OT Daryl Morey stepping down as Rockets GM

[BigGameDamian]

 

[Sheldon Shape]

One of the rare moments I would be all for firing Olshey and getting Morey.

 

[lawai'a]

One of the rare moments I would be all for firing Olshey and getting Morey.

definitely someone not afraid to swing for the fences. maybe owner tilman fertitta said tear it down. rumors are his income streams outside of the rockets have been hammered by the virus. he layed off 70% of his employees early on in the pandemic. fortune tied heavily to restaurant and entertainment operations including vegas hotels and golden nugget casino. maybe trade opportunities coming as they try save on tax and expenses. they have committed to over $13o million in guaranteed player salaries for next season.

 

[julius]

Yeah, let's pass on him. All show, no go.

 

[B-Roy]

We should really bring him in. A fresh face with no attachment to the current group.

 

[tlongII]

Morey sucks.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

The only good thing Morey ever did is piss off China. And look where that got him.....

 

[Natebishop3]

One of the rare moments I would be all for firing Olshey and getting Morey.

He hasn't done squat to put the right talent around James Harden. What has he realistically done right since having Harden fall into his lap for a song? Pairing Harden with Paul was stupid. Pairing Harden with Westbrook was downright moronic.

 

[julius]

So we have fans who are upset that Olshey has created a salary cap issue, and now we have fans who want the team to hire the guy who has made *worse* salary cap issues?

Like, have you seen their contract situation? They have 2 players who are owed 265+ million over the next 3 seasons (conversely Portland owes 216 to CJ and Dame over the same time).

 

[riverman]

He was a lot like Trader Bob....go for marquis names and to hell with chemistry or costs...

 

[Pinwheel1]

Not saying this is a good strategy or a bad one........but the Rockets haven't taken a first-rounder in the Draft since 2015 (Sam Dekker). And they don't have one this year either unless they buy one

 

[HolyBackboard]

He hasn't done squat to put the right talent around James Harden. What has he realistically done right since having Harden fall into his lap for a song? Pairing Harden with Paul was stupid. Pairing Harden with Westbrook was downright moronic.

I loathe the current Rockets as much as the next person, but if we're being honest Houston likely wins a ring in 2018 if CP3 doesn't re-injure his hamstring, forcing him to miss Games 6 and 7 with Houston up 3-2. Even without Paul, it took a monumental collapse at home in Game 7 (27 missed 3's) for Golden State to advance.

The Russ trade was terrible, but again, we don't know who was calling for that move to be made ... Morey or management?

 

[RR7]

Morey has had Harden in Houston for as long as we have had Lillard here. Everyone bitches and moans about what we have here and what we've done. They've not achieved anything there either. They're in a worse salary position than we are. They have no youth at all to speak of. They had nobody under the age of 26 see any sort of meaningful minutes for them. They don't outright own all of their future picks. 2 years from now they owe 123 million dollars to just 5 players. They're a complete disaster, haven't achieved anything, and have nowhere to go, which is why Morey is bailing as quick as he can. He created a complete mess there. No chance I would take him here, regardless of my opinion of Olshey.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

I'm of the opinion that GMs, like coaches, tend to get stale. How many GMs around the league have been in the same job for 13 years or more?

As for Morey in particular - what is his career record vs Olshey's?

 

[B-Roy]

Morey has had Harden in Houston for as long as we have had Lillard here. Everyone bitches and moans about what we have here and what we've done. They've not achieved anything there either. They're in a worse salary position than we are. They have no youth at all to speak of. They had nobody under the age of 26 see any sort of meaningful minutes for them. They don't outright own all of their future picks. 2 years from now they owe 123 million dollars to just 5 players. They're a complete disaster, haven't achieved anything, and have nowhere to go, which is why Morey is bailing as quick as he can. He created a complete mess there. No chance I would take him here, regardless of my opinion of Olshey.

They are the only team in the west that has ever pushed the dynasty Warriors and could have conceivably beat them. That's way more than what we've done.

 

[blazerkor]

Morey isn't a great GM. That being said the comparisons on here about Houston's situation and ours isn't being portrayed accurately. They are in a worse spot with their cap and I don't think they have a better team but Russ makes a ton of that overspent money and is still a far far far more tradeable asset than our guy CJ. Team's will still think they can build around Russ. If I were a GM out there I would have no problem taking the team that Morey has left there. I think that like Olshey, Morey doesn't seem to care so much how pieces fit together as much as he just tries to put as many valuable pieces as he can on a roster. Another GM can go and take Russell Westbrook and translate him into better fitting pieces that still have close to the same value.

 

[Natebishop3]

Morey has had Harden in Houston for as long as we have had Lillard here. Everyone bitches and moans about what we have here and what we've done. They've not achieved anything there either. They're in a worse salary position than we are. They have no youth at all to speak of. They had nobody under the age of 26 see any sort of meaningful minutes for them. They don't outright own all of their future picks. 2 years from now they owe 123 million dollars to just 5 players. They're a complete disaster, haven't achieved anything, and have nowhere to go, which is why Morey is bailing as quick as he can. He created a complete mess there. No chance I would take him here, regardless of my opinion of Olshey.

I will also add that Houston is a much more appealing free agent destination than Portland, in terms of the city itself.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

He hasn't done squat to put the right talent around James Harden. What has he realistically done right since having Harden fall into his lap for a song? Pairing Harden with Paul was stupid. Pairing Harden with Westbrook was downright moronic.

Harden and Paul went 65-17 in 2017-18 before taking a 3-2 lead in the WCF against the Warriors before Paul got hurt. How was that stupid?

 

[Natebishop3]

Harden and Paul went 65-17 in 2017-18 before taking a 3-2 lead in the WCF against the Warriors before Paul got hurt. How was that stupid?

You answered your own question. He traded for an aging injury prone player, which ultimately bit them in the ass at the worst possible time.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

You answered your own question. He traded for an aging injury prone player, which ultimately bit them in the ass at the worst possible time.

What are you talking about? It improved them.

This attitude that if a GM or Coach doesn't win a championship so it's exactly the same as the results of a lottery team is just plain stupid. That's not how it works.

That's why D'antoni would be a HUGE improvement to Stotts. That's also why Morey would be an improvement to Olshey.

 

[RR7]

What are you talking about? It improved them.

This attitude that if a GM or Coach doesn't win a championship so it's exactly the same as the results of a lottery team is just plain stupid. That's not how it works.

That's why D'antoni would be a HUGE improvement to Stotts. That's also why Morey would be an improvement to Olshey.

But it's then fair to have those thoughts about Stotts and olshey?

 

[B-Roy]

But it's then fair to have those thoughts about Stotts and olshey?

I think the idea is that our results have not been nearly as good as the rockets, championship or otherwise.

 

[RR7]

I think the idea is that our results have not been nearly as good as the rockets, championship or otherwise.

I think most around the league would say harden is better than Dame. I think most would say paul/Westbrook is better than CJ. So I think one would expect them to have a minor bit of more success. But morey has failed to build a good enough team around harden to get them over the hump. And moving Paul for Westbrook made it worse. Similar to complaints about olshey failing to get us over the hump with dame. An extra series win or two still has them on the same treadmill people whine about us being on.

Grass is always greener...

 

[Pinwheel1]

I will also add that Houston is a much more appealing free agent destination than Portland, in terms of the city itself.

Exactly. There are certain cities that have a built-in advantage when it comes to free agency. The same reason why it makes sense for some teams to blow it up (i.e the Lakers) and stupid for other teams to do so. GM's benefit from this.

 

[blazerkor]

What are you talking about? It improved them.

This attitude that if a GM or Coach doesn't win a championship so it's exactly the same as the results of a lottery team is just plain stupid. That's not how it works.

That's why D'antoni would be a HUGE improvement to Stotts. That's also why Morey would be an improvement to Olshey.

What's funny is I'm pretty sure Olshey and Stotts got us to the Western Conference Finals and everyone in here acts like we're a lottery team. The truth is maybe I would want Morey and D'Antoni over Olshey and Stotts but I'll opt for answer C. None of the above. None of them seem to value defense and fit, they're all about offense and shiny toys. They also all seem to be gimmicky and not well rounded. D'Antoni runs teams in a way that has proven to win better in the regular season than the playoffs, Stotts plays his starters way too much all of the time and therefore never has a bench to rely on in case of injuries or in game slumps and neither guy gives a shit about defense. Morey likes flashy players and "changing the game" to the point that he might just opt for a square wheel, Olshey falls in love with "his guys" and never optimizes trade value and neither guy gives a shit about the way rosters fit together to compliment each other.

 

[lawai'a]

the dwight howard/harden pairing certainly left a lot to be desired.

He was a lot like Trader Bob....go for marquis names and to hell with chemistry or costs...

 

[RR7]

What's funny is I'm pretty sure Olshey and Stotts got us to the Western Conference Finals and everyone in here acts like we're a lottery team. The truth is maybe I would want Morey and D'Antoni over Olshey and Stotts but I'll opt for answer C. None of the above. None of them seem to value defense and fit, they're all about offense and shiny toys. They also all seem to be gimmicky and not well rounded. D'Antoni runs teams in a way that has proven to win better in the regular season than the playoffs, Stotts plays his starters way too much all of the time and therefore never has a bench to rely on in case of injuries or in game slumps and neither guy gives a shit about defense. Morey likes flashy players and "changing the game" to the point that he might just opt for a square wheel, Olshey falls in love with "his guys" and never optimizes trade value and neither guy gives a shit about the way rosters fit together to compliment each other.

Agreed on option C.
It is funny how it always seems a lot of people come up with excuses as to why we're lucky in anything successful we do(little success that there is), and how unlucky other teams are in their failures. But never seem to work the opposite.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

It is funny how some Blazer fans will (grudgingly) admit Olshey and Stotts may not be the best GM and coach in history, but they always have an excuse why every other GM and coach are worse.

 

[B-Roy]

I think most around the league would say harden is better than Dame. I think most would say paul/Westbrook is better than CJ. So I think one would expect them to have a minor bit of more success. But morey has failed to build a good enough team around harden to get them over the hump. And moving Paul for Westbrook made it worse. Similar to complaints about olshey failing to get us over the hump with dame. An extra series win or two still has them on the same treadmill people whine about us being on.

Grass is always greener...

Well he also made the moves to get Harden, and Paul. So that's less of a strike against him imo.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Exactly. There are certain cities that have a built-in advantage when it comes to free agency. The same reason why it makes sense for some teams to blow it up (i.e the Lakers) and stupid for other teams to do so. GM's benefit from this.

What big name free agents have Houston landed in the last 10 years? Dwight Howard? Anyone else?