I don't know if this topic has been brought up on other threads--actually I'm sure it has in some form or another--but I would like to answer one of the arguments directed against the Morey Homers, of which I guess I would be a member if you just threw a blanket over a ton of random people and needed a label to define them with. You say that we are happy with whatever moves Morey makes regardless of the outcome, but this is incorrect. I think many Clutchfans myself included will concur that we were unhappy with the direction the team took last year. It was an extended year of mediocrity with the supporting cast from the Yao Era, and we delayed our rebuilding project a year. A LOT of us, Clutch included, expressed our dissatisfaction at this course, and many people took it a step further to blame the owner for handcuffing management into trying to stay competitive in the face of logic. Like the Astros circa 2006-2011. It's unfair to call us "homers" for not criticizing Morey, because we did during this time. As frustrated as we were then, however, we are happy now, because the team DID go into full blown rebuilding mode. Does anyone want to venture a guess as to who is the longest tenured Rocket on the roster? Yep, none other than the Expiring Contract Formerly Known As Kevin Martin. I dunno about the others who are happy with the current status of the team, but I for one feel like I've been consistent in my opinion in wishing for this to happen. Last year we were grumpy at the desperate hanging-on of the franchise to tread-water vets like Luis Scola and Chuck Hayes (in fact I was happy to see Hayes go, regardless of how much money he was paid). Now that we have a team full of young players with upside (+ one Jeremy Lin, a guaranteed Face of the Franchise to sell tickets, host the All-Star Game, and maintain a decent bandwagon fanbase), we can finally lose enough to get a superstar next year while building up the abilities of our "supporting cast", guys who might one day be fringe all-star in quality to provide our future superstar with a championship supporting cast. No, I'd say I've been consistent. If anything it's the "impartial fans", or those I like to call "Morey Haters", who have shifted their positions year to year. Last year they might have criticized Morey for refusing to blow it up (or get Amare or Pau Gasol, whatever). This year they're criticizing him for deciding to tank (or not get Dwight Howard, again, ). Actually the only constant I see in these people is that they like to bash Morey. It's not a good comparison, but I like to think of our current Rockets administration like the current Texans' one led by Rick Smith. Both came into power at around the same time, both were rookie GM's, both had a LOT of on-the-job learning to do, and personally I feel like both have gotten better each year, especially in the parts of the job that entail negotiation and poise and public relations. I was one of those that wanted to clean house after 2009 and 2010, with year after disappointing year. What we learned in the past year though is that, you don't want to give up too early on these guys. Just like a professional athlete has a prime, so too does a general manager. You take a guy like Daryl Morey, what he was always good at was scouting, be it finding guys late in the draft or finding cheap vets to complement our superstars. Now in the past year or two without Yao I think he's learned the other parts of the job. Just like Bob McNair was right in not giving up on Rick Smith too early, I think it's our job now not to give up too early on Morey. I might eat my words later if our rookies don't pan out, or if we never get that high lotto pick, or if we trade the farm for Dwight who subsequently dumps us and leaves us with a boatload of Orlando's bad contracts. But for now, a fig for thee O Morey Hater! Yea this didn't need to be a new thread. Whatever.
I'm actually ok with this thread (for whatever that's worth), because it has been somewhat of a tireless argument amongst the "Morey backers" and the "Maury Haters". Everyone was bashing him for not taking us in a specific direction whether it be up (trading for XXX the superstar) or going down (full all out re-building) (Possible Homer statement coming) But I actually believe that this off-season so far has been full of extremely good, refreshing, and most importantly flexible moves. Much has been made of the Asik, and Lin deals, but in actuality those moves give us the flexibility to be a high lottery team (with no more changes) or a decent playoff team (by trading for D12, Bynum, etc.) pending on what our next move is. Because as bad off as this team could potentially be this season I still think our starting C and starting PG are better than Miami's. Which in my mind is the exact definition of NBA flexibility! So all we need to do now is trade for LeBron James and we can be in the championship as well :grin:
I hate when people label me a Morey homer, when in reality, I'm voicing my opinion based solely on his transactions. In my opinion the good far outweighs the bad. People like to ignore the fact that we suffered two massive injuries which not only ruined a championship caliber squad(don't know how anyone can debate this) but severely hampered our flexibility ultimately until last year. The criticism stems from either unrealistic expectations and impatience with the squad, (some people believe it is their god given right to be in contention every single year, even with massive implications due to injury which were only very recently absolved. Further, they fail to recognize the other 25 or so teams floundering to become contenders, many of which in a much worse financial situation) or just a general lack of knowledge about the team. (Why did we signed Brad Miller to play starting center, without acknowledging the fact that Yao was on the roster and had actually started the season that year. How come we traded for Johnny Flynn or Hasheem Thabeet, without realizing that they were merely throw-in's in larger deals.) I appreciate the analogy to the Texans. If I'm such a homer to Houston organizations that I blindly follow the teams into oblivion, then how come I was so adamantly against Charlie Casserly? Aside from "reeling the big fish" which is quite frankly a little overblown for numerous reasons, I would take Morey over Dawson any day of the week. I'm sure many others here would as well. For those who are adamantly against Morey, I'm sure many were not around long enough to realize what poor management actually is. You simply have to look at the year "Morey haters" (really don't like using this word, but some people are absolutely ridiculous) joined. Most of them are very, very recent.
The Morey "haters" are all expecting results..... nothing less than an NBA championship.... You know, if there are no results, then he isn't doing his job and should be fired..... Sometimes checking out the justifications the "haters" give against Morey makes for an amusing and light-hearted reading session...
the "Moray Homers" don't exist but if they did Spacemoth is their spokesperson & author of their manifesto. got it.
I think Morey haters are more vocal than Morey homers on this board. I consider myself a true impartial fan.
Morey didn't want to rebuild last year because of Les. I thought everybody knew that. Les hates losing and I respect that. I think Les finally woke up to reality and I'm sure Morey did his best to convince him. Honestly, I don't understand how every Rocket fan doesn't love Morey. 95 pct of his moves have made the team better. No GM is out-working Morey. We know he's never sitting on his hands. As for Daryl the person, it's great to a GM who will get on the radio and on the internet and talk to us. He will call a season ticket holder personally. He's funny, engaging, self deprecating, and available. As a fan, how can you ask for anything more in your GM? If TMac and Yao had stayed healthy, he had put the supporting cast around them to make us a championship contender. He then had to deal with an almost impossible rebuilding process. His moves kept us above .500 for 3 yrs despite having no Superstars & little cap room because of what happened to the stars we had. Bottom line... if you were Daryl Morey, given the owner you worked for and the circumstances given, what more could honestly have done?
You can tell the Morey-homers from the impartial fans by the way they use reason to make their points and the way they spell the word 'complement' (not 'compliment').
I guess I could write a manifesto but it would be even more tl;dr than this post. Actually, no, no it wouldn't. Here's the MOF Manifesto in one word or less:
Also about the Morey meme...look at the players in the back. Brooks, Battier, "Thunder Thighs" Bonzi, I think I even spy Rafer Alston and Luther Head in the back. Remember those days?
Nice article! I am sorta a closet Morey fan, not wanting to get in front of the title wave of discontent. But Morey has outdone himself this off season. But I will say that the Morey haters have taken a backseat in th last few weeks.
We're all expecting results. A week or two ago I was wondering .... WTF is this guy doing , letting Dragic go , trading Lowry and betting on NYk not matching Lin. (for the record , I think Dragic is the best of those three players). Evaluating the results also means evaluating the situation. -Losing two superstars in Yao and McGrady. - one losing record in the past 8 seasons. Thats not a championship but its better results than many NBA franchises .... but not the ultimate goal. - evaluate each transaction Morey has made. I think he's come out on top in all but two - Twill trade & signing Ariza which he remedied in a hurry by moving Ariza for Lee , a better player on a cheaper contract. Twill on the other hand was a risk worth taking .... Low risk with a lotto protected pick (that may end up being a 2nd rounder) Vs high reward had he turned out .... Each transaction he's made has either gained an asset or increased the teams flexability .... And he's kept the team competetive while doing so , something that only teams like the Lakers can pull off since they are a magnet for stars. OKC and Miami cant boast that accomplishment .... Morey's problem is that there are so few star players and those players dont become available very often. He's never been able to close the deal on that signature player ... but thats really thru no fault of his own. The players have had a say in each of those situations .... I'd rather play in Miami too .... to be honest. Overall , I think he's done a very good job thus far , its like he transformed a 2-7 offsuit into an open ended draw on a straight flush. So many ways he can win the hand ... Just needs a little cooperation from the river card. The Howard situation is unique , mainly because Howard has stated his desired destination and wont extend with other teams. He's decimated his value to the Magic by doing so .... Yet the Magic still seem to believe they are owed a kings ransom just for giving a team the opportunity to convince Howard to stay beyond a one year rental. Also the new GM in Orlando is in a no win situation with the fans .... Cant squeeze enough out of teams for Howard knowing he'll bolt but cant give him away for what those teams will offer without pissing off the fans leaving him with an empty arena. So he's afraid to pull the trigger ....
do people forget we were a PLAYOFF team for 7/8's of the season? we WERE a good team. no, not a championship contender, but last year, only 3 teams realistically were (mia, spurs, okc...not putting the bulls because they play too bipolar with and without rose) we were the 5th seed for a while...thats pretty darn good for the cast we had. thats a great way to land a superstar, too. maybe dwight wouldve wanted to come here if we did make the playoffs. you cant be mad at your team for trying to be good. for some reason, only in basketball is that the skewed mindset. we starting flopping chemistry wise once we started integrating lowry back into the lineup, but ppl are acting as if we were mediocure all year. we were a good team. we ha d quality wins on the road, in OKC, in LAL, in other places. all without a star, true, but thats how you get a star to want to play here. BY WINNING. i swear...some rockets fans are pathetic. if you dont want to cheer for your team than GTFO
also, it doesnt matter how many morey haters are on this forum. the job is rightfully morey's and he isnt getting fired any time soon. if you want to abondon ship, than do so....but quit crying over spilt milk. the rockets have gotten F'ed with injuries more than any team and on par with the blazers. its not easy to recoup from. but if any GM can do it, its morey.
Meanwhile... Dog balloon: It doesn't add substance to this thread or has any relevancy. But, it's a dog balloon, man.
