"Ariza for Lee was a clear talent downgrade. It was all for money." "We overpaid for Scola." "We overpaid for Lowry." "We REALLY overpaid for Miller." And this is all AFTER: "Trading Rafer for Lowry means we are tanking the season." "Who the hell is Landry I wanted Josh McRoberts." Now it is becoming increasingly likely that Scola and Lowry may have been huge STEALS, or at the very worst fairly valued. Lee after looking a little bumpy on offense to start the season has really found his stride. It is said that it takes 2 years for players to become fully integrated in Adelman's offense. And it is clear that Lee was simply figuring things out. Now only a few months later it is looking like a hand in glove fit. If it were not for Kevin Martin, Lee as a starter playing 35 minutes would undoubtedly be a better player/fit than Ariza. And at a fraction of the contract. I know because he is only play 15 minutes most nights that some people might miss this. But that is a huge coup by Morey. If a trade comes up for Martin, who himself is having a career year, we can use him to upgrade another position without missing a beat. At this point this trade has elevated to Lowry/Rafer status. And finally Miller. Not only is the guy giving us everything that was advertised, running the offense, a coach on the floor etc, now he is going to pay huge dividends as the guy he was brought here to insure is now down for the count. All this btw could all be just an added bonus. At first seen as the worst of the overpaid contracts, he will be expiring next year. More importantly, the year after he basically has a non-guaranteed contract. The same kind of artificially-made currency that netted Utah Al Jefferson basically for free. So not only do we get a great veteran presence that no doubt has made great contributions to Jordan Hills development, we get a golden asset created by some creative accounting that we could potentially flip for a big haul down the line. Seriously when are we going to learn as fans? You can chant "In Morey we trust" all you want, but the second he makes a move that YOU fail to understand AT THE TIME, throw it all out the window and all hell breaks loose. When are we going to realize the guy knows his **** a lot more than us.
Lee is much better than early this season. But I still think Ariza is a better all around player than Lee except shooting at this moment. How much more can Lee improve is still to been seen.
Great moves so far. Terrence Williams is a mystery right now. So is Aaron Brooks vs Lowry saga. That part has just begun now..... I wonder how that turns out now??
On balance, the Rockets have made good moves in the last 4-5 years and I commend them on that. I say "the Rockets", because this isn't strictly about Daryl Morey. Organizationally, there are a lot of people involved in finding the right deals and executing them. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but what I don't worry about is that a move is made on a whim, without a lot of thought about both the short term and long term ramifications. Its not about a "Wizard" pulling deals out of a hat or from a magic spreadsheet. Its about a team of people working around the clock -- doing their homework, watching film, constant communication with other organizations' front offices. I hear the Rockets' name in more trade rumors than anyone else. I think that reflects the amount of activity and hard work our front office is doing behind the scenes to improve the team.
At the very least it is debatable now, not the foregone conclusion by all the arm-chair GMs at the time.
100% agree. I only say "Morey" because when it comes blame time or panic time, it is "Morey" not "the Rockets".
Ariza might be the worst player who gets significant minutes in the NBA, no matter how athletic he is. He is the Stromile Swift of SFs. BTW he choked away an inbounds pass tonight in a loss to Detroit. He had some built up cred though with his 2-11 shooting performance.
I am now glad that we have Lee over Ariza, and I can only applaud the Rockets for their foresight in recognizing that Lee is the superior player.
The rocket acquired a couple of players who are able to play on the nba court. However, they tried but failed to land a star player.
STAER PLAYERS GROW ON TREES EVRY TEAM ACQUIRES THEM WHY CANT ROCKETS????? Who was the last team to acquire a superstar?
Morey really knows what he's doing and I admit I had some doubt but everything has worked out. Lee>Ariza. Better three point shooting, better attitude and chemistry, Just as strong defensively. Lowry has earned his salary and I think he will be our starter after a deal with Aaron Brooks is struck. Miller is doing everything we hoped he could still do. Anyone who thought Scola was overpaid this summer should have been slapped really hard.
I know what you people are talking about for Ariza. I think he is pretty good for a teams wins and losses for what he does do pretty well. Like he does for the Hornets right now and us. He plays defense, runs well, scores a little bit, and is all around a versatile player who is master of none but kind of decent at alot of things. Which is you like Terrence Williams? Should probably brace yourself for a Ariza like player with better handles and assists.
When Lowry got a 6 mil contract I thought it was way too much and thought he better make huge improvements for his salary, and he has.
Brent B. did the same thing for Brooks when he got the starting role. B. Miller is to Jordan Hill what Brent. B was to Aaron.
Yeah I was also against the Lee trade because I thought Ariza's defense was too important to this team, now it seems like a much better trade. I still think you don't make that trade if the long-term goal is to have Lee playing 15 mpg.
I will praise Morey when he lets Brooks walk or trades him for a PF/C (Not that Hill isnt good but..we need that third man with hill and Scola)... I have no doubt he will, there's a reason he extended Lowry but not Brooks this summer.
