RealGM

#7 - Houston Rockets

PG - Jeremy Lin, Patrick Beverly
SG - James Harden, Reggie Williams
SF - Chandler Parsons, Francisco Garcia
PF - Greg Smith, Donatas Motiejunas
C - Dwight Howard, Omer Asik
D - Aaron Brooks, Omri Casspi, Marcus Camby, Isaiah Canaan

If the Houston starters were all characters from the Wizard of Oz; who would be who? I mean it's pretty obvious that Dwight Howard would be the scarecrow and I'm thinking Lin is probably Dorothy but beyond that it gets harder. Not that it matters much though because what I'm really interested in talking about is the Wizard -- Daryl Morey.

I first pulled back the curtain on Morey back in 2010 when he pulled off the following deal.

Traded guard Tracy McGrady to the New York Knicks for forwards Jared Jeffries and Jordan Hill, a protected 2012 first-round pick and the right to exchange first-round picks in 2011; traded forwards Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to the Sacramento Kings for guard Kevin Martin and center Hilton Armstrong.

That deal floored me how good it was. TMac was averaging 3.2 points for Houston at the time so it's not like he was a blue chip player any longer. No, this was all about helping NY sign Carmelo Anthony. For the sacrifice of taking on one year of Jared Jeffries, Morey landed Jordan Hill, a future first, and a first round swap. That is a pretty amazing haul when you consider Hill was the 8th pick in the draft a year prior. Bringing in Kevin Martin was just the cherry on top of this deal; a cherry that averaged over 20ppg in his 3 years in Houston.

Then fast forward to 2012.

Traded guards Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guards James Harden and Daequan Cook, forward Lazar Hayward and center Cole Aldrich.

Here you see more of that magic. Morey landed James Harden. He didn't even have to pay that much for him. Kevin Martin was on the decline and Houston became a playoff team so those draft picks lost a lot of value. Not bad for a player that would be a consensus top 10 player in the league.

Most recently Morey waltzed into LA and pilfered Dwight Howard from the Lakers not even giving up the standard huge TPE. Gangsta.

You'll hear a lot of names pop up when it comes to top GMs, but who has started with less than Morey was given when he took over and has had this level of success? Even Pat Riley would approve.

There is still a little more road left on that journey to a title though. Morey has to balance this roster out and find small deals and signings that put the team over the top. Well, and keep stealing from other GMs stupid enough to make trades with him. I have confidence he'll find those last few pieces and makes those finishing thefts and Houston will be a legit threat to win a title this year.

Projected record: 55/27

you left out Terrence Jones

Sorry, where should he go in the depth chart?

jazzfan1971 wrote:Sorry, where should he go in the depth chart?

well he was fans favorite for starting PF before the Portland incident
before playoff last season Greg Smith was starting at PF and Jones was the backup
i would keep it this way until preseason

I still think ,barring any sudden roster change, TJones is the favorite to start at PF bum stomp or no bum stomp.

If.... when we trade Asik for a starting PF, Greg Smith will be the backup C with Camby, 3rd string, providing interior defense for matchup purposes.

Ok, fixed it. Thanks for catching the error. (fixed on GB not here)

I've been playing 2k recently, and have started TJones with Parsons/Casspi also at the 4. But then I decided to play DMo (who is rated like a 50-something)..and I knocked down three 3's, had a couple baskets around hoop for 23 points. I think he's now my favorite for the starer at the PF position...

And as funny as that sounds...that could potentially be a great way to describe how up in the air our PF position is. I think TJones was the most impressive in his minutes last season, which would likely give him the edge, but there has to be something to say that DMo was the one who got the starter spot first, and has potentially more "range-potential." And TJones is a little more hot after a good showing in the summer league, but DMo has supposedly added muscle, which was his biggest weakness when he was pushed around on offense/defense. Smith also played well, but I definitely think we're looking to have a perimeter four with Dwight next season.

i think Jones will fit better with Harden and Howard because he is better defender and can do more dirty work
while Motiejunas is better offense player and can supply scoring off the bench

Critique your commentary? OK

I counted 9 comma splices, several run-on sentences, and you misspelled "Dorothy".

Happy now?

Ribalding wrote:Critique your commentary? OK

I counted 9 comma splices, several run-on sentences, and you misspelled "Dorothy".

Happy now?

Hah. I could use a little critique with my grammar. I had to look up comma splice. That should tell you a bit about my command of English.

I tried cleaning up the grammar. Not sure if I was that successful.

jazzfan1971 wrote:I tried cleaning up the grammar. Not sure if I was that successful.

It's ok. Comma splices are fine, if you use them properly.

Personally I prefer to put them, in places they really don't belong.

As, for me? Couldn,t care. Less.

For the OP, I agree 100% that the Houston GM is a wizard. The general consensus I usually hear is that the OKC GM is the best in the league. However, I have always had a completely different opinion there. The real wizard (or at least one of the best) is the Houston guy.

Houston has a really nice young roster right now. And if they can't get Asik and Howard to fit together, Asik is a VERY valuable trade piece on a favorable contract. Defensive bigs that average a double double just don't grow on trees, and at what is actually a discount salary is just icing on the cake. And Asik could actually still improve quite a bit. I personally hope they can somehow get those two centers to work out together. Get it done McHale, earn your salary.

And I say give Lin one more year, he is still a young player too. If he doesn't work out trade him later. Team chemistry has to fall in place just right, but if it does, Houston could really have a team to challenge the big boys.

If it doesn't, they have the assets to really improve it next year. Yes, so far he is a wizard.