[Podcast] Morey on 610 today: talking Lin, free agency & expectations for next year

Of course a GM will try to spin his message to help the team, but that doesn't mean that a GM is going to give untrue effusive praises to a player.

For example, Morey didn't give effusive praises to Robinson, DMo and Jones, even so they are also assets for him to pimp. All he said was that these guys have potential and he hopes that one or more of them will be ready to step up next season. Morey certainly didn't heap praises upon that other asset Royce White. There are nice and positive ways of spinning it when a guy hasn't done very well.

 

Or maybe he's just telling the truth b/c he really does feel like Lin was part of the reason the Rockets made the playoffs...

 

Okay so the key is what assurances he gave them and is it in writing. I would love to see that contract. ANd if there were assurances how did he breach them. Also don't they have to go into litigation once they are aware he is in breach and if so wouldn't the fact that the Rockets gave him a winnebago set a precedent that they accept that he can not fly and are willing to provide a company bus for him to drive. ANd if that is true where is the breach. ANd if there is a legitimate breach what is the next step? Arbitration, litigation and how long is the process. If we have to go to court it will be messy all over the media. I can see the headlines now...

Mental Patient Kicked Out of Bus and to the Curb!

Do they Rockets really want that drama? Doesn't it seem easier just to negotiate an out and say you can keep what you have but we are voiding the contract. Will even give you the Winnebago if you walk away quietly.

I would love nothing more than to void his contract. But is it as easy as you suggest.

 

It's not that straight forward...

Illness can improve or get worse. Whatever Royce's assurances, in writing or not, all he has to say is that he got sicker. It's very hard to prove objectively otherwise. (even though we all know he is just a bit of an entitled, self-important, worthless prat)

You can't just void him without being sued for discriminating against someone due to illness. And you'd probably lose the lawsuit.

 

My personal view is that the Rockets care about how they're perceived by players and fans, ie the public and also people that work in the industry.

So they'll live with Royce White twittering for another year and let him go after that. Or perhaps just cut him after next season's trade deadline when there's nothing more to be gained from having him on the roster.

They'd rather be screwed for an extra half year in terms of a roster space and a little salary cap flexibility, than to be perceived as trying to screw a mentally-challenged guy out of a couple of million dollars.

I don't think they'll even make an effort to void his contract, which will lead to potentially adverse publicity (and we know White has the ability to schedule his own interviews on key sports networks, and use the Internet to spread his version of the truth).

We're paying $10M in salaries this year to players that aren't even playing, so how big of a deal is White's contract and the 15th roster spot?

 

Not sure how exactly thing will work, but my guess is that any effort to void Royce White's contract will be tied up in legal challenges/arbitration long enough that the Rockets really won't enjoy any benefit from it in terms of cap room. Both Royce White and other NBA teams (especially those who are going after the same FAs as the Rockets) have incentives to fight it. At the very least, I very much doubt it that such an effort will get resolved in July, which is when the Rockets have potentially the greatest need for cap room.

 

Exactly. Hit the nail on the head.

 

I think that is a pretty good assessment overall. You are correct that it all comes down to what assurances he gave them and are the Rockets able to show proof that he made those assurances. First of all, the assurances don't have to be in writing. It may have been that he took an oath on a bible in front of Morey, Les and 5 other guys saying that he had conquered his fear of flying. They can testify to it and it could still be enough. But being in writing makes it a heck of a lot easier to prove, so hopefully the Rockets do have something in writing. Given that the Rockets did give him a bus/Winnebago, it shows that they to some level were willing to accommodate him and his disability. However, based on the fact that pre-draft all of his folks were saying he was ok to fly and had flown to plenty of college games, I'm guessing that the overall agreement was that he would bus it to nearby locations and fly to farther ones. I can't imagine him trying to drive from Houston to Portland or NY on a back to back.

But after these things were agreed to, something changed. Suddenly, White said that the Rockets weren't sensitive to his disability and weren't living up to their end of the deal. I think this is the crux of the case and whoever wins this argument probably wins the whole thing. If the Rockets did everything that they said they would do and then Royce said- wait guys- I've changed my mind, I need you to do more... then he's changing the agreement and his non-performance (refusing to report to camp or to the Vipers) could be considered a breach. However, if the Rockets didn't do something such as provide Yanni CD's for him to listen to in the Winnebago if they had agreed to it, then they might be in breach.

If there is a breach then the first recourse would likely be some form of mediation or arbitration. It's less costly and easier to keep private. However, if the Rockets win, they couldn't force him to play for them. They could just void the contract or force him to pay them back all of the costs they had already invested in him. (salary, winnebago, expenses etc).

Most likely outcome in my opinion is that they let him walk with what they've paid him so far, cut him so that he can sign with whoever wants him and say good riddance.

The one question that I've been pondering is let's say we cut him and he signs on with the Mavs and all of a sudden he is able to fly anywhere and plays all 82 games next season. If the Mav's didn't do anything that we didn't do (i.e. they gave him a Winnebago and made the same assurances we did and nothing more), could the Rockets make a claim that he faked his disability to get out of his contract and would we have recourse then... Hmmmmm.....

 

^ Exhibit A on my point about how the debate has never been about Jeremy Lin the player.

Thank you for proving my point. I rest my case.

 

Correct. I thought about that too and that's definitely the argument Royce's side will make. So then you bring in experts on both sides and I guarantee you that both will find an expert that say opposite things. One will say that it can't get to that point and the other will say it definitely can get worse.

So then you get the private eyes involved and see if Royce has been secretly flying to the Bahamas with his women or caught on camera laughing hysterically about taking the Rockets to the bank and getting paid for doing nothing... hahaha

 

Wow, this is becoming a Lin thread again.

 

If Morey was spinning, the guy you quoted was spinning Morey's spin and he might think this double spin is closer to the truth.

 

~lol~ are you sure you guys aren't the same person??

"The Hate" was really a shame.

 

The name of the book is Stumbling on Wins. by Dave Berri . It's available at Amazon as an ebook and paperback. Good luck!

 

Absolutly. Why woud Houston hire Morey if he did not produce predictive stats that are better than others stats and public stats.

 

Look at your original post and if you don't see the similarities in the posts before and after the "=" sign, then you won't know the joke's on you.

 

That cant be right. RIGHT!? right.

 

The great irrelevancy is 'his' version of the 'truth' because both sides of a coin spin their version of the 'truth'. DM the GM, the corporate manager, the salesperson, the NBAer. Everybody.

Now, won't it be fun when Royce starts playing like Royce and shuts us all up?!!

BTW - - I think it will be very interesting to see Saunders replace Adelman with The Mayor, Coach Hoiberg. Then trade for White.

 

Wow are people really fighting over Morey saying Lin was third in win/share

 

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