NBA Free Agency 2014: Recapping a Hectic Day
Apr 8, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin (7) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young (0) at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
LOL! Houston
Daryl Morey is an excellent general manager. His ability to turn assets into production is uncanny and he’s an ace at stockpiling assets in order to reload. But today, a short-sighted trade with the Lakers did more bad than good.
Morey’s been in this situation before. It’s been his goal the entire postseason: clearing the books in hopes of adding a significant talent to bolster a Dwight Howard-led roster. He pushed Chandler Parsons into restricted free agency. Moved Omer Asik to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Then he missed out on Carmelo Anthony. In an odd way, Anthony was never going to Houston; at least I like to think so. The two parties met, but Anthony’s past let us know talent is number one for him. It’s money first, situation second. Houston has the money, but that same money was available in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York if the right moves were made. And in terms of situation, Houston ranked last, maybe fourth if you choose to include the Dallas Mavericks.
This led to Morey turning his eyes to Chris Bosh. Morey assumed what we as fans all assumed: if LeBron James leaves Miami, Bosh leaves Miami. The first domino fell with LeBron and according to reports Bosh-Houston were communicating in hopes of getting a deal done.
Chris Bosh will soon speak to coach Kevin McHale, moving closer to a commitment to the Rockets, source tells Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 11, 2014
And before we knew it, Morey jumped the gun and moved Lin without Bosh’s commitment. And what happened next? Like everyone expected (we didn’t), Bosh signed a five-year max contract returning to Miami, leaving Morey out of two assets in Lin and the first-round pick sent into the deal.
Now Houston is without Omer Asik who was moved for cap space and without Jeremy Lin who was moved for cap space. Do either of these two’s presence alter the future of Houston in regards of a talent standpoint? No, this team has a lot of things that need fixing. But in terms of swinging those two deals for talent + more assets, Morey has struck out twice.
We’ll see what he has up his sleeve once the Chandler Parsons deal comes into fruition.