Today on 790 Morey gave his first interview since the devastating 72 hours that began on Friday. You can read decent recaps of it and the discussion in the other thread about it. However, with a few statements, Daryl Morey laid out his doctrine more clearly than he ever has and with that doctrine laid out, I think we can look at his statements and this team with very clear eyes. Morey Doctrine: You need three elite elite players to win a title with very few exceptions throughout history. That was the doctrine stated plain and simply. Here was statement 2: We are betting on Harden/Howard. You can criticize us for that, but we are betting on them. Obviously, this is the Harden/Howard era. We know that. Paraphrased statement 3. If we matched Chandler Parsons contract, that would be our team. Either Parsons/Harden/Howard wins the title or Harden/Howard core never would. He didn't say statement 3 quite so bluntly, but that's what he was saying. No flexibility with the Parsons contract meant either you won with Parsons being the 3rd best player on your team or you never won. Hearing those statements gave me clear eyes on both this offseason and the window we have. We are right back where we were with Yao/Tracy before the injuries. We have two stars but no third star. However, there is a big difference. This time we have a smart GM who will hopefully get more time to work with Harden/Howard than he did with Yao/Tracy. (Remember that this is offseason 1 with Harden/Howard together.) We also have better pieces around them in Jones and Beverly, not to mention that Ariza is finally getting his chance to be a complimentary wing piece to a big 2. We also have a guaranteed lottery pick. That's our reality. We have two good players and we have to get a 3rd. We couldn't lock ourselves into Chandler Parsons and hope he became that 3rd player because if he didn't, the window would nearly slam shut on us before we ever had a chance to win a thing. So there you have it. Do you agree with the Morey Doctrine in principal and do you believe that Morey can take us to the promised land?
You need 3 stars to win. Okay. But... who out there even has 3 stars right now? Is Ibaka a star? Is Deandre Jordan? I get wanting the 3rd guy... but seriously, who even has that? If Morey's philosophy is true and rosters don't change, the only possible title winner this year is the Thunder? Seriously?
Ibaka? Maybe not a slam dunk third star, but if Morey had the chance to add Ibaka to this team (assuming the role of the third star) and call this the core, would he do it? Short of another deal out there for a "real" star, I think he might. Point being that there is a gray area surrounding that third star, and given Ibaka's age and skill set, he might just barely fit that role. I think Parsons role was clearly the fourth guy.
The Morey doctrine also says that you never let an asset walk without getting an asset in return. What Morey says is true, but the point that's getting lost in the shuffle is this- This situation never had to happen in the first place if Morey had the foresight to see this coming. They had to see the Hayward contract coming, and known that Parsons was going to get overpaid by someone. That was a fact. There was no reason to let him out of his contract early. If you think Parsons is eventually going to walk than you pick up his team option, and trade him next year in his final year. SOMEONE would have given the Rockets something for a year or half a year rental of Parsons & the upper hand in resigning him with his bird rights. Never let an asset go for nothing back in return.... THAT should be the real Morey doctrine. What Morey is saying now makes sense, but the fact is, it was completely avoidable in the first place. Morey should have been smarter than that.
I would have matched Parsons and then traded for a PF like Nene. A Harden/Howard combo is good enough without taking chances like this. We have a limited window and it doesn't makes sense to take steps backward especially considering Howard can leave.
I think the Morey doctrine is "don't get hamstrung". We endured enough years of the mediocrity hamster wheel to understand you can't get locked in with no chance to change. Look at the Knicks and Nets for the examples to avoid.
Actually a player like Nene is probably gettable if he's actually available. If the Wizards are hypothetically not contenders, I'm sure they would trade Nene for a good draft pick and cap space. However, saying something like "a player like Nene" ignores the fact that Nene is probably not available right now. You can say "a player like" but who is the player that is available?
I voted I disagree with his doctrine, but I don't want a new leader, I want him to realize that he needs to adjust his plan. DD
How about the other components to the Morey Doctrine? Namely, drafting the Chandlers rather than being the ones to pay them aka the Spurs plan? I feel like this is just as telling and may be a point of contention. Don't forget, Harden is now the longest tenured Rocket
Harden/Howard/Parsons. No cap space. No other great players affordable due to the 3 max salaries...no thank you. It isn't his fault Cuban signed CP to a RIDICULOUS contract. I'm sorry, I love Parsons, but he is NOT a franchise player and cannot carry us to a title IF we only have Howard and Harden and draft picks/vet min players. SO good move
The Rockets have been to the finals four times, and they have won two championships since 1981. This is better than most of the teams in the NBA. The Rockets never had three superstars on any of those teams. The Bulls didn't have three superstars. Rodman wasn't a superstar. Detroit won some championships without three superstars. Dallas won a championship without three superstars. Many teams have won championships without three superstars. TWO SUPERSTAR PLAYERS IS ENOUGH.
I agree with his Doctrine. I want him to lead us into victory. Moneyball wont win a championship, but Moreyball just might! In Morey I trust. We still have all season to get our 3rd star (trade deadline) and who knows what will come from here to the start of the season. We got Harden right before the season started, Morey is a Wizard.
chasing the mythical 3rd superstar will get daryl wacked if he keeps missing. Lex is not a very patient man especially if he sees any of the guys that were let go succeeding elsewhere. I don't agree with that doctrine, but we can only observe.
Morey never said superstars, he said elite. We don't know quite how to quantify what that means, but considering he thinks Bosh is elite when most on this board don't, I'd say it's not the same as what we do. Also, he was ready to pair Gasol and Nene thinking they would be an elite frontcourt. I bet he would tell you that Rodman fits his definition of elite. Rodman was an elite defender and rebounder, way better at both than Parsons is at offense. If Morey could add prime Rodman to the team I bet he would do it. He also considers Dirk still elite which most hear disagree with. edit: spelling
i agree with the doctrine. though it leaves us high-n-dry now... by the trade deadline one of these top tier players will shake loose. we're not the jazz. we don't have to overplay for players.
Morey was right in saying that if he had signed CP then we would not see the championship. If no chance then why do it?
Morey needs to be open to the concept of Team and you place complimentary players around the core 2. Duncan/Parker, Pippen/Jordan, Wade/James,etc.... What stats are being use to confirm that you require 3 superstars to win. I guess he's basing it on Garnett, Pierce, and Allen 1 title. Is he telling us that we are just trying to make the playoffs next year and hopes to swing big and land that stretch 4 or PG again. Why don't you focus on putting a team together that grows through adversity and develops chemistry. Anyone that has played competitive sports realizes that we play better when we play with people we like and have grown together. Morey will fall flat on his face with the mixing and matching every summer and expecting McFail to produce a winner. GOH with that philosophy!!! Give me the teams from 93-94 and 94-95 that where true Clutch City Teams built through getting our arse's whipped by Seattle, San Antonio, and Utah consistently.
Was Artest elite? debatable, he was impactful though and filled in the holes we had at the time The 2009 lineup was the most balanced, closest thing to a championship Morey has ever assembled. Injury killed the championship chance but Morey should model this team after that one Yao/Mutombu Scola/Landry Artest/Battier Tmac/Battier/Wafer Rafer/Brooks --> Brooks/Lowry this is what Morey should aim for again, not gutting everyone on the team for one max player every summer
Might as well repost my question from the radio thread. Maybe my memory is fuzzy, but where does this notion that you must have 3 elite players (read: max) to win come from? Seems like you need to go back and include the 80s for it to (barely) be the norm. So the 80s Celtics and Lakers had their 3 (don't think Worthy was around for the first few?). Then the Pistons? Don't tell me it was Lambeer. Then the Bulls? Horace Grant? Lol. We all know the Rockets didn't (and how we failed with two iterations of our big 3). Then the Bulls again, and I suppose The Worm was good enough to be it, but no one was tripping over themselves to give him the max. Then the Spurs*? Lakers? Pistons? Heat (first championship)? Lakers? Mavs? This year's Spurs? So really it's only been the Spurs for a couple years (never repeated, and I don't think they were ever 3 max players), Celtics (one and done) and The Super Friends. How is it now The Rule you need to have 3 max players to have a shot at the title? Just because the Thunder couldn't get out of the conference? But look at who beat them. Or is Morey saying our two need a third (which is kind of a diss if you ask me).
