Space City Scoop Round Table – Houston Rockets Off Season, Part 2

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Q10: Give Morey a grade for his off season work

Andre: I’ll give him a B+. He kept most of the team’s free agents and also managed to improve the team with a talented point guard. Josh Smith’s loss was unfortunate but to be fair Morey did present him with a more advantageous offer.

Coty: If Daryl Morey does not win Executive of the Year this season, I will be so disappointed. Ever since the departure of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, Morey has done an awesome job rebuilding this team. Every off season since 2012, Morey has made some phenomenal moves, and his been one of the best general managers in the league. By adding Harrell, Thornton, and of course Lawson, I give Morey an A on his off season work.

Eric: I think Daryl Morey deserves an A- for his work in the off season. By resigning Beverley, Brewer, McDaniels, and Jason Terry while acquiring Ty Lawson for almost nothing and signing Marcus Thornton, Morey improved the team in a substantial way without losing much. However, losing Smith to the clippers hurts the grade a little bit.

James: A- He addressed most of the concerns the Rockets had going into this off-season. The only thing he didn’t do is bring back Smith, but it was Smith’s decision to take less money and sign with the Clippers, so it’s hardly Morey’s doing. Not only did he address the team needs, but he also took Harden’s request for an additional ball-handler seriously, and that should help Morey build on his relationship with his star player.

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John: I’d say a A-, re-signing Beverley is huge, getting Lawson is a home run and Harrell and Dekker are really solid Draft picks.

Joshua: I have to give Morey an A. He kept the roster intact that made it to the Western Conference finals last season, and added a top ten point guard to the group. This will be the first season in some time that the Rockets roster to start the season has not changed drastically from the roster they ended their previous season with. Having a chance to develop more chemistry, and being arguably the deepest team in the NBA, the Rockets hope to bring a title to the city of Houston.

Trey: B+ for Morey this off-season. He worked hard to nab the big free agents, re-signed the right guys and made two huge moves that will help Houston win the West.

Tamberlyn: Assessing a GM’s performance comes down to a couple of simple questions:

Did the team retain the free agents they desired?
Did they improve the team via the draft?
Did they fill roster holes via free agents or trades?
And to get an extra grade: Did the GM add a player with potential to make the team significantly better (usually a player who many teams covet).

Reading David Aldridge of nba.com recent ranking I was shocked he ranked the Rockets in the bottom 10 and 24th out of 30 teams. Normally I tend to agree with much of what Aldridge says, but would have placed the Rockets and Morey in my top ten. San Antonio and Minnesota rank ahead of all teams in my opinion with Houston, Cleveland (though as of this posting the Cav’s are still trying to re-sign Tristan Thompson), Memphis, Toronto, Milwaukee and Orlando all closely grouped afterward.

He addressed the key issues (point guard, bench depth) in the off season and pulled off an absolute steal with the Lawson trade.What pushes his efforts over the top were retaining McDaniels and grabbing Thornton on a very reasonable contact. Given Morey’s penchant for making trades and his associated nickname “Trader Daryl” it also shows growth for him personally to recognize it’s better to keep a core group who made it to the Western Conference Finals with many injured players together. For these reasons I give Morey an A minus.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, September 29) features the Training Camp/Preseason segment. Remember to stay connected with Space City Scoop and make us a daily stop on your reading list for all things Houston Rockets.

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