How impressive is Daryl Morey

[CoachBo]

Morey is definitely impressive.  He hasn't drafted a bust yet, and he's made smart free agent signings and trades.

The deals today, in my mind, were excellent.  I saw people suggesting that Morey overpaid by giving up Landry for Martin, and I just don't understand that.

Mind-boggling, isn't it?

Morey is one of the best, if not the best, GMs in the league. I'm always impressed by his body of work.

[thebirdman]

Too bad we lost this guy. But I guess he was too good not to be head GM somewhere...


He is really doing a nice job. And all of you saying they don`t have a superstar, Morey already said they are going after one this summer!

He definitely has the assets (expiring contracts, young players, picks..) to make a sign and trade for someone like Amare, Bosh...

[ssspence]

Morey has been spectacular but I'm not sure he wins a ring with Yao Ming there.

That team is still a move away (an impact player) from being able to win the West. So, I'm still dubious about their ability to win a title with Yao.

  Do you see them winning a ring without him? They'd still be at least 1-2 stars away from contending.

I don't think Houston should trade Yao ... just that they are still far away from a title and he's not getting any younger or healthier.

I feel like it's a short window to put a title contender on the floor. At least with Yao as their franchise player.

The Rockets should absolutely continue to build around Yao for the foreseeable future. Yao gives them their best chance at winning a title over the next 3-4 years.

And then once Yao's game fades, like you said, the Rockets would still be 1-2 stars away from fielding another contender.

So the years directly after Yao's decline look difficult for Morey as well. So I think there's a strong chance Morey goes the next 7-8 years without winning a ring.

We'll see if he manages to land another impact player to play alongside Yao (their lottery pick + depth + Jeffries expiring contract could make a good trade package this summer). I think that's his best chance to win a title throughout that stretch.

Have a look at their future commitments:

http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/rockets.jsp

pretty clean. an 8 year prediction may be a bit bold.

The cap flexibility doesn't matter. Houston won't have enough cap space to add a third star to Yao Ming + Kevin Martin and won't be able to acquire an elite player via free agency if Yao Ming isn't there.

If Houston signs Yao Ming to another contract extension on a 3-4 year deal at $15+ million per year they'll be locked into that team for the next five years trying to win a title. And that is exactly what they should do.

If they fail to capitalize on that 5 year window ... then they'll need to rebuild and that will take a few years itself. At that point Morey will have been with the Rockets for a decade and not won a championship.

-----------------------------------------------------

The Rockets have an opportunity to win a title with Yao Ming as their franchise player. It's there, it's real, it's attainable.

I just don't like their odds due to Yao's injuries + age ... and their competition in the West (Lakers, Blazers, and the up and coming Thunder).

I think they're quite likely to fail. They have a chance but it's small chance.

wrong, their flexibility does matter (talk about a poor blanket statement, particularly considering the potential hard cap coming).

I disagree about their ability to add a player thru or after yao. they can either trade him (teams will line up for the revenue opportunity) or sign a key FA in 2011 -- players like houston (warm, tax free income, etc).

ask yourself this -- would toronto accept a s-and-t of yao for bosh if chris wanted to go to houston? don't think it won't come up.

  Would Bosh and Kevin Martin scare anyone? All they need on top of that is a franchise player.

Name a single GM (other than Presti, who i also admire and who has used cap flexibility -- that which Who spurns for reasons that aren't relevant to this scenario but regardless make no sense whatsoever -- to constantly improve his team thru trades gathering players and picks) who wouldn't trade their core in one year for Brooks, Martin, Ariza, Bosh, Scola, Hill, Buddinger, Hayes, their 1st round pick in 2010, the Knicks pick in 2011, and their pick and the Knicks pick in 2012 with Morey making those picks.

[BballTim]

Morey has been spectacular but I'm not sure he wins a ring with Yao Ming there.

That team is still a move away (an impact player) from being able to win the West. So, I'm still dubious about their ability to win a title with Yao.

  Do you see them winning a ring without him? They'd still be at least 1-2 stars away from contending.

I don't think Houston should trade Yao ... just that they are still far away from a title and he's not getting any younger or healthier.

I feel like it's a short window to put a title contender on the floor. At least with Yao as their franchise player.

The Rockets should absolutely continue to build around Yao for the foreseeable future. Yao gives them their best chance at winning a title over the next 3-4 years.

And then once Yao's game fades, like you said, the Rockets would still be 1-2 stars away from fielding another contender.

So the years directly after Yao's decline look difficult for Morey as well. So I think there's a strong chance Morey goes the next 7-8 years without winning a ring.

We'll see if he manages to land another impact player to play alongside Yao (their lottery pick + depth + Jeffries expiring contract could make a good trade package this summer). I think that's his best chance to win a title throughout that stretch.

Have a look at their future commitments:

http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/rockets.jsp

pretty clean. an 8 year prediction may be a bit bold.

The cap flexibility doesn't matter. Houston won't have enough cap space to add a third star to Yao Ming + Kevin Martin and won't be able to acquire an elite player via free agency if Yao Ming isn't there.

If Houston signs Yao Ming to another contract extension on a 3-4 year deal at $15+ million per year they'll be locked into that team for the next five years trying to win a title. And that is exactly what they should do.

If they fail to capitalize on that 5 year window ... then they'll need to rebuild and that will take a few years itself. At that point Morey will have been with the Rockets for a decade and not won a championship.

-----------------------------------------------------

The Rockets have an opportunity to win a title with Yao Ming as their franchise player. It's there, it's real, it's attainable.

I just don't like their odds due to Yao's injuries + age ... and their competition in the West (Lakers, Blazers, and the up and coming Thunder).

I think they're quite likely to fail. They have a chance but it's small chance.

wrong, their flexibility does matter (talk about a poor blanket statement, particularly considering the potential hard cap coming).

I disagree about their ability to add a player thru or after yao. they can either trade him (teams will line up for the revenue opportunity) or sign a key FA in 2011 -- players like houston (warm, tax free income, etc).

ask yourself this -- would toronto accept a s-and-t of yao for bosh if chris wanted to go to houston? don't think it won't come up.

  Would Bosh and Kevin Martin scare anyone? All they need on top of that is a franchise player.

Name a single GM (other than Presti, who i also admire and who has used cap flexibility -- that which Who spurns for reasons that aren't relevant to this scenario but regardless make no sense whatsoever -- to constantly improve his team thru trades gathering players and picks) who wouldn't trade their core in one year for Brooks, Martin, Ariza, Bosh, Scola, Hill, Buddinger, Hayes, their 1st round pick in 2010, the Knicks pick in 2011, and their pick and the Knicks pick in 2012 with Morey making those picks.

  I'm not sure what that has to do with my question.

[sk7326]

Morey has been terrific showing that a smart, quant focused front office has a place in basketball.  Don't just have to be an ex-ballplayer to be a smart GM. 

[Who]

ssspence,

I have two more questions

First Part

Luis Scola + Kyle Lowry are free agents this summer. Aaron Brooks is a free agent the next summer.

Do you think Houston should sign them? If so, how much do you think they will cost to keep? And do you think Morey will resign them?

Now, add those salaries + Kevin Martin + draft picks + current salaries on their payroll. How much cap space to the Rockets have in 2011 and 2012?

Second Part

Do you think the Rockets should build around Yao Ming? And do you think Morey will continue to build around Yao, give him a new contract extension?

If not, how do you think the Rockets replace him? Free agency or a trade?

Do you choose not to resign the above players to maximize free agency opportunities? Do you sign the above players to have a supporting cast on the team following a prospective trade? Or to include in a trade to better your offer?