Morey on 1560 now with recap.

Recap. (updated)


Morey - feel his job is to build a championship contender, and Kyle is someone they can build around he is a very talented underappreciated guard who can help us.

Host: Rafer's minutes right away?

Morey: not sure how coach will use him, Aaron has been the best with the starters this year, not sure how Adelman will use him, never told him how much or who to play they took a risk to upgrade the team, they took one here.

Host: NY Times says he is big on what he brings outside of the boxscore?

Morey: Great question, Kyle brings a lot defensively, gets a hand on a lot of balls, and on defense he is a very strong defender, on offense he is great at attacking the basket and getting to the line, on our team, we don't have a lot of guys getting to the line, and it helps the Rockets because getting into the bonus early and taking advantage of that with Yao because getting him to the line more often is a great thing. He also is a great rebounding guard and can make the right pass off penetration, and he will do his job of getting the ball to Yao, and if the play breaks down he can get to the rim.

Morey - Wanted the Rockets to get a Marquee player to surround Yao with, werent able to get that done, so they upgraded the PG spot, which was next on their agenda.

Host: How does Lowry defend at only 6 feet tall.

Morey - He is a thicker point guard, he is actually a little bigger at 6'1" but it is build that matters and he is very strong - should be fine at that spot.

Host: Tracy coming back next year - if he gets Microfracture, he won't be back even next year will he? Another report out saying he will get a different procedure.

Morey - Not a doctor but there are about 4 procedures in play here to heal what is wrong with his left knee, he has a cartlidge issue in his left knee, it is an issue that a lot of guys play through, but with Tmac it is causing too much problem. There are 4 things to try.

1. Microfracture - which can have success, but the reason for variance in months is that some guys take longer.

2. Regrow cartlidge outside the body and then sew it back in- uncertainty on how long that taks.

3. Take cartlidge from other parts of your body, and insert it into his knee.

4. Take growth factor and inject it. ....less invasive but not one that TMac qualifies for.

Microfracture is an arthoscopic procedure.......says last offseason was to clean up the cartlidge......and what he did last year was what all doctors recommened, clean it up and play through it....a lot of guys in the league can play through it, but Tmac clearly has not been able to do that.

Host: What about the style of play, seems like less energy and less ball movement when Tmac is in there, it looks better when he is out, what about how the team has played without TMac

Morey : We are proud of our guys how they have continued to perform through all this injuries etc....part of why people see a difference is that Tracy is limited by his injury so it makes a difference.

Host: WHat about his sesaon?

Morey: It can still be a special season, get to the playoffs is still a focus and feels the team can advance and be in the mix in the western conference, very tough conference but they like their chances.

Host: lots of 3pters with Yao in there...Lowry only shooting 25%, are you worried about Kyle's 3 percentage.

Morey; every player has strength and weaknesses, Kyle's weakness is perimeter shooting but we werent replacing a strength in what we had out there in Rafer(ouch) but gonna focus on his strengths.....which is penetration, he attacks the hoop and makes the right pass and is a great rebounder which will help the Rockets and is under rated at the guard spot.....guards that rebound can help a teams rebounds a lot because they get a lot of rebounds that might not other come to the team.

Host: any surprises by other teams?

Morey: Lot of anxiety among teams that were active, Clevland and Portland...surprised they didn't make a move with some of their assets.

Host: Portland ever contacted Houston?

Morey: Both Portland and Clevland called Houston at least 100 times, very active week, lots of talks, surprising that more was not done.....Morey thinks league is getting smarter and everyone is trying for Pau Gasol homeruns, and those are not likely, the smarter play is to make incremental upgrades.

Host; Vince Carter

Morey: Nets unrealistic with the Jason Kidd trade as to what teams would offer for a guy in his mid 30s, with a huge deal.....thinks they had unrealistic expectations among teams that had players like that.....with a decent name in the league.

Host: Kyle Lowry tonight?

Morey: everyone has to pass physicals, both Cook and Lowry went for theirs at 7am, might be in uniform but doesn't think coach A will play them unless there was an emergency.

Host: can a team take an injured player and wave the physical?

Morey: Yes, you can absolutley do that, you can take on any contract you want, like a trade just for a contract.

Host; Cap relief for Tmac this year?

Morey: No not this year, under the Lux tax this year, used the entire budget, tries to do that every year......maximize the budget. We get a lot of resources with Les, using a lot of his cash to make deals which doesn't count against the cap, he thanks Les for doing that.

Host: have fun over the next 20 games

Morey: Lots of fun to be had, get some tickets at Rockets.com.....gonna be fun.

Host: Don't get hit in face with cake

Morey: Tad Brown orchestrated it, Morey's son had sold a certain amount of stuff for charity and Tad bought enough to make sure that Morey got hit in the face with cake for charity......Morey said it was his turn.

Host: No one is sad Rafer is gone?

Morey: he did a lot of really good stuff for the Rockets, he was underappreciated as a player, he was the team whipping boy, but the team would not be able to get a talent like Lowry if Rafer wasn't a good player, says other GMs underappreciate him too, but had to strike while the iron is hot because Stan V Gundy knew him, and didn't think the trade would be there in the offseason = the perfect storm, Orlando with a need and an appreciation for Rafer.......Memphis put their eggs in the Mayo and Conley basket, which minimized thier need for Lowry, it was good for us.

DD

 

He is very matter of fact about it, says that a lot of guys play through it, but that Tmac has not been able to do it.

I think that rubs Tmac the wrong way, not sure Morey is all that great at covering up his true feelings.

DD

 

I don't know, I think it is better to be honest with them in person, but protect them in the press.

Morey seems a bit too machine like in his analysis, they are assets for sure, but they are also people.

You don't get the maximum out of people by talking about their flaws to other people...

DD

 

He was just on V, I typed this as I listened to it.......it will probably be up later...if you want to post it here I would appreciate it.

DD