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[Moreyball]

Thursday December 17, 2009 9:52 PM
Q&A With Daryl Morey
Rockets' GM talks trades, Trevor and Russ vs. Wilt

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Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON - The Rockets recently passed the quarter-pole mark of the '09-'10 regular season, so it seemed like the perfect time to catch up with General Manager Daryl Morey. What follows is the transcript of our converation, one which touches on a variety of subjects including the club's stockpiling of assets, team building philosophy and Morey's unique spin on a nickname which he can't seem to escape (no matter how much he tries).

JCF: You came into this year with a ton of questions to be answered, while facing the prospect of playing one of the toughest early season schedules around. Nonetheless, you’ve made it through the first 25 games with a very solid 14-11 record, despite ranking around the middle of the pack in both offensive and defensive efficiency. So my first question to you is this: Do you feel like this team has overachieved somewhat based on those rankings, or are those rankings more a product of playing a tough schedule?

DM: Well I think the tough schedule certainly factors into it. And there’s no question we’ve played better than we thought we would to this point. I think our ranking is typical – if you look at all the teams with similar records you’ll find that they’re either middle of the pack in both, or have one that’s in the top-10 while the other is average or below. I think we’re about right where we should be. I’d like to be in the top-10 of both, naturally – then we’d be in the playoffs. We can make the playoffs without that, but that’s where you want to be.


JCF: Well I was going to ask: do you feel like this team has played at a playoff-team level?


DM: Yeah, if we play this way all year we’ll make the playoffs. The league is good, they’re going to adjust and make it harder for us, so hopefully we can keep it up. But we’re definitely on track to make the playoffs given how we’re playing so far. Another injury would make it hard. Then we’re digging deeper into the bench than we’d like and that might be the thing that derails us. So we’ve got to build a bit of a buffer, too.


JCF: As you mentioned, teams have already started to shift their approach regarding how they play you now that they have more information from which to glean information. So given that this is all a chess match in which you’re trying to stay one step ahead of your opponent, what do you need to do better so that you can maintain this high level of play?


DM: We have to execute better and not have the possessions where we don’t do a good job of that. I don’t think we’ll change our style much. When teams double Aaron I thought we did a pretty good job with that last night against Denver. Our big problem was defense last night. If we had played solid defense we would have been right in it.


JCF: OK, let's look forward a little bit. You’ve stockpiled quite a few assets now. I’d say there are a lot of guys who are currently outperforming their contracts – guys like Carl, Aaron, Luis…


DM: Well it’s early still, so we don’t know. Guys are playing great but you have to do it the whole year to know if someone is outplaying their contract.


JCF: Sure, but I’m actually speaking about your leverage regarding their trade value. You have a lot of assets on this team that other clubs would look at and love to have at that price and that production. So what I’m trying to ask is: has your phone been ringing more than it usually would this time of year?


DM: Yeah, I mean this is the third biggest trade discussion time of the year. The trade deadline is the biggest obviously, then the draft and also now since as of two days ago almost all the players became available. So, yeah, a lot of phone calls and I do agree that we have a lot of players that teams want. We can provide financial relief, we can provide players who can help you win now, we can provide players who can help you for the future – so we’re sort of like Target right now in that we can provide everything under one roof. We can give it all and handle any need. Obviously our goals are high though, so I’d expect nothing will happen. But if the right thing comes along and we can upgrade the team then that’s why I’m here.


JCF: When you say that you expect nothing to happen, do you say that from the standpoint of trying to temper expectations?


DM: (laughs) No, it’s just rarely does anything happen…


JCF: But you’ve made a deal before the trade deadline every year so far.


DM: Yeah, I guess that’s true. But it’s December, not the trade deadline.


JCF: Of course. But when you say nothing will happen are you just talking about right now?


DM: Yeah, I’m just saying nothing’s imminent. I guess our history would say that something will happen between now and February but it’s probably going to be small. We usually do small things, so…


JCF: (laughs) Man, you’re doing everything you can to try to keep expectations low… The thing is, I don’t think you’ve ever really had a situation like this where you’ve got so many pieces to play with. Because of that, I would say that the potential is greater to do something bigger this year than the previous two.


DM: Yeah, I guess, but I don’t think of them as pieces – they’re people. That’s the other reason trades don’t happen that often. These are people who are part of the community, part of everything. So even though we have all those things, it’s going to take a lot for us to say, ‘Let’s break apart this really solid group.’ It’s going to have to take All-Star like talent coming our way for us to say, ‘This is something we want to break up.’ We like how our guys are growing together. We like how our guys are progressing. We think some of the guys on our team could develop into All-Star level players. So I think it’s going to take a lot and that’s why I think there’s probably not a lot that’s going to happen. It will take a lot for us to break this up.


JCF: OK, well just to confirm because you’ve said this in the past: nobody is truly untouchable, right?


DM: No, I just don’t think that’s smart unless you have LeBron, I guess. There are like two or three guys who should be untouchable. Everyone else you should at least be listening.


JCF: I thought it was interesting when you were talking about how you think of these guys as people and not simply pieces, and how they factor into the organization and the community. That leads me to my next question: I think this has been a unique team from the standpoint of the characteristics that so many of the guys on this roster have…


DM: Well, we’re going to win 14 games at least – that’s one more than Charles Barkley predicted we’d win for the whole year. So we might only win 14 but we’ve happily proved Charles wrong (laughs).


JCF: True. So has this particular team somewhat altered your perspective on team building and how you want to build a team going forward?


DM: I think each year is different. Each year has been fun with the 22-game winning streak and taking the Lakers to 7 games – we’ve had some good times and hopefully this year, while we’re probably short of the Lakers on paper and some other teams obviously, we still feel like we can turn this into another special year in it’s own way and I don’t want to put a limit on that. That may require more guys stepping up, that may require moves but we’re not sure what.


In terms of team building, I think the team building has been the same. We just like to get guys who are winners. It’s pretty simple. We like guys who play the right way and focus on the team and on winning. I think what’s really been the story of our start is that a team full of those guys can really make an impact.


JCF: So it’s not a coincidence then that this is a team filled with guys who tend to be more team-oriented and hard working - that all goes into your philosophy of getting winning players? Because obviously the term “winning player” is a bit ambiguous.


DM: But I think we’re making that ambiguous term real. With $40 million not playing, we’re still winning and still 14-11 against the hardest schedule in the league. So I think, even though it’s a nebulous term, it’s also factual. It comes from Coach Adelman and his philosophy, as well as my philosophy and the captains of the team – Shane, Chuck and Luis. It permeates from the top down but those are the kind of guys we like.


JCF: Alright, well you’ve been on the job two years now - are there one or two areas in which you really feel like you’ve grown or has there been something that you’ve learned while on the job?


DM: Stop with the psychology stuff! (laughs) You want to know if I’ve learned what???


JCF: Anything! Since you took over this job, what’s been the biggest area of growth for you? Go ahead, give me a sarcastic answer.


DM: No, I've got a real answer for you. One thing that sticks with me is a conversation I had with Jeff Van Gundy early on and it’s really true; as usual, the best things are simple, right? Obviously you want to develop players but I think what we’re doing now is what he talked about that day: we were talking about having valuable players, like a high pick in the draft with a lot of potential. But there’s also another way to have players be valuable in this league and that’s to win. If you just win, then people realize that your players help you win, so I think in terms of the team building strategy, we just decided, ‘Hey, we’ll just win.’


JCF: Well I’ll admit that’s not quite as good as learning the secret of basketball at a topless pool in Las Vegas…


DM: No, no – it sounds really simple but clearly to win in the league you need to have winning players and you need to be able to make trades. Players who have a lot of value are younger players with a lot of potential. But there are also players who have a lot of value and you mentioned it earlier with one of your questions - it’s players who help you win who are on good contracts. So I just felt that if we could win this year, with this group and all that money on the sidelines, it would greatly enhance our flexibility with how we can upgrade the team because people would see that these are winning players who help you win. And that’s the best because we can prove it on the court.


So everything’s aligned then – we’re trying to win every night whereas there are a lot of teams I know that aren’t trying to win every night. That burns me that you can lose and yet that’s still a great strategy for getting better. I don’t ever want to lose so this is a great way to build a team without having to go through that.


JCF: Well, speaking of team building and high-minded endeavors of that sort, you’ve got the 2010 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference coming up March 6, so why don’t you take a moment to tell everyone why they should do their best to attend.


DM: Well it depends on who you are. If you’re a student, this is a great way to see where the sports business is heading and where you might fit in if you want to get a job. And even if you don’t want to get a job in sports, I think it’s a good way to learn about how you might be able to do research in sports and then relate it back to your field, which is pretty common.


If you’re a sports executive, I think it’s great networking and you can find great interns. I think it’s a great way to keep up with all the latest and greatest of what everyone is doing in all the different sports. I think I learn a lot from talking to hockey, baseball, soccer and football people. You pick up a lot of things.


We’re moving the venues, so that’s opened up a few more seats because we did sell out our venue last year. But we’ve found a new spot and it’s allowing us to add some seats meaning more people can attend.


JCF: Will you be arriving dressed as Elvis?


DM: (laughs) Ouch. I don’t think that’s accurate, actually. I’m much more under the radar and stay out of the spotlight. I think I’m more like the Dork Cat Stevens. That’s what I want to be. (laughs)


JCF: Wow, that’s amazing. Well, this is going to be the worst segue ever now but what about Trevor Ariza? Obviously he’s struggled shooting the ball of late but is this part of what you meant before the season started when you said you’d be perfectly happy if Trevor just continued doing what he had done last year with LA?


DM: Exactly, and he’s actually been better than he was last year. We’re throwing a lot at him and he’s going to go through some ups and downs but we believe in him and we’re thrilled – I hope he is. And everyone who thinks he’s shooting too many threes should just blame me. We want him to shoot them. We want Trevor to either take threes or drive to the hoop.


And I love that some broadcasters are like, ‘Stop shooting threes!’ Well we shot 39 percent from three yesterday. But certain announcers complained more about it yesterday than anytime this year. Also, they had the brilliant advice that we should just take them when they go in - because they don’t ever complain about them when they go in, they only complain when they miss. Why don’t we complain about all our other shots that miss? That would be some brilliant analysis: if we shot 100 percent every night we’d be great – we might even be able to win the title if we shoot 100 percent. In fact, I’m going to recommend to Coach that we only take shots we make from now on. That’s going to be something I recommend the next time I see Rick.


JCF: You know, it's out of the box thinking like that that makes you the NBA’s foremost trailblazing GM.


DM: I'm telling you, that’s what we’re going to do. I’m so upset I didn’t think of this as a strategy until now. I’m sorry. Rant over.


JCF: Well at least something productive came from this conversation. OK, last question, completely not Rockets-related: Wilt versus Russell – who you got?


DM: Wow, how is this coming up?


JCF: I run out of good Rockets questions a lot, so this is just something that’s been percolating within my mind lately.


DM: OK, well, if they kept plus-minus back then, Bill Russell would be like the greatest player of all time. I’m sure his adjusted plus-minus is the greatest in history, so I’m going to go with Bill Russell and his 25 million rings.

Got a question for Rockets.com? Send it to Jason Friedman. And for up to the second news and injury updates follow the Rockets and Jason on Twitter.

[TMU]

OK, well, if they kept plus-minus back then, Bill Russell would be like the greatest player of all time. I’m sure his adjusted plus-minus is the greatest in history, so I’m going to go with Bill Russell and his 25 million rings.

Truth.