Is Daryl Morey the best GM?

[The_Hater]

I think Moray is definitely in the top 4-5 and I admire the hell out of him. I Couldn't put him first though.

Myers, Buford, Ainge, Moray, Riley. That's the top 5 on my list in some order.

[HotTubMike]

The GB has been taken over by teenage homers today.

Morey is more a great 2k gm than real life gm, meaning he is super at acquiring talent, but not so super at assembling functional teams.

The dude literally just built a 55 win with 1 star. Over 2/3 of the league wishes they could get a superstar without tanking and build a roster around that superstar as balanced and deep as this past year's Rockets.

He's also had a number of expensive swings and misses from a chemistry perspective (whether on or off court) including Dwight, Lawson, and J Smoove just among the recent moves. Morey throws a lot of crap at the wall. Some of it sticks, and some of it doesn't.

You know GSW tried desperately to get Dwight right? Basically everyone with space was trying to get him.

Jsmoove wasn't awful in Houston and played for the minimum...

Lawson played for the minimum... not much rish

[NBAfan3024]

He takes plenty of swings and misses but he goes down fighting.

[The_Hater]

morey is #1 at self promotion

He's up there but Ainge. Riley. Colangelo all have him beat.

Colangelo is the best self promoter without having the resume to back it up.

[94Nuggets]

Aside from the high profile moves for Harden, Howard, and Paul, Morey's ability to see the potential in future All-NBAers Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic, drafting Chandler Parsons in the 2nd round, and finding Pat Beverley in Saint Petersburg, Russia are some of the moves that stand out to me.

Didn't he also draft Royce White? Morey got very lucky with James Harden. He took advantage of one of the most idiotic moves by a GM. Morey is great at getting value in his trades, he might be the best at this, but where would he really be, if OKC just sucked it up and gave Harden the $ and amnestied Perkins. What would've OKC become, if that core was kept together. Would Presti be considered the best GM? He did draft all 3 of those top 5 players.

[BloodNinja]

GSW GM by far the best.

[Manute Lol]

The dude literally just built a 55 win with 1 star. Over 2/3 of the league wishes they could get a superstar without tanking and build a roster around that superstar as balanced and deep as this past year's Rockets.

He's also had a number of expensive swings and misses from a chemistry perspective (whether on or off court) including Dwight, Lawson, and J Smoove just among the recent moves. Morey throws a lot of crap at the wall. Some of it sticks, and some of it doesn't.

You know GSW tried desperately to get Dwight right? Basically everyone with space was trying to get him.

Jsmoove wasn't awful in Houston and played for the minimum...

Lawson played for the minimum... not much rish

Jsmoove was an embarrassment, especially the second time around. Lawson cost real assets to acquire... there's more than one meaning to the term "expensive" in this context. Not mentioning the horrible extensions Morey handed out to McHale and Brewer (and Anderson, for that matter) was just me being nice. Not mentioning that he peddled away both Nic Batum and Chandler Parsons for peanuts shortly after they'd been drafted was also me understating the point, but if you want to throw down for Morey, there's a lot of his record which is not pretty, at all.

No one knows what would have happened with Dwight on another team, but what actually happened in Houston was that he was surrounded by poor shooters and given a terrible coach who couldn't get him to play efficiently and instead indulged his worst instincts and allowed him to go on demanding touches and acting like a pre-teen. That inexplicably toxic locker room which caused the Dwight Rockets to implode? Morey put that group of puds together.

Like I said, he's a great 2k gm.

[BallerTalk]

Aside from the high profile moves for Harden, Howard, and Paul, Morey's ability to see the potential in future All-NBAers Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic, drafting Chandler Parsons in the 2nd round, and finding Pat Beverley in Saint Petersburg, Russia are some of the moves that stand out to me.

Didn't he also draft Royce White? Morey got very lucky with James Harden. He took advantage of one of the most idiotic moves by a GM. Morey is great at getting value in his trades, he might be the best at this, but where would he really be, if OKC just sucked it up and gave Harden the $ and amnestied Perkins. What would've OKC become, if that core was kept together. Would Presti be considered the best GM? He did draft all 3 of those top 5 players.

Yes Morey drafted Royce White.
Imagine how good that guy would be in the current NBA...if not for all the other issues, of course. He'd likely be like Draymond Green, but with better offense and less kicking.

Morey also drafted Aaron Brooks with a 26th pick, Montrezl Harell with a 32nd pick, and Clint Capella with a 25th pick. He seems to have a knack for finding talent with low draft picks

It's odd that you say he got "very lucky" with the Harden trade.
You know the old adage goes that "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."
Morey spent years acquiring assets so when a talent like Harden became available he would be in a great position to act
and it ultimately paid off.
To me that sounds more like diligence and foresight than just blind luck.

[HotTubMike]

He's also had a number of expensive swings and misses from a chemistry perspective (whether on or off court) including Dwight, Lawson, and J Smoove just among the recent moves. Morey throws a lot of crap at the wall. Some of it sticks, and some of it doesn't.

You know GSW tried desperately to get Dwight right? Basically everyone with space was trying to get him.

Jsmoove wasn't awful in Houston and played for the minimum...

Lawson played for the minimum... not much rish

Jsmoove was an embarrassment, especially the second time around. Lawson cost real assets to acquire... there's more than one meaning to the term "expensive" in this context. Not mentioning the horrible extensions Morey handed out to McHale and Brewer (and Anderson, for that matter) was just me being nice. Not mentioning that he peddled away both Nic Batum and Chandler Parsons for peanuts shortly after they'd been drafted was also me understating the point, but if you want to throw down for Morey, there's a lot of his record which is not pretty, at all.

No one knows what would have happened with Dwight on another team, but what actually happened in Houston was that he was surrounded by poor shooters and given a terrible coach who couldn't get him to play efficiently and instead indulged his worst instincts and allowed him to go on demanding touches and acting like a pre-teen. That inexplicably toxic locker room which caused the Dwight Rockets to implode? Morey put that group of puds together.

Like I said, he's a great 2k gm.

Actually you're 1. not accurate 2. don't recognize his great accomplishments.

- Houston has not had a losing season in 11 years.
- Houston has only had 1 top 10 draft pick in 11 years... #8 in 2006.
- Morey inherited broken down stars and a terrible cap situation
- Morey never tanked
- Morey turned minimal assets into James Harden
- Morey won over Dwight Howard in FA while every other team with cap space failed (including GSW)
- Morey traded peanuts for CP3
- Morey drafted Parsons in the second round and let him go 1 year early? How is that shortly after being drafted? He spent 3 seasons in Houston? Clearly you don't know what you're talking about. Turned out to be a pretty good idea to let him walk... selecting guys in the second round and them becoming Max players is pretty rare and pretty impressive.
- Morey drafted Patrick Patterson, Capela, Chase Budinger Marcus Morris, Chandler Parsons, Aaron Brooks, Sam Dekker and Montrez Harrell... all with terrible picks... not a bad record at all from where he was picking.


Is he perfect? No but he has done a lot more with A LOT less than anybody else.

How has the Brewer contract hurt us? How was it "horrible"?
How did the McHale extenstion hurt us? Who better exactly was better and available? how was the extension "horrible"?
Lawson was a gamble but it was pretty minimal assets... none of the guys traded are even in the league anymore..
You're really digging deep to try and find Morey missteps which of course he has like any gm...
How was Jsmoove an embarrassment? He was FREE and contributed nicely... you have no clue.


I'm sure you'll take the stupid view that "what has he won though" - Well, as you may know, only one team wins every year and recently in the NBA it's almost always the team with 1. Lebron 2. Duncan 3. Kobe 4. Dirk or recently Curry/Green/Thompson/Iguadola or Curry/Durant.... very few GM's ever have a shot at those players it doesn't make you a bad GM if you don't get Lebron or a handful of other stars that can realistically make a team contend.

He has done an amazing job to acquire the stars he has via trade/free agency with the assets he has had (almost none).

Who in recent memory has acquired more stars via trade/free agency starting with nothing? Yea, I'll wait.

[94Nuggets]

To me that sounds more like diligence and foresight than just blind luck.

Oklahoma just had to eat Perkins' contract, to get under the cap and give Harden his $. If they make the right choice, there would be a "Is Sam Presti the best GM?" thread. Without a huge blunder, massive, by the OKC front office, I doubt that this conversation happens. One trade should not determine whether you're in that conversation or not.

[whocurrz]

Morey is definitely one of the top GMs but not the best. What is weird is that he seems obsessed with star power over fit and chemistry. He had the Rockets as a good team that lost a tough series to the Blazers (who were a 2 seed most of the year until LMA got hurt, which lined up with those Blazers matching up early with the champion Spurs). He really wanted to pursue Bosh which was a solid fit but not great (trying to get that big 3) but failed. People thought the Rockets would fall off but he did what he does best. He got good players that fit the system on solid contracts like Ariza and they overachieved. This year he had a coach and players that fit his vision and the chemistry was solid and they over achieved.

Now he wants to chase stars which isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. But the names seem like the most important part rather than fit. They made a great trade for Paul and I think the fit will work but not sure the whole is greater than the sum of its parts in the back court. Then you hear the third star he's chasing is Melo or George which don't seem like a great 3rd wheel as far as money l, ego and fit. Beside the money Millsap would be the better fit probably.

I don't know if it all makes sense but if it were to put him in the Warriors GM position he seems like the guy who would trade Klay or Green (players who fit perfectly in the system and contributed to the team being greater than the sum of its parts) for a bigger name not taking into account fit. Still probably a top 5 GM though just being a bit nitpicky about his limitations.

[BallerTalk]

Jsmoove was an embarrassment... Lawson cost real assets to acquire...
...he peddled away both Nic Batum and Chandler Parsons for peanuts shortly after they'd been drafted

Oh, I get it. You're trolling, right?
No one could possibly be this misinformed.

No one knows what would have happened with Dwight on another team, but what actually happened in Houston was that he was surrounded by poor shooters and given a terrible coach who couldn't get him to play efficiently and instead indulged his worst instincts and allowed him to go on demanding touches and acting like a pre-teen. That inexplicably toxic locker room which caused the Dwight Rockets to implode? Morey put that group of puds together.

Like I said, he's a great 2k gm.

Actually we do know what would happen with Dwight on another team. They just traded him after one season.

But don't let that stop you from hilariously blaming Dwight's shortcomings on Morey.
We all know Howard never had any real issues before going to Houston and none since he left.

[Mich3006]

He was able to acquire 3 superstars in the last few years. Harden, Howard, and now Paul. There's also talks of him trading for Paul George. No other GM has been able to get superstars like Daryl Morey.

Morey is a top-notch but can somebody tell me how in this world will he aquire Paul George without any assets left?

[HotTubMike]

He was able to acquire 3 superstars in the last few years. Harden, Howard, and now Paul. There's also talks of him trading for Paul George. No other GM has been able to get superstars like Daryl Morey.

Morey is a top-notch but can somebody tell how in this world will he aquire Paul George without any assets left?

They do have assets... they have Eric Gordon (6th man of the year 2017) and Trevor Ariza on great contracts... and future first round picks... maybe it's not the most competitive offer out there but it isn't nothing.

[Mich3006]

He was able to acquire 3 superstars in the last few years. Harden, Howard, and now Paul. There's also talks of him trading for Paul George. No other GM has been able to get superstars like Daryl Morey.

Morey is a top-notch but can somebody tell how in this world will he aquire Paul George without any assets left?

They do have assets... they have Eric Gordon (6th man of the year 2017) and Trevor Ariza on great contracts... and future first round picks... maybe it's not the most competitive offer out there but it isn't nothing.

I was thinking about Ariza and Gordon as well but who will be playing with Paul, Harden and George afterwards...? David West (most probably) and?

They should upgrade their PF spot and the bench but I think there´s no need to aquire another "superstar" if you gut your team like that

[Higgs Boston]

He is not even better than Riley, Ainge or Presti, and Buford and Myers are better than these GMs, so Morey has no chance to be considered the best GM.

[OrlandoHouston]

"Best GM" is pretty much an impossible thing to determine, but he's certainly in the upper echelon, which is all that matters really. I personally like how proactive he is in terms of getting talented guys. He's missed before (Ty Lawson) but its fun to root for someone who will go down swinging.

[CnG]

Lol no way.

People confuse Morey acting like an NBA 2k GM with being the best GM. Just because you pull the trigger on every trade and look at every single superstar free agent it doesn't make you the best.

All that being said, I'd rather have a GM with some minerals that is willing to make a move than someone like Ainge who is excellent at acquiring assets but almost seems scared to use them.

[Drax]

Don't think he's the best.....but he definitely tries hard every year. Imagine what Morey would have done if he was the Boston GM

Do you mean before or after Ainge made the deals to put the Celtics in the position that they in right now? Because i think a lot of GMs would love to take over that situation, but to get it there is the hard part.

[gmoney411]

Morey is a top-notch but can somebody tell how in this world will he aquire Paul George without any assets left?

They do have assets... they have Eric Gordon (6th man of the year 2017) and Trevor Ariza on great contracts... and future first round picks... maybe it's not the most competitive offer out there but it isn't nothing.

I was thinking about Ariza and Gordon as well but who will be playing with Paul, Harden and George afterwards...? David West (most probably) and?

They should upgrade their PF spot and the bench but I think there´s no need to aquire another "superstar" if you gut your team like that

Getting George doesn't prevent them from upgrading PF. They could still complete a sign and trade for Milsap or Ibaka after trading for George.