Official Fire Daryl Morey Thread-2011 edition

[moofs]

6. I can't really see the sense in trading Scola. We forget that he was probably the second best player in the FIBA Americas tournament, (behind only Kevin Durant.) I think he is seriously undervalued, and that we can get more than an on the decline Gasol. (see point 5.)

On this, I don't think Gasol is on the decline. With Yao gone (maybe even if he was still playing), he's the second best big in the league for the next 1-2 years.

Scola IS undervalued somewhat, the problem being that he's apparently undervalued by the people we need to trade with. That creates a bit of a problem, you see...

[inquisitive]

there was a mention on local radio that he tweeted about possibly leaving the rockets...interesting.

[kam_soluusar]

6. I can't really see the sense in trading Scola. We forget that he was probably the second best player in the FIBA Americas tournament, (behind only Kevin Durant.) I think he is seriously undervalued, and that we can get more than an on the decline Gasol. (see point 5.)

On this, I don't think Gasol is on the decline. With Yao gone (maybe even if he was still playing), he's the second best big in the league for the next 1-2 years.

Scola IS undervalued somewhat, the problem being that he's apparently undervalued by the people we need to trade with. That creates a bit of a problem, you see...

I agree, which is why we should be shopping him higher. The biggest problem I see with a Scoll trade, is that he is still underpaid for his value, so making contracts match is hard. I would take Scola as my starting PF over nearly any other player except for Nowitski and Duncan.

And Landry.

[inquisitive]

6. I can't really see the sense in trading Scola. We forget that he was probably the second best player in the FIBA Americas tournament, (behind only Kevin Durant.) I think he is seriously undervalued, and that we can get more than an on the decline Gasol. (see point 5.)

On this, I don't think Gasol is on the decline. With Yao gone (maybe even if he was still playing), he's the second best big in the league for the next 1-2 years.

Scola IS undervalued somewhat, the problem being that he's apparently undervalued by the people we need to trade with. That creates a bit of a problem, you see...

that is my problem with the trade especially at 31yrs old, but maybe having a big name like Gasol could attract others...who knows.

[spolgar]

Gasol is honestly the hook. The Rockets' remaining supporting cast is the line. The sinker is the salary room that Morey freed up.

As good as Scola is in FIBA and the Olympics, the NBA paint is a different kettle of fish from anywhere else in the world. Scola's defense is suspect, in the same division that use to have David West, Duncan, Dirk and Randolph, he has to put up 20-25 points per game just to break even on the damage that the opposing teams PF is doing to us. Which means he has to gear up and up his scoring output 10 to 25 percent on a quarter of the season, since we play our division rivals 4 games each.

The West, until this round of trades, have had bigger and more developed size at the front court. The plus/minus stat taints Scola's time on the floor, which is a shame. IMHO, watching him in the NBA is a great learning opportunity on how to play in the post.

(Speaking of which, who has lots of Rockets footage? A Scola/Landry/Hayes Rockets mix tape on how to play the 4 would be one of the greatest instructional videos of all time. Just sell it where WIPO isn't recognized yet)

[moofs]

Gasol is honestly the hook. The Rockets' remaining supporting cast is the line. The sinker is the salary room that Morey freed up.

As good as Scola is in FIBA and the Olympics, the NBA paint is a different kettle of fish from anywhere else in the world. Scola's defense is suspect, in the same division that use to have David West, Duncan, Dirk and Randolph, he has to put up 20-25 points per game just to break even on the damage that the opposing teams PF is doing to us. Which means he has to gear up and up his scoring output 10 to 25 percent on a quarter of the season, since we play our division rivals 4 games each.

The West, until this round of trades, have had bigger and more developed size at the front court. The plus/minus stat taints Scola's time on the floor, which is a shame. IMHO, watching him in the NBA is a great learning opportunity on how to play in the post.

(Speaking of which, who has lots of Rockets footage? A Scola/Landry/Hayes Rockets mix tape on how to play the 4 would be one of the greatest instructional videos of all time. Just sell it where WIPO isn't recognized yet)

^ Agree 100%. It's a joy to watch a man with no semblance of athletic ability whatsoever make the opposing defense look absolutely stupid through hustle, good footwork, and knowledge of angles.

The problems have been that he can't contain anyone on defense, can't match them on offense either (as good as he is), and can't outrebound them to make up the difference. He's a perfectly serviceable PF, but he can't be built around.

One of the biggest reasons I liked his contract so much was that it was in line with his value, which meant he was still moveable as an asset in the right package (which I've long suspected would HAVE to involve Kevin Martin as well in order for us to get back anything of worthwhile value). Oddly, between the two, I think Scola is the more valuable, even though I think Martin is the more productive. Not sure why or how I have that opinion... doesn't seem to make sense.

As per your video, Scola shows the footworks and hustle, Landry lived off getting open for backdoor cuts, and Hayes just manhandled people. I'm not so sure you could just teach someone to play like Chuck Hayes. Not many people have iron legs and matching upper body strength WITH that kind of quickness and anticipation.

[spolgar]

Scola is easier to like.

I think the comp is much stiffer for Scola, so while Martin is more productive, Martin has less competition to deal with. If Martin had to play against 2 hall of famer shooting guards and 2 all star shoot guards once every 4 games, he's not going to score 20 points a game and his lack of defense would lose him a lot of fanfare, offensive efficiency or not.

Why do I like Scola more? He's the better player and he's more theatrical. When you drop 44 on 20 out of 25 shooting, the fans remember you forever. How do you even do that in the NBA, especially when Scola has no hops to speak of?

As per Chuck Hayes, I think I will always learn something new about basketball every time I watch him. At a quick glance, Chuck Hayes is not a text book example. He is a good inspiration and serves better as an illustration of possibility rather than a recipe. However, given time, the deconstruction of his game should yield some good ideas for people who study footage.

He's also bulked up considerably since his college days. If he were ever to write a book about how to defend the post, given sufficient editorial help, it should be a best seller.

[G-Heel]

Can we trade otis smith for Morey?

[kam_soluusar]

Well, looks like the deal isn't going to go down. The way this trade has been handled by the league, is BS. I hope Paul is forced to stay in NO for the season, and he walks on them, giving them nothing!!!(Sorry to you NO fans, I have nothing against you, or the team personally.) The let's see New Orleans try to find a new owner.

And Dan Gilbert has officially taken over from Mark Cuban as being the biggest Douche bag Owner in the league. Cleveland fans should just boo him at every game.

[moofs]

Mmmm, it's neck and neck between Gilbert and Sterling. Cuban's never been anywhere near being in the running, and I doubt he's really a douchebag, either, more like just easy to hate as an NBA fan.

I can't believe I'm quoting Titanic, but you remember the part where all the other rich people hated the one (I think it was Kathy Bates) for being "new money"? i.e. you're boorish and unrefined and give us all a bad name for handling things as an oaf.

Edit: Don't hate, you KNOW just about everyone over 25 has had to sit through that movie at least once. I'm sure even Twilight and Harry Potter have something redeeming about them. Possibly. Also if these three movies being super-blockbusters doesn't PROVE that women have NO taste in movies, I don't know what does.

[inquisitive]

if i was a player, i would want to play for Cuban....the guy is passionate and knows what he is doing...despite losing Chandler, Barrea, and Butler, they have just reloaded and are favorites i think to win it again.

[spolgar]

Cuban is an awesome owner. For the fans of his team and his players. He's obnoxious to an older fan base. Cuban turns some folks off because we are not use to the product and the ownership being treated the same way. In this case, Cuban has tried to convince his fanbase that he's like one of them, that he really wants to win, more than anything. He's also a billionaire that has a voice in how the overall business is ran, and obviously a fan having some participation in the process of producing a product is going to garner the jealousy of other fans. In some ways, it might damage the product by arriving at a conflict of interest, as we've seen in the CBA with the hard cap nonsense. That can be problematic, but its more of the curse of the position Cuban has rather than Cuban himself.

Sterling is, hands down, the biggest douche bag owner in the league. Dan Gilbert is at least being a baby because he wants to win. That is why he's acting like this half man half vag homunculus . Sterling doesn't even care about winning. He has little desire to make the clippers a winning organization. Publicly berating Baron Davis and heckling him on the home floor? Oh Really? Being caught with racial discrimination charges as a landlord, in Los Angeles, of all places? He's not even smart. He's just a giant bunghole.