Morey Fires Back At Misconceptions - In case you missed it...

Morey is right -

chuck is a great glue guy and a fan favorite, but if he plays more than 10 minutes on your team, you are not going to be #winning anything.

I remember Scotty Brooks used to log big minutes and be a fan favorite too - but the Rockets didn't win championships until they added Cassell

 

Yes, but in that situation, you have Chuck locked up for a smaller contract and there are loads of teams that would love to have him at a reasonable rate.

See, to me, the players would not mind being traded as much if they had the security of a contract.

Just my .02

DD

 

They are under contract technically and are freaking millionaires for God's sake. Mentally weak players suck it up during contract years. See Aaron Brooks. Should we have given some or all of Brad Miller's money to Hayes? Of course, but that was all Rick Adelman.. you and others have chosen to shift all blame on our exceptional GM.

The Rockets would have Hayes, AB, and Battier locked into 7 year contracts if it were up to you. DM sees the bigger picture. Not a first or second round exit.

 

Sammy,

I am not shifting blame to anyone. I don't blame DM for the situation, I blame Les.

I do blame DM for the "no extensions" policy, and don't happen to agree with it.

I personally think it gives the team a bad reputation around the league, when you don't sign your players, or lock them up, and the ones you do sign in free agency, you trade them right away, like Ariza.

While loyalty is clearly out the window in most cases, to be so blatent about the lack of it, IMO, is poor management of the situation.

Keep the long view, and keep the mouth shut about it.......that is how I think it should be done, IMO.

DD

 

No one saw Hayes' improvement coming. He was abysmal from the FT line and a complete offensive liability.

DM would have extended him at the minimum but it would have been hypocritical to not offer ones to AB and Battier.

I loved the Ariza trade when it happened. Not so much when we were in a rut early in the season but it's clear who the winner was in that trade. Actually, it's not even close when you consider the difference in salaries.

 

DM would offer extensions to all-star players.

Aaron Brooks is far from an all-star player, and he doesn't want to overpay a PG and get stuck in mediocrity for the next X years.

Not to mention, Morey values Lowry MORE than Brooks, and thus he pays Lowry accordingly.

And this "no extension" policy is a myth. Didn't we offer an extension to Luis Scola?

 

Im not sure how I feel about his policy of not giving extensions during the season, but you make a pretty decent case against it. I do get the feeling that it hurts our reputation around the league about that kind of stuff. But my question is this: does this negative reputation actually have any tangible negative impact on the team? I mean, I guess you could point to Brooks playing worse because of it, but more mature players like Scola and Lowry did fine with it last year. And I didn't notice any problems with the performance of the guys being mentioned in trade talks. So I kind of think that while it may annoy some of our guys, I don't think it makes most of them play worse and we haven't pissed anyone off enough to where they've bolted in free agency. And I don't think our alleged mistreatment of players is the reason we've missed out on signing free agents away from other teams. So while I agree that it's not the nicest or most ethical way of doing business, Im not sure it's actually bad for business for the Rockets.

 

I'm more pessimistic than that. If you were Chuck and you feel loyal to your team and said you wanted to come back, but then the team fired your coach and promised to make big changes to the roster -- would you still feel like staying in town is your clear preference? So, if another team with good prospects and stable situation comes and offers you a good contract, and Morey says he'd give you the same money, is Morey's offer even competitive? If I were Chuck, Morey would have to offer a premium over what playoff teams were offering to get me to stay. Equal money isn't sufficient.

It could be more simple though; it could be Chuck doesn't want the hassle of moving from Houston. Maybe he's got his kid in a good school, or he's a deacon at his church or something, and doesn't want to be displaced. After all, Battier didn't want to be traded, even though it was professionally advisable. That's the only thing I see we've really got going for us.

 

He doesn't believe in anything.

 

Disagree. With a capable center that can block shots, Chuck is a great guy to have in the rotation (either starting PF or off the bench). He can get garbage buckets, rebound, play great defense, and help share the defensive load against good post players. I think the 2011 Chuck would have been a great fit next to Yao '05-'07.

 

In a strictly economic sense, you are correct. Everyone is worth what someone is willing to pay, at least at the time he signs the contract. It can be argued that the player is no longer worth that if his play is higher or lower than expectations, afterwards. This also means that no body is over-paid; at least at the time he signs.

For conversation's sake, particularly for discussions on CF, though, I disagree.

There are players that will be paid more than they are worth, because of their "sex appeal." I.e., it is exciting to have them on your team. Or, you over-pay them to send a message to other teams, that they are wasting their time signing your RFAs, because you are going to match.

What we mean here by "over-paying" is, paying more than the typical guy with the same production would cost.

In all the major sports leagues, there are players every year that are lost to their teams, because that team can't afford what other teams are going to pay them. In some cases, the player is over-paid; in other cases, the player simply isn't worth the new price to the original team. For instance, Bernard Pollard to the Texans, and that high-priced CB they let go the year before.

I'm sure we can afford Chuck Hayes.

 

What do you mean "glue guy"? He's an elite defensive player and an above average offensive player, well worthy of the 28 mpg that he's getting.

 

I have to agree with morey you only give extensions to your superstars and you are still taking chances, ish happens look at brandon roy, hey at least that was portlands star ,in our case we cant give extensions to every player we are in love with remember ish happens and we need to have a little bit of leverage going forward.

 

I guess Morey wants to develop 'To-beat' into the rockets' future center. Resigning Chuck only could slow down 'To-beat's development.

 

He is a decent defender, he cannot block shots and has not proven he can work his magic in a playoff series, where you have to cover the same man night after night - also Chuck is NOT an "above average" offensive player - that is crazy talk. Chuck would not start on any playoff team in the West - and MIGHT be a player on NY or Indiana - but would not start on any other playoff teams in the East either

If you are the coach of the Rockets and I give you this team with Tyson Chandler in the middle - a good defensive presence - does Hayes see to court over Scola or Patterson...no, why? because those guys are better overall players.

Face it, Hayes is a product of the system and I agree with Morey that you should not handicap your team in the long term by overpaying for someone like that

 

I also like Morey overall as a GM, but there are some questions I have for him:

1. When you say you're looking for a coach that is the "right fit"... If you look at Rick Adelman... Winningest coach in Rockets history, hall of famer, a coach who the players love, ranks in top 10 in NBA history in wins, who has done very well with the rosters he's been given and the injury hurdes he's had to face... ... the question is....what doesn't "fit" about Rick Adelman. Or, to re-phrase the question.... what "fit" are you looking for in a new coach?
   
   
2. You've said that it wasn't a mistake to get Trevor Ariza because we ended up with Courtney Lee. Surely you don't expect us to believe that you signed Ariza with the intent of getting Courtney Lee? I mean, do you really expect us to believe that when you signed Ariza, you were thinking, "this is great! This is exactly what we need to do to get Courtney Lee in a year!"
   
   
3. There's a sign in the bar that I go to that says, "free beer tomorrow". Of course, tomorrow never comes - if you ask for free beer, they'll tell you it's not free "today". Do you reach a point where you realize that constant efforts to improve the team for "next year" actually hinder THIS YEAR'S team and its ability to learn each other's games, learn offensive systems, abd build chemistry?

 

Valid questions - I think he might answer as follows:

1) it is not about RA - he is a great coach - but needs to be coaching a contending team, where the roster is stable. Morey said the roster is not going to win a championship in this state, so its going to need to be turned over a few times - why make a coach who wants veterans and stability stay here and coach in an environment contrary to his perferrences

2) on Ariza - I heard his remarks and I agree is seems a stretch - but I think that it plays into the overarching philosophy of aquire assets to make better deals when they are available. He didn't sign Ariza to get Lee - but he was able to get Lee BECAUSE he signed Ariza.

3) you have a fair point - but I think the same arguement can be made to justify getting rid of RA. He didn't want to let guys play and develop - opting to play Shane Battier, Brad Miller, and Aaron Brooks over Twill, Patterson, and Hill

 

You overpay for players that can take you to the next level. You also overpay if you are close to contend and need a role player to help as insurance in case starters get injured or are in a slump.
You should never overpay role players when you are rebuilding. You limit yourself to get the star players that can take you to the next level.

Remember, the NBA is a business and people on this forum think that you pay based on hard work or gratitude. That is not the case, and people gets paid when they can carry a team to championships. Chuck definitely can't do that

 

I don't agree with your assessment. I think the Rockets have not extended anybody because we have not had any real star in the last few years. I can guarantee that if Yao and TMac were not injured, they would have been locked to long term contracts.
Unfortunately, we do not have a player worth doing that

 

Luis Scola was never eligible for an extension under CBA rules.