66 replies to this topic

[dkh750il]

It seems like Morey does not have a overall vision of this championship team. Wheels are spinning but where are we going?

If we must trade our assets (players) then it should go with the vision of what this team needs- but it appears that Morey just "swings for the fences" not providing an overall strategy. Here are some of my examples:

1. clearly if the games vs trailblazers are any indication- we need a better coaching staff. No plays after critical timeouts, or worse, the standard Harden dribble down the clock and heave a last second 3, no screens, no ball movement. Can you say that the Rockets are using D12 correctly? Or is anyone holding Harden to account on D? Players need to be inspired, and held to account, and to believe in the system .

2. No front office/coaching teamwork- I remember in the 12-13 season when Morris/Patterson/Aldridge was traded- They asked McHale about it and he just shrugged his shoulders and said he can only work with the team he has and not the team he wants. Does Morey consult with his coaching staff with changes or just drops a hammer like a dictator?

3. Is there a vision for a team? I mean we went after Melo/Bosh/LeBron etc. Melo is not a fit for us- 2 ball dominant players do not work! When you look at teams like OKC/CLIPPERS/SPURS/BLAZERS there is team chemistry! We are always saying how people don't fit- i.e. LIN/ASIK- this is the fault of the front office, not the players.

[uojoe82]

Just heard that Darryl Morey is getting a divorce. He said he would like to gain some flexibility to chase Victoria Secret models.

[rockets best fan]

@sax

WELCOME TO THE FORUM  Parsons could have been extended, but was due to gain more in FA. so the chance he would choose that path is slim

[dkh750il]

"Just heard that Darryl Morey is getting a divorce. He said he would like to gain some flexibility to chase Victoria Secret models."

LOL. I almost took that seriously for a moment.

[rocketrick]

It seems like Morey does not have a overall vision of this championship team. Wheels are spinning but where are we going?
If we must trade our assets (players) then it should go with the vision of what this team needs- but it appears that Morey just "swings for the fences" not providing an overall strategy. Here are some of my examples:
1. clearly if the games vs trailblazers are any indication- we need a better coaching staff. No plays after critical timeouts, or worse, the standard Harden dribble down the clock and heave a last second 3, no screens, no ball movement. Can you say that the Rockets are using D12 correctly? Or is anyone holding Harden to account on D? Players need to be inspired, and held to account, and to believe in the system .
2. No front office/coaching teamwork- I remember in the 12-13 season when Morris/Patterson/Aldridge was traded- They asked McHale about it and he just shrugged his shoulders and said he can only work with the team he has and not the team he wants. Does Morey consult with his coaching staff with changes or just drops a hammer like a dictator?
3. Is there a vision for a team? I mean we went after Melo/Bosh/LeBron etc. Melo is not a fit for us- 2 ball dominant players do not work! When you look at teams like OKC/CLIPPERS/SPURS/BLAZERS there is team chemistry! We are always saying how people don't fit- i.e. LIN/ASIK- this is the fault of the front office, not the players.

Aldridge? The Rockets had Aldridge in 2012-13 season and traded him? That was so horrible I guess I forgot.

Sorry, I totally disagree with your take on certain people like Lin/Asik who clearly don't fit with Harden and D12. ---Sigh--- I guess some people will just never get it. So blame the Coaches and front office for Lin and Asik inability to fit with this team.

None of us are saying Lin and Asik are bad players. The fact is quite the opposite. They are solid NBA players. Unfortunate timing in that they came before Harden and D12. Otherwise, they likely would have never been here to begin with.

Time to move on.

[Cooper]

It seems like Morey does not have a overall vision of this championship team. Wheels are spinning but where are we going?

If we must trade our assets (players) then it should go with the vision of what this team needs- but it appears that Morey just "swings for the fences" not providing an overall strategy. Here are some of my examples:

1. clearly if the games vs trailblazers are any indication- we need a better coaching staff. No plays after critical timeouts, or worse, the standard Harden dribble down the clock and heave a last second 3, no screens, no ball movement. Can you say that the Rockets are using D12 correctly? Or is anyone holding Harden to account on D? Players need to be inspired, and held to account, and to believe in the system .

2. No front office/coaching teamwork- I remember in the 12-13 season when Morris/Patterson/Aldridge was traded- They asked McHale about it and he just shrugged his shoulders and said he can only work with the team he has and not the team he wants. Does Morey consult with his coaching staff with changes or just drops a hammer like a dictator?

3. Is there a vision for a team? I mean we went after Melo/Bosh/LeBron etc. Melo is not a fit for us- 2 ball dominant players do not work! When you look at teams like OKC/CLIPPERS/SPURS/BLAZERS there is team chemistry! We are always saying how people don't fit- i.e. LIN/ASIK- this is the fault of the front office, not the players.

All the teams you mentioned with "good chemistry" have two ball dominate players.

[timetodienow1234567]

1) losing Lin will not be addition by subtraction unless you're talking about this board... Lol.

2) Asik was not negligible, unless you completely throw out the Blazers series.

[Derik K]

I've never posted on any of these things before, but I had to create an account just to address something that's really been bugging me. I keep hearing and reading, from even seemingly intelligent and rational analysts like Rahat, words such as "blunder" and "miscalculation" when address Morey's decisions this offseason.
This is to suggest there is no luck whatsoever that goes into building a championship team. But I know that no one would argue that. Of course there is luck. Player injuries. Draft lottery placement. And in our case, waffling and stunning reverses by a star player that was pretty much committed to us.
So I'll make the poker analogy, as you have done a couple times, Rahat. Yes, Morey pushed all his chips in and lost. But when a professional poker player gets it all in with the best hand, and the other player sucks out by hitting a 4-outer, do the analysts say the pro made a blunder or a miscalculation? No of course not, he played it well and got unlucky.
So, why in God's name do we keep saying this about Morey? Is David Griffin a better GM than Morey because he god Lebron?? No, of course not. Because he got lucky.

[thejohnnygold]

Ha, uojoe82--if you look at those 3 rosters and think ours is the worst then that's all I need to know.  Dallas has two of New York's starters from last year--does that sound like success?  Raymond Felton....

 

 

We all like Tyson Chandler, but he can barely stay healthy and is not the player he was a few years ago.  That being said, he's still better than anyone they had last year.

 

The Pellies?  If you ignore medical history then yes, that's a good looking team.  Not sure I'd put them ahead of Houston yet.  Once you realize they have no depth and are an Eric Gordon injury (seriously, shouldn't we all be going to Vegas and betting on that?) and an Anthony Davis wrist fracture (he falls down a lot) away from watching Tyreke Evans take 30 shots a game while Jrue Holiday's head explodes once he realizes that Asik can't handle his passes.  Oh, and Ryan Anderson....what do they do with him and his broken neck?

[Alituro]

I thought they might all be gone by now.
 

Alas, that is not the case

 

Wait until the press conferences and player intros on the west coast then maybe they'll make like Dobie Gray..

[dkh750il]

"All the teams you mentioned with "good chemistry" have two ball dominate players."

I think it helps when just one of the ball dominant players is the pg.

westbrook, lillard, cp3, parker

[Mario Peña]

It seems like Morey does not have a overall vision of this championship team. Wheels are spinning but where are we going?

If we must trade our assets (players) then it should go with the vision of what this team needs- but it appears that Morey just "swings for the fences" not providing an overall strategy. Here are some of my examples:

1. clearly if the games vs trailblazers are any indication- we need a better coaching staff. No plays after critical timeouts, or worse, the standard Harden dribble down the clock and heave a last second 3, no screens, no ball movement. Can you say that the Rockets are using D12 correctly? Or is anyone holding Harden to account on D? Players need to be inspired, and held to account, and to believe in the system .

2. No front office/coaching teamwork- I remember in the 12-13 season when Morris/Patterson/Aldridge was traded- They asked McHale about it and he just shrugged his shoulders and said he can only work with the team he has and not the team he wants. Does Morey consult with his coaching staff with changes or just drops a hammer like a dictator?

3. Is there a vision for a team? I mean we went after Melo/Bosh/LeBron etc. Melo is not a fit for us- 2 ball dominant players do not work! When you look at teams like OKC/CLIPPERS/SPURS/BLAZERS there is team chemistry! We are always saying how people don't fit- i.e. LIN/ASIK- this is the fault of the front office, not the players.

 

 

 

These are some of the worst ideas I have ever seen posted on this forum. I suggest you move to another forum asap or just stop posting and start reading and learn from posters here, please.

[rocketrick]

I've never posted on any of these things before, but I had to create an account just to address something that's really been bugging me. I keep hearing and reading, from even seemingly intelligent and rational analysts like Rahat, words such as "blunder" and "miscalculation" when address Morey's decisions this offseason.
This is to suggest there is no luck whatsoever that goes into building a championship team. But I know that no one would argue that. Of course there is luck. Player injuries. Draft lottery placement. And in our case, waffling and stunning reverses by a star player that was pretty much committed to us.
So I'll make the poker analogy, as you have done a couple times, Rahat. Yes, Morey pushed all his chips in and lost. But when a professional poker player gets it all in with the best hand, and the other player sucks out by hitting a 4-outer, do the analysts say the pro made a blunder or a miscalculation? No of course not, he played it well and got unlucky.
So, why in God's name do we keep saying this about Morey? Is David Griffin a better GM than Morey because he god Lebron?? No, of course not. Because he got lucky.

Hey Derik, Welcome to the Red94 Forum and a lot of us would be happy to see you contribute more often when you have the time and compunction (is that the word I'm looking for here?)........

I pretty much agree with your poker assessment. I think Rahat is thinking about the additional 1-year of Parsons that the Rockets could have had this season if they had chosen the team option for this season and allowed the Rockets 1 additional year of what is likely the most cap friendly contract in the league for a quality player like Parsons. And who knows how things would have turned out after that although I am of the mind Parsons would have then been gone after next season. It's all conjecture at this point.

Still, I think your poker assessment is a good analogy and I am glad Morey played his hand, so to speak. For 5 hours last Friday the Rockets had the best starting tandem in the NBA. Alas, Bosh chose the Miami lifestyle and money over a chance at additional rings.

[Cooper]

I get that there's a lot of luck involved, if bosh commits and we match parsons no one thinks twice about making him rfa this year. But the only reason you do that is to keep him long term and we didn't. There was done precedent to parsons value coming into the offseason. Hayward turned Down a big extension from the jazz because he thought he could get max or very near max money. You could argue he's a little better than parsons but there at least in the same range. Maybe he leaves next year or maybe not but we could have had him for cheap and the same cap space we do now to still add a guy then maybe morey and crew are willing to pay more to keep parsons around and make a serious playoff run or two.

[rocketrick]

However, even by keeping Parsons this season then re-signing him would constrict what the Rockets would have been able to accomplish with the Salary Cap and the CBA Rules.

On Mark Berman's radio show earlier today, Parsons is quoted saying that he believes he is now a Max Franchise Player and he wanted to treated right now as a Max Franchise Player. That doesn't point to a player that is willing to sign a "friendly" contract with the Rockets, instead he would have chosen free agency under any circumstance in my opinion. Only if Bosh had chosen to come to Houston...................

I'm alright with the $15 million per year Parsons is getting, although probably 20% too high, but it was the poison pill contract that pointed Parsons to Dallas. Parsons effectively would have been non-tradeable and would have had a player option in 2016, the same season as D12. Both have the same Agent.

The Rockets would have been severely limited in acquiring the right role players in my estimation by committing the next 3 seasons to the Big 3 of D12, Harden and Parsons. Very likely would have turned out to be a similar result as in Orlando in 2009 especially after the Rockets pay Beverley at the end of this season.

Edited by rocketrick, 14 July 2014 - 09:34 PM.

[Derik K]

Yes, it would have been nice to have Parsons one more year, for under a million, in hindsight. But, when we were on the verge of signing Bosh, and then, presumably, bringing back Parsons, no one was saying it was a blunder that they declined their option on him. But because Bosh apparently went back on his word and pulled a 180, now it's a blunder for Morey? Because of us being unlucky in not getting Bosh? That's my point. I think Morey put us in the best place to form a super team, and got unlucky. Doesn't make the original decision a mistake.

[rockets best fan]

@Derik K

totally agree..............rare for a new comer to have your insight 

[rocketrick]

Which is why Derik needs to come back to Red94 and continue to contribute!

So with the Rockets signing Capela and Troy Daniels today, here is the current roster as I see it:

D12
Harden
Beverley
TJones
Ariza
Motiejunas
Troy Daniels
Nick Johnson
Isaah Canaan
Covington
Capela

I know there are a couple of others with non-guaranteed contracts like Josh Powell but I'm not certain any of the NGC's as I call them will make the final roster. Perhaps some will compete for a chance in pre-season.

Assuming the Rockets don't trade any of the 11 players listed above, there is room for 4 additions. Not sure if Gentile will be signed this season, he may be a longer term prospect. LLuol remains interesting, too.

Thoughts???

[rocketrick]

Rockets needs:

Veteran PG backup
Veteran Backup C
Veteran backup Wing

Edited by rocketrick, 14 July 2014 - 10:47 PM.

[thejohnnygold]

I like it.  I am trying to not get too excited about Gentile....got a good feeling about him.  Jermaine O'Neal, Bernard James (if he's healthy), Greg Stiemsma are all decent pick-ups at center.  For PG....I don't know....Sessions and Bayless are available.