Daryl Morey Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Morey, Williams, McGee, Gentry

November 23rd, 2015 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s up to the players to pull the Rockets out of the malaise that cost former coach Kevin McHale his job, according to GM Daryl Morey, but Morey acknowledges to TNT’s David Aldridge that some of the fault lies at his own desk, as Aldridge relays in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.

“Except for Dwight Howard, there really isn’t anybody on the roster playing well, and those are all my decisions,” Morey said. “I can’t hide from that.”

The Rockets won their first game after switching from McHale to interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff but lost both of their games since, and they’re tied with the Kings at 5-9 for 12th place in the Western Conference. See more from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons doesn’t understand why Deron Williams has a reputation as a negative locker room force, citing evidence of the opposite to Jake Fischer of SI.com. Wesley Matthews observes a positive attitude from Williams in the face of challenges, like the erosion of his game, a change Williams acknowledges, as Fischer adds. “My days of scoring 20 and 10 are over. I know that,” said Williams, who gave up nearly $16MM to buy his way off the Nets before signing with the Mavericks for $11MM over two years.
The return of JaVale McGee puts the squeeze on the minutes of early-season revelation Dwight Powell, notes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. The Mavs have until January 7th to decide whether to pay McGee his full salary of $1.27MM or waive him and pay only his $750K partial guarantee.
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was satisfied as the lead assistant for the Warriors last season and didn’t think he’d end up with another head coaching job until New Orleans came calling, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “I was not going to take a job just to have a job as a head coach unless it was a situation that I thought was going to give you an opportunity to win and win big and compete for a championship,” Gentry said. “I really didn’t have any desire just to take another NBA job.”

Western Notes: Russell, Aldridge, Capela

November 11th, 2015 at 9:40pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Rookie D’Angelo Russell is obviously in the Lakers‘ long-term plans, but that doesn’t mean he is ready to take on a huge role just yet, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes.

“I’m not just going to put him out there to put him out there,” Coach Byron Scott said. “If I do that and he’s not prepared and he’s not learning, then I’m preparing him to fail. And I’m not going to do that. I think this kid is too valuable to us.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t going to get caught up in his decision to leave Portland when the Blazers host the Spurs tonight, Jason Quick of CSNNW passes along via Twitter. “I’m not going to get into all of that. What is done is done. I feel like both sides kind of have what they want. Now, I’m here,” Aldridge said.
Clint Capela is proving he belongs in the NBA and Rockets GM Daryl Morey has high expectations for the big man, as he tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. “Sky’s the limit for him.” Morey said. “To do what he’s doing at 22 is amazing in the NBA against the talent in the league and to come from playing mostly in the D-League last season, to start a few games for us, and in games that we’ve won, is huge. His ability to protect the rim, run the floor, rebound — we really feel like he’s got a chance to be a high-level player.”
Capela has seen some added playing time this season with Dwight Howard not playing in both games of back-to-backs and there is no urgency to change the game plan, Morey tells Watkins in the same piece. “It’s going to come down to the doctor’s advice,” Morey said. “He has not played back-to-back and he’s played at an extremely high level. So I think the doctors are looking at that and feeling like that’s the smartest course at this point. If he gets to no symptoms whatsoever and playing at a high level, I think they might mix him in at some point. For now and the foreseeable future, I think they want him to sit out back-to-backs.” Howard can hit free agency this summer if he elects to turn down his player option, which is worth slightly more than $23.28MM.

Extension Rumors: Leonard, Thompson, Cole

October 17th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The deadline for teams to sign rookie scale extensions with their eligible players is two weeks from today, and while only six players came to deals last time around, that number has the potential to be much larger this year, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein has more on many of those extension hopefuls that adds to the storylines we’ve been following throughout the offseason:

Kawhi Leonard, Tristan Thompson, and Norris Cole are among the players who are in active negotiations with their respective teams about rookie scale extensions, Stein reports. Klay Thompson, Ricky Rubio, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson, Brandon Knight, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks are also in active extension talks, according to Stein, who advances earlier reports that all of them had engaged in talks.
Iman Shumpert and the Knicks are also discussing an extension, Stein writes, countering a report from a few weeks ago that indicated that the sides hadn’t engaged in talks and that New York was content to let the swingman hit restricted free agency next summer.
Klay Thompson’s camp is considering the idea of going after an offer sheet similar to the one the Mavs gave Chandler Parsons if Thompson and the Warriors don’t come to an extension this month, Stein hears. Parsons’ near-max deal runs three years and includes a player option and a 15% trade kicker. Rival GMs have expressed admiration for its structure and Rockets GM Daryl Morey pointed to the difficulty that trading such a contract would entail shortly after he decided against matching it. The player option would allow Thompson to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2017, which is when Stephen Curry‘s deal is set to end, as Stein points out.
The Lakers have attempted to trade for Thompson in the past, Stein notes, though he doesn’t make any suggestion that they’re planning an aggressive push for the shooting guard if he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

Arnovitz On Lockout, Rockets, Suns, LeBron

July 17th, 2014 at 10:34pm CST by Alex Lee

While members of June’s coveted draft class have yet to wow executives in the NBA summer leagues, it hasn’t curbed the chatter among the league’s decision-makers in Las Vegas, writes ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz. Arnovitz provides a plethora of big-picture issues being regularly discussed in the desert. Let’s round them up here:

Between the hefty prices that NBA franchises have fetched this offseason and a new television deal for the league on the horizon, insiders have been “downright giddy” in Vegas this week. Soaring revenues have resulted in teams investing in technology and analytics, though there is a growing fear that the NBA could be headed for another lockout in 2017.
Speaking of lockouts, the CBA negotiated during the last one has successfully limited the lengths of contracts in the NBA while simultaneously making it more difficult to plan for the long term, according to some executives. By limiting risk, shorter contracts have flooded the marketplace with bidders, in turn driving up the prices on free agents.
The reactions to the Rockets‘ offseason have been mixed, according to Arnovitz. On one hand, GM Daryl Morey has essentially traded Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin and first and second round draft picks for Trevor Ariza, a first round pick and a trade exception. On the other hand, Morey has landed two max players in two years while maintaining the cap space to add another. However, there is sentiment that Morey’s analytics-based approach might eventually discourage future targets from coming to Houston.
The Spurs are still undoubtedly the model franchise of the NBA, though there is a buzz about what the Suns are building in Phoenix. Citing several insiders, Arnovitz writes that the Suns are adding assets while simultaneously producing an exciting product for their fans.
LeBron James‘ return to Cleveland hasn’t evoked nearly as much gossip among league insiders as his departure did, but one general manager expressed appreciation for the Cavaliers‘ star “carrying” the NBA right now from a business standpoint.
The analytics movement continues to devalue the mid-range game, resulting in widespread approval of Channing Frye‘s four-year, $32MM deal with the Magic and even some support for the three-year, $19.5MM deal that Jodie Meeks signed with the Pistons.

Southwest Notes: Parsons, Mavericks, Baynes

July 16th, 2014 at 12:40am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here’s what we’ve gathered out of the Southwest Division:

It’s widely suspected around the league that Dan Fegan insisted that the Rockets turn down their team option on Chandler Parsons before he would allow fellow client Dwight Howard to sign in Houston last summer, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Parsons strongly denied knowing of such a deal, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
On Monday, Parsons told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that he wasn’t thrilled with how the Rockets handled his restricted free agency. “…I was offended by the whole process…(Houston) publicly said that they were going out looking for a third star when I thought they had one right in front of them. I guess that’s just how they viewed me as a player. I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface of where I can be as a player and I think I’m ready for that role.”
Today, Parsons said he was surprised about the backlash he received by making those comments. While he didn’t back off from what he said, Parsons also cited that he praised Rockets GM Daryl Morey (Twitter link from Feigen).
On Monday, Mavericks president Donnie Nelson told Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the team may not be done tweaking their roster. “We’re not done…But we feel pretty good about where things are right now.” Following the team’s addition of Rashard Lewis today, Price reminds that Nelson plans to keep one of the team’s final two roster spots open for flexibility down the line (Twitter link).
In the former piece, Price mentions also Al-Farouq Aminu, Bernard James, Shawn Marion, and Ivan Johnson as other names that Dallas could attempt to add before the start of next season.
Nelson sat down for an interview with KESN-FM 103.3 to offer some insight on how the Mavs plan to approach the rest of the season (transcription via SportsDayDFW) and mentioned that the team is always keeping its eye out for a shooter. It’s worth noting that he said this before they added Lewis, however.
While they won’t close the door on re-signing Marion, Nelson acknowledges that the veteran forward’s value in the marketplace is much higher than what the Mavs can afford.
The Spurs still hope to retain restricted free agent center Aron Baynes, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Young adds that San Antonio is willing to match any reasonable offer.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Randle, Lin, Ariza, Stuckey, Davis

July 2nd, 2014 at 11:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Specialists have determined that Lakers first-round pick Julius Randle does not need surgery on his right foot and has been cleared to play, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. More from around the NBA..

Rockets GM Daryl Morey brushed off criticism over the club’s decision to photoshop Carmelo Anthony wearing the No. 7 that is sported by Jeremy Lin, writes Mark Berman of FOX 26. Of course, if Houston manages to sign Melo, that could mean the end of Lin in Houston. “Bottom line, if Carmelo comes Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin have to be traded. It’s just math. It’s not personal,” said the GM.
The Jazz are among the suitors for Trevor Ariza, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter) hears that there is definite interest in free agent guard Rodney Stuckey, particularly from high-level clubs. Goodwill suggests that a return to the Pacific Northwest could also be in the cards for the guard. In recent days, we’ve heard that the Magic and Pacers have interest.
The Clippers have been talking to free agent Ed Davis and they’re optimistic, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Grizzlies opted against tendering the 25-year-old an offer earlier this offseason.

Daryl Morey On Free Agency, Lin, Asik, Parsons

May 4th, 2014 at 8:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Things didn’t pan out as planned for the Rockets this season, but last night it was reported that they will still pick up the option on coach Kevin McHale for next season. The Rockets couldn’t get out of the first round, but they finished as the fourth seed this season with 54 wins, their most since the 2007/08 season. The coaching situation may be spoken for heading into the offseason, but there’s still plenty more on the docket for GM Daryl Morey & Co. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle sat down with Morey to discuss what could be on the agenda this summer. Here’s a look at some of the highlights..

Can this team get better just by adding rotation players, as opposed to a major overhaul or another summer with a major addition?

We’re always aggressive. We’ll always explore aggressive scenarios. But I feel confident if those don’t emerge, we’re not far off. We need to get (the record) into the high 50s if we’re going to be as good as we want to be. We need to improve our defense primarily. We were the youngest team in the league (in the post-season, fourth youngest and second least experienced in the regular season) and improving so an addition or two that are key, I feel confident we can make that step forward that we need to make.

We made a big leap forward with the addition of Dwight (Howard) and the growth of our young players to get to the mid-50 range. I think we’ve got to take one more step forward. But I think the average NBA title team won 57 games so we’re not far off. We’re not like prior to adding Dwight a major piece away to where I feel need not a small piece, but also not a franchise-changing piece away.

To be a true championship contender do you have to get a third All-Star caliber guy or do you just need to add a group of strong rotation players?

I would always take a third All-Star guy either from one of our guys improving or addition. There’s no negative to adding an All-Star level player. That said, I don’t feel it’s necessary. I do feel it’s my job to explore those things. I think our group playing more together after only a season together plus a lot of young players that can take a step forward and improve, plus we’ve got financial flexibility this year. We’re not limited to minimum player additions.

We have all our draft picks going forward to execute trades if necessary. We’ve got a lot of flexibility to improve. It’s my job to get that done and the players’ job to work on their games over the summer. The coaches are taking another look at our strategies and deciding what we’re going to do different next year to improve.

Because of their contract situations, the next largest after Dwight Howard and James Harden, do any moves need to involve Jeremy Lin and/or Omer Asik?

I don’t expect something bigger like that to happen. I could see where you would look to that if something bigger were to happen, but I don’t anticipate that.

If you were to go for a third max or near max guy, could you make it happen financially?

Yeah, we could make it happen. I think it’s unlikely.

How do you make a decision on picking up the option on Chandler Parsons’ contract when you don’t know what will happen in free agency two weeks after your deadline to make a decision?

We won’t know everything we need to know when we have to make a decision on on Chandler’s (contract) option. We have to make the best decision at the time we have to make it (June 29).

That sounds as if you have not made that decision yet.

No, that’s something we still have to talk through.

Do you have any concern about Kevin McHale being in the last year of his contract next year with the ‘lame duck” issue?

No. He’s a great coach. It’s not an issue for him or for us. I don’t see it as an issue. I’ve never bought into (the lame duck factor) for any coach. Some coaches disagree and some GMs may disagree, but he’s a head coach and he does a very good job. Just like I’m reevaluating and taking a look at what I need to do differently and better, he’s doing the same and our players are the same.

Rockets GM On Asik, Parsons, Motiejunas, Trades

January 26th, 2014 at 9:35am CST by Jonathan Nehring

Rockets GM Daryl Morey participated in a Q&A session with Houston season-ticket holders before Friday night’s game. Ben DuBose of ClutchFans.net combined Morey’s discussion that Miguel Nistal tweeted while attending the event. Below you can find some of Morey’s more notable responses.

On Omer Asik and his contract:

“At this point, Omer is very likely going to be here until the end of his contract at the end of next season, not this season. The window to trade him was [in December], and teams weren’t aggressive enough to get him, so we’re excited about him being a part of our future.”

On the upcoming free agency of Chandler Parsons:

“With Chandler, we have an interesting decision. At the end of this year, we can turn down his option. People wonder why, because it’s so cheap, but then he’d be a restricted free agent. Or he can go through his fourth year and be an unrestricted free agent. There are advantages to each, so it’s something we’ll continue to talk about. He’s going to make a lot of money on his next contract. We don’t know how much. But we’re committed to keeping him.”

Reflecting on his worst moves as Houston’s GM:

“I take some sort of pride that you could argue that Royce White is the worst first-round pick ever. He’s the only one that never played a minute in the NBA that wasn’t just a foreign guy staying in Europe. It just shows we swing for the fence.”

On inquiries about Donatas Motiejunas after he requested the Rockets trade him:

“Teams are opportunistic. Any player that other teams like and think is good and that’s not playing, generally that’s who you get calls on. We’ve gotten a lot of calls on Donatas because he’s a mobile 7-footer with offensive skill. He’s not a perfect player, but because he wasn’t playing, teams are like ‘Maybe we can get him on the cheap’.We believe in him. I expect him to be here. The reality is, it’s very hard to get a 7-footer who can play as well as him on a $1 million contract.”

On the upcoming trade deadline:

“The reality is, the more you prescribe what you’re going to do at the deadline, the worse off you are. “If you say you’ve got to go with X, if other teams sense you’re locked into a player or a particular direction, they take advantage of that. We’re very opportunistic. We didn’t know James Harden was going to be available. We just knew we wanted to build up the right sets so that when the next star acts, we’re ready to pounce.

“We’re valuing now and this season much higher than we have in the past. We feel like, while maybe not the favorite, we have a legit chance to win the title this year. So if an opportunity presents itself to get a lot better this year, we’ll do it. We’ll give up some future for now.

“That said, we do feel like we have a long run with this group. But you never know how long. It’s a balancing act. You’re always judging future vs. now, and what we’re optimizing on is the probability of us to win the title over a 3-to-4 year window. We’re trying to maximize that.

“We’ll push down the future if it pushes up today high enough. If we can push up the future dramatically, we’d even push down today a little bit.”

Western Notes: Warriors, Bryant, Jazz

November 13th, 2013 at 10:25pm CST by Charlie Adams

The West has been the stronger of the two conferences so far in the early going of the 2013/14 NBA season. There are nine teams above the .500 mark in the West compared to only three squads with winning records in the East. A conference chock full of winning teams is a recipe for intense and entertaining competition. Here are some notes regarding the West:

Despite the injury to point guard Toney Douglas, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears from team sources that the Warriors are not expected to make a move to bolster their backcourt. Thompson reports that Kent Bazemore and Nemanja Nedovic will be given a chance to come off the bench and run the team’s offense in Douglas’ absence.
There’s still no timetable for Kobe Bryant‘s return, tweets Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. The Lakers are paying Bryant over $30MM this season, a total almost $8MM greater than the next highest player on the list.
The Knicks‘ decision to let Jeremy Lin walk away from the team after the 2011/12 season was a surprise to many, including Rockets GM Daryl Morey: “We didn’t really understand it, and we thought for sure that Lin was going to stay. I thought if any team knew what it had, it was going to be New York.” Harvey Araton of the New York Times breaks down New York’s choice not to match the Rockets’ offer sheet.
Kenneth Faried declined to comment on the rumors implicating him as a possible early season trade candidate: “No comment on all of that. I just play basketball and do my job, and that’s it.” Faried had been linked to a potential trade with the Knicks‘ Iman Shumpert, but the Nuggets wanted more in return than New York had to offer. Read Christopher Dempsey’s full article about Faried at the Denver Post.
Earlier tonight, Utah Jazz beat writer Jody Genessy revealed (via Twitter) that Diante Garrett was shopping at WalMart when he received the call offering him a spot on the Jazz. Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune provides further insight on Utah’s acquisition of the young guard and what it means for the team.

Western Notes: Brown, Green, Morey, Ebanks

October 26th, 2013 at 4:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

Shannon Brown remains on the Wizards roster for now following last night’s trade, though the team is expected to let him go. He isn’t a lock to clear waivers, but if he does, HoopsWorld’s Steve Kyler hears he’d like to sign with the Lakers (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that several teams are interested, and Brown has yet to make up his mind. Fellow ESPN.com scribe Ramona Shelburne isn’t sure the Lakers will be too inclined to pick up Brown, since they already have 15 players under contract (Twitter link). Here’s more from the West:

After being bounced among seven NBA teams and two international stops by age 27, Gerald Green is OK with waiting for his turn to get minutes in the Suns‘ rotation, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Green, who came to Phoenix in the Luis Scola deal, is one of three small forwards on the team, but he should see more time at two-guard now that Brown is elsewhere.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey paid no attention to rumors that his job was on the line in recent years, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. “I heard second hand those rumblings, and it never made sense to me,” Morey said. “Maybe because I knew Mr. Alexander had a lot of faith in what we were doing and was really an architect in a lot of the strategy, so we were executing on a plan and the owner knew it. I think that, yeah, if we hadn’t been able to turn the corner like we hoped, then at some point he probably says, ‘Hey, I’ve got to change horses,’ and that’s fine. That’s his right. I wouldn’t have been bothered. But he had a lot of belief in us, and I don’t forget that.”
Former Lakers forward Devin Ebanks was among the players the Mavs cut this week, and he has committed to play with the the Texas Legends, the D-League affiliate of Dallas, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (Twitter link).
Bob Myers was an agent before he became GM of the Warriors, and that experience shows in his masterful negotiations on extensions for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry, writes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. We had plenty more on Bogut’s extension in a post earlier today.

Zach Links contributed to this post.