, ouch) about the fans or media at all.
Alexander began his career as an attorney. From 1978 to 2009, he was a member of the California State Bar.[6] His first job was trading options and bonds for the Wall Street firm, Lawrence Kotkin Associates.[3] In 1980, he left to form his own investment company, The Alexander Group.[3] He also owns an 18.5% stake in First Marblehead, a private student loan company.[7]
I'm a fan of Morey even though I recognize he makes mistakes like all gms do. Unfortunately I think he will be gone in a year. This is a no win proposition for him. If MDA succeeds, he will replace Morey as the guy with Alexander's ear (which has probably happened but it will be cemented), and he probably already knows Morey didn't want him in the first place by many accounts. If he doesn't succeed and the rockets crash, Morey will take the blame along with everyone else, or MDA may shift the blame to him. So it will be unlikely he survives this. He probably is staying on bc there's nothing currently out there, but as gm positions open up at the end of next year I bet you see him leave one way or another. Basically what Nook has been saying.
You summed it up perfectly. Les Alexander has a large ego, and that isn't surprising. He has always been a maverick and done things the way he wants to do them. The results have been exceptional wealth. Try convincing Les it is mostly luck or circumstance, his ego will not allow that type of introspection. In reality, if he was wired that way, he may very well not be a billionaire. Les owns the team, he views it as his; the same way someone that owns a successful race horse views the horse as their own. Ultimately Les is going to do what he and his ego believe will make the Rockets successful; not what the fans or media or even his brilliant GM believe will work. Tell Les he is wrong and he will tell you he has several billion reasons to say he is right. Maybe D'Antoni works out. Perhaps his offense makes a star out of someone we would never expect. Maybe Llull comes over and becomes a 20/6 type player. Maybe Bzbilick gets the Rockets to defend. Maybe Morey pulls a flower out of his ass and some sought after free agent signs here. Les IS lucky, always has been. Like Red Auerbach once said, when asked why he supported Danny Ainge being the general manager over other candidates; "He is lucky, some guys are brilliant and they win but not like the guy that has luck following him."
