2007 - 2008 Drafts: Aaron Brooks 26th pick Carl Landry 31st pick Brad Newly 54th pick Trades: July 13, 2007 - Traded Vassilis Spanoulis and a 2009 2nd round draft pick (Nando DeColo) to the San Antonio Spurs for Jackie Butler and Luis Scola. February 21, 2008 - Traded Kirk Snyder and a 2010 2nd round draft pick (Paulao Prestes) to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Gerald Green. - As part of a 3-team trade, the Houston Rockets traded Mike James and Bonzi Wells to the New Orleans Hornets; the Houston Rockets traded Malick Badiane to the Memphis Grizzlies; the Memphis Grizzlies traded Sergei Lishouk to the Houston Rockets; the New Orleans Hornets traded Bobby Jackson, Adam Haluska and a 2008 2nd round draft pick (Marty Leunen) to the Houston Rockets; and the New Orleans Hornets traded Marcus Vinicius to the Memphis Grizzlies. In Retrospect: - With the 26th pick in the draft the Rockets would have gotten better value with Arron Afflalo or Marc Gasol (the grade is still out on Tiago Splitter). With the 31st pick the Rockets could have gotten better value with only Marc Gasol. No way I would take Glen Davis over either Brooks or Landry. Aaron Gray 7-1 280 C, is also starting to look like a serviceable seven footer. - Had the Rockets drafted Tiago Splitter, there is a question if San Antonio would have traded Luis Scola. Certainly if the Rockets have to choose between Scola or Splitter in the 2007 draft then you take Luis Scola every time. - Between picks 15 and 26 of the 2007 draft only Rodney Stuckey 6-5 207 SG, Wilson Chandler 6-7 230 SF and Rudy Fernandez 6-6 172 SG would have been worth considering drafting ahead of Brooks. Further more about half of the lottery selections have not been as good as what the Rockets drafted with the 26th and 31st picks in the draft. Houston clearly had one of the better drafts in the league that year with LAL getting the best overall value with their 2nd round pick. 2008 - 2009 Drafts: Donte Green 28th pick Joey Dorsey 33rd pick Maarty Leunen 54th pick Trades: August 14, 2008 - Traded Donte Greene, Bobby Jackson and a 2009 1st round draft pick (Omri Casspi) to the Sacramento Kings for Ron Artest, Patrick Ewing and Sean Singletary. February 19, 2009 - As part of a 3-team trade, the Houston Rockets traded Rafer Alston to the Orlando Magic; the Memphis Grizzlies traded Kyle Lowry to the Houston Rockets; the Orlando Magic traded Brian Cook to the Houston Rockets; and the Orlando Magic traded Adonal Foyle, Mike Wilks and a 2009 1st round draft pick (DeMarre Carroll) to the Memphis Grizzlies. In Retrospect: - The Rockets actually had started out with the 25th pick so this is the pick I will start looking at quality players left in the draft. Nicolas Batum 6-8 210 SG 25th pick, George Hill 6-2 180 PG 26th pick, Darrell Arthur 6-9 216 PF 27th pick, DeAndre Jordan 6-11 250 C 35th pick, Omer Asik 7-0 220 PF/C 36th pick, Goran Dragic 6-4 180 PG 45th pick were the real quality picks from picks after pick 25. I have no problem with the trade of the Rockets 25th pick for the 28th and 33rd picks. Donte Green was eventually parlayed into Ron Artest and the 33rd pick could have gotten the Rockets a quality seven foot center. - This is clearly Daryl Morey’s worst draft with several quality players (including both DeAndre Jordan 6-11 250 C and Omer Asik 7-0 220 PF/C) left on the board. Joey Dorsey clearly came into the league with some serious NBA talent on defense but did not have much between the ears. The Rockets would have done themselves a huge favor by either trying to leap frog Seattle (who picked directly in front of the Rockets at 25) and grab Serge Ibaka 6-10 228 PF or drafting Omar Asik instead of Dorsey. - Daryl Morey’s best move during this season was clearly the Rafer Alston for Kyle Lowry trade. Kyle is looking more and more like a future all-star. He is a 1st team all defensive point guard and is showing that he is a clutch performer on offense and runs both the fast break / half court offense equally well. 2009- 2010 Drafts: Jermaine Taylor 32nd pick Sergio Llull 34th pick Chase Budinger 44th pick Trades: February 18, 2010 - Traded Tracy McGrady to the New York Knickerbockers for Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries, a 2011 1st round draft pick and a 2012 1st round draft pick. Traded Joey Dorsey and Carl Landry to the Sacramento Kings for Hilton Armstrong and Kevin Martin. In Retrospect: - The Rockets came into this draft with no picks and purchased 3 second rounders starting with the 32nd pick. Other players with value the Rockets could have gotten are DeJuan Blair, 6-6 277 PF Jonas Jerebko 6-9 220 SF, Jodie Meeks 6-4 211 SG and Marcus Thornton 6-4 194 SG. - Daryl Morey managed to get 1st round talent in the 2nd round with Chase Budinger while Jermain Taylor and Sergio Lull have both been non-factors. - There were no defensive minded seven footers in this draft available to the Rockets. DeJuan Blair was the best big on the board but not what the Rockets need as far as a rim protecting center that can move Chuck Hayes back to the bench. - DM’s signature move during the season, was the trade that landed the Rockets Kevin Martin. He has been nothing short of spectacular on the offensive end of the court and is the most efficient scorer in the league. 2010 - 2011 Drafts: Patrick Patterson 14th pick Trades: August 11, 2010 - As part of a 4-team trade, the Houston Rockets traded Trevor Ariza to the New Orleans Hornets; the Indiana Pacers traded Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets; the New Jersey Nets traded Courtney Lee to the Houston Rockets; and the New Orleans Hornets traded Darren Collison and James Posey to the Indiana Pacers. December 15, 2010 - As part of a 3-team trade, the Houston Rockets traded a 2012 1st round draft pick to the New Jersey Nets; the Houston Rockets traded Sergei Lishouk to the Los Angeles Lakers; the Los Angeles Lakers traded Sasha Vujacic and a 2011 1st round draft pick to the New Jersey Nets; the New Jersey Nets traded Terrence Williams to the Houston Rockets; and the New Jersey Nets traded Joe Smith, a 2011 2nd round draft pick and a 2012 2nd round draft pick to the Los Angeles Lakers. February 24, 2011 - Traded Aaron Brooks to the Phoenix Suns for Goran Dragic and a future 1st round draft pick. - Traded Shane Battier and Ishmael Smith to the Memphis Grizzlies for DeMarre Carroll, Hasheem Thabeet and a future 1st round draft pick. In Retrospect: - This is the 1st draft that Daryl Morey had anything higher than the 25th overall pick and early returns are that he nailed this one. Patrick Patterson 6-9 240 PF, looks like the complete package with both offense and defense. I would like to see him get more consistent on the boards though. - It’s too early to actually tell who all the quality picks after the 14th pick are. The names of Omar Asik and Marc Gasol did not pop up as legit bigs until a few years after they were drafted. Neither even play for the teams that drafted them. Could Hasaan Whiteside turn into the next Marc Gasol? How about our own Hasheem Thabeet? As of now it looks like Larry Sanders 6-10 222 PF/C as of now looks like the only player that I would have considered over Patrick Patterson but both look like the best picks at the spots they were picked and probably better than many of the players drafted before them. - Trading Trevor Ariza for Courtney Lee turned into a great trade for Houston on the floor as well as for Salary Cap reasons. Trevor was just awful on the offensive end of the floor while Courtney is an elite defender and very good on the offensive end as well. - Obviously the trades of Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier were the most controversial but early returns on those trades look to have improved the teams play on the court now as well as netting two more 1st round picks. While those picks pissed off Adelman, his team played much better after the trades. Shane Battier may have been a favorite of Adelman but really hurt the Rockets on the offensive end and bringing Chase Budinger as the new starter really helped the team. I’m sure the fans in Phoenix are wondering why they had to give the Rockets a 1st round pick to take Aaron Brooks who is currently not playing as well as Goran Dragic. Review Draft Hits - Aaron Brooks 26th pick 2007 - Carl Landry 31st pick 2007 - Chase Budinger 44th pick 2009 - Patrick Patterson 14th pick2010 Trade Hits - Vassilis Spanoulis and a 2009 2nd round draft pick for Luis Scola. - Donte Greene, Bobby Jackson and a 2009 1st round draft pick for Ron Artest - Rafer Alston for Kyle Lowry - Tracy McGrady and Carl Landry for Jordan Hill, 2012 1st round draft pick and Kevin Martin - Trevor Ariza for Courtney Lee - Aaron Brooks for Goran Dragic and a 2010 1st round draft pick. - Shane Battier for Hasheem Thabeet and a future 1st round draft pick. Misses - Marc Gasol - Omar Asik - Aaron Gray - 2012 1st round draft pick for Terrence Williams Overall the biggest failure of Daryl Morey has been his ability to get a quality seven footer that can guard the basket and un-seat Chuck Hayes as the starter. He has had some very good Centers available to him but he missed. This is an undisputable fact, having said that he has done an exemplary job in just about every other category. When Daryl Morey took over as GM of the Rockets the roster was made up of: Yao Ming Tracy McGrady Juwan Howard Luther Head Chuck Hayes Rafer Alston Shane Battier Kirk Snyder John Lucas Vassilis Spanoulis Jake Tsakalidis Dikembe Mutombo That team should not awe anyone with talent outside of Yao, TMac and Deke and we know what has become of those three. Chuck and Yao are the only ones left over that may or may not be on the team next season. The Current Rockets roster looks like this: Chase Budinger Marcus Cousin Goran Dragic Chuck Hayes Jordan Hill Courtney Lee Kyle Lowry Kevin Martin Brad Miller Yao Ming Patrick Patterson Luis Scola Hasheem Thabeet Terrence Williams I don’t believe any other GM could have done better adding talent to a roster with what Daryl Morey had to work with. With the exception of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady I think that top to bottom this roster has much more talent than the one Daryl Morey started with. No superstars like Tracy McGrady or Yao Ming of a few years ago but he cannot control injuries. With the exception of drafting Omar Asik or Marc Gasol I’m not sure what else he could have done. Hopefully in the upcoming draft he can get either Biyombo or Kanter and that they will live up to the hype.
...which is why I think the idea of a "timeline" is ridiculous. You should judge a GM on his draft picks, trades, and FA signings. Dawson was seen as inept because his draft pick evaluation got worse toward the end of his tenure and he gave out bloated contracts to players who didn't deserve them. Until Morey starts missing on draft picks and making big FA mistakes that hurt the franchise, I am perfectly OK with him running the ship. Good thread.
I have issues with the bolded parts of your analysis. Marc Gasol. The Rockets didn't even have a second round pick in 07' and had to buy one from Seattle. They Drafted Carl Landry because of our needs at PF. Scola was an unknown and we needed help right away for our Playoff team (T-mac and Yao). Marc Gasol would not help the Rockets at that time playing in Spain. This is not a miss because it was in hindsight. Landry was the more polished player we needed for that team. We still had Deke. Aaron Gray. He's a scrub big man. A brown sack of potatoes. I have no Idea how you think he's a miss. T-Will. First off, the pick we traded for him is Lotto protected so untill we make the playoffs again we keep our pick. Secondly, T-Will was a project and projects take time and a half season is enough time to judge.
Great research. I wouldn't call not drafting Marc Gasol a miss, because he would've still been playing overseas, and tons of teams passed on him. I do wish we would've drafted Deandre Jordan though.
Morey has doen a great job given what he has, the roaster by CD and the money limit by Les. I don't consider Ariza for Lee a hit just yet, although I agree it's a hit if salary is factored in.
Above is all of that roster remaining in the NBA. Might a rim protecting 7'er been more sought without the belief in Yao Ming? Interesting run down. Thanks.
I'm hoping TWill eventually works out. He is uber talented IMO and worth the risk but up to this point all signs point to fail. The Rockets had a chance to draft Gasol with the pick they used to draft Carl Landry had they wanted.
I think if you consider AB and Landry hits, then you can't consider Gasol a miss. AB and Landry were taken instead of Gasol, so not really a miss imo.
They are hits because they were good draft choices particularly when other teams were not hitting on those choices. Gasol was a missed opportunity to draft a 7 foot all star caliber center.
It's not a miss. We had Yao/Deke and Juan Howard. Draft a center or a PF didn't seem to be a very difficult decision at that time.
Erm, this roster sucks. You can make a thousand trades, receiving a dollar in value for eighty cents every time but if you still suck then you suck. You get no credit for being the genius that put together a team that sucks. We'd have been better off being the worst team in the league the last two seasons so we could have a chance at elite talent in the draft. Morey is a punch and judy hitter in a slugger's league.
No need for one at the time. We had Yao and Deke and were filling holes for a playoff team. These were our Centers that year: You're telling me it was a better we "waste" a pick on a player that wouldn't help the team right away? You're stretching calling him a miss. That's like calling every team that passed on Kobe Bryant, "The team that missed the chance to draft the greatest player of the decade".
The man was asked to build around 2 max contract players while also being charged with maintaining flexibility in the very likely scenario that 1, or God forbid both stars went down for prolonged periods of time. The absolute worst case scenario happened, yet he somehow accumulated enough talent to stay competitive and still have some flexibility for the future. Incredible job. No one else could even come close to what Daryl has done given those circumstances. Don’t forget the hand he was dealt – hamstrung by 2 lame-duck max contracts. Get off his back.
The missing categories: Free agent signings: Steve Francis (signed 2 year $6M, Later Francis, the 36 pick (Sam Young) and cash were traded to Grizzlies for nothing). Brent Barry (2 year, and then cut) Von Wafer Dikembe Mutombo James White (traded for Alex Hervelle) Trevor Ariza (traded for Lee) Brad Miller cuts Mike Harris,Bob Sura, Jackie Butler, John Lucas III, Justin Reed, Adam Haluska, Gerald Green (= Kirk Snyder+2nd round pick),Marcus Campbell, Mike Harris, D.J. Strawberry, Luther Head, Mike Harris, Brent Barry, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Brian Cook, Mike Harris,Jared Jeffries, DeMarre Carroll, Mike Harris Mike Harris were cut 5 times.
Watch out. Here's the point where people come along and tell you that credit for the GOOD draft picks goes to CD and/or Adelman, while the BAD ones were all Morey's fault. And they'll back that up with not a shred of proof, but tell you that anyone who REALLY knows basketball knows this stuff.
1) Aaron Brooks was definitely an Adelman pick not Morey. 2) I would give also give Adelman a great deal of credit for Brooks, CBud, Scola, Landry, Pat, and Lowry development. 3) Some of your trade hits are totally wrong. - a) Basically, we wasted 2, that TWO first round picks for a Artest. That's a bad trade, dude!!! - b) TMac/Landry/1st round pick for Martin/ + bloated Jarid Jeffries is questionable. - c) Ariza for Lee is questionable. One is a proven starter vs. an emerging backup. - d) Battier trade is a year too late. We definitely could of and should of gotten a much better deal.
