I think Morey played this situation perfectly. My guess is that after doing his homework he decided that Gortat would be a valuable pickup, but wasn't worth the full MLE. But since MOST NBA teams overpay for talent, DM figured someone would be offering him at least the MLE, if not more. So Morey decided it would be worth a shot to show up at the guy's house at midnight, the very first minute he was allowed, and try to bowl the guy over with how VERY VERY MUCH the team wants him, how much he's our guy, etc. And maybe, just maybe, Gortat (like Ariza) thinks, "I want to go to this team because they want me so much," and hopefully decides to tell his agent to get it done quickly. Of course, it didn't work, but it was worth a shot. As for Gortat being worth the full MLE, that's the kind of thinking CD was doing when he signed Moochie, Kato, Mo Taylor, etc. and left the team with little room to maneuver for several years. No thanks. I'd rather the GM err on the side of caution for 2nd and 3rd-tier players than to overpay them. Overpay the guys who can make a BIG difference.
