UssjTrunks wrote:Morey was terrible until the Harden trade. Houston was the definition of a treadmill team. The Harden trade is the only good move he's made. However, it was a **** amazing move.
That's all the more reason to admire what Morey has done the last few years. It should've been a lot harder for a team to get off the treadmill and take it to the next level, as compared to a bottom-feeder like the Raptors, who had better lottery picks.
But no, Colangelo hasn't even been within shouting distance of Morey.
What's the blueprint for a rebuild? Acquire draft picks, accumulate assets, clear cap space. Which is exactly what Morey did in just a little over 2 years. While Colangelo has been flailing and grasping at straws and looking totally lost.
We all know that Morey had 3 first-rounders this year, and got our first next year too. But he also had 2 first-rounders and an early 2nd in 2011, and the 2nd rounder was Parsons, so it was like having 3 first rounders. That's 6 in 2 years. And none of them were high lottery picks.
He accumulated young prospects via the draft and picks thru trades, and in 2 years had enough assets to swing the Harden deal.
He cleared cap space at the right time and last off-season was in a position to sign their starting C and PG. And even better, he signed them to contracts that will still give Houston tons of cap space this off-season too. Just a fantastic job.
And the saddest thing about all this, in the Morey/Colangelo debate, is that we were in a position last off-season to do the EXACT same things that Houston did. Lots of people here targeted Asik as a guy to go after in free agency, as the perfect young vet to start and let Jonas develop over the next couple years. Lots of people wanted us to get Drummond in the draft, as the best prospect with the most upside and, possibly, the most trade value. With Asik and Drummond (or Jonas) at center, that would've meant Jonas (or Drummond) would've been available in a trade for Harden, e.g. Jonas + Demar + a pick (which I think beats Houston's package). We had the cap space to sign a free agent PG, though few had Lin as a target. Most people were talking about Lowry via trade, or Dragic via free agency. Most agreed Lowry was the better player, but had injury concerns and would cost us an asset in the trade.
If we had had Morey at the helm, I think he would've drafted Drummond with an eye to building a trade package. It was rumored he was trying to trade up to 5 with the Kings, in order to draft Drummond. I doubt he would've even considered Howard (who wouldn't have wanted to be here), though obviously Harden would be the ultimate target. Basically, we could be the Rockets, with Harden, Asik and Lin, but with much better depth throughout the rest of the lineup (Jose, Ed, Amir, Andrea). Where would that put us in the standings in the weaker East?