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n Kevin McHale's first year as the Rockets' head coach, he helped guide Houston to a 34-32 record in the lockout-shortened season, surpassing all expectations. Like so many other teams, Houston was planning to make a splash in the summer of 2012, hoping to score Dwight Howard via trade or Deron Williams via free agency.
Instead of hitting it big, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey completely struck out, and instead decided to settle for a pair of above-market-value contracts to restricted free agents Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin.
As it turned out, Morey pulled off the genius trade to get James Harden a handful of months later, and then pried Howard away from the Los Angeles Lakers the following summer. All is well that ends OK, I guess.
However, did Morey's dreams of bringing in Williams and Howard keep him from retaining the biggest bargain of the summer of 2012?
Houston spent the first half of its up-and-down 2011-12 season with Kyle Lowry as its point guard, and the Villanova product was en route to a career year before going down in early March with an injury. Before getting hurt, Lowry averaged 15.9 points, 7.2 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals a night for the surprising Rockets, nearly earning his first All-Star bid.
Meanwhile, Goran Dragic played second fiddle to Lowry, averaging just 7.5 points, 3.4 assists and 20.1 minutes per game up until Lowry went on the shelf. When Lowry went down, though, Dragic took the team by the horns, and pushed it to new heights. During Lowry's absence, Dragic averaged 18.5 points (52% FG and 44% 3pt), 8.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
When Lowry was finally ready to return to the lineup, McHale did his best to ease him back into the rotation, but ultimately decided to keep Dragic as the starter. Within a week, Houston started to fade, dropping six games in a row and falling out of contention. It was clear that Lowry's return had messed with the chemistry, and it was later reported that Lowry was unhappy with his reduced role.
We'll never know how much Lowry's negative attitude actually affected the team (although, I'm of the belief it cost it a playoff berth), but, either way, Houston entered the offseason with a number of decisions to make. Morey wanted to grab a couple stars and abandon most of the surprisingly competitive roster; he was only able to do the latter.
Morey traded Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for 50 cents on the dollar, amnestied Luis Scola and dealt Samuel Dalembert to move up a few spots in the draft. But, worst of all (in retrospect), he let Dragic walk in free agency. At the time, it wasn't clear whether the Phoenix Suns had made the right move offering Dragic, who had only started 36 games in four seasons, $30 million over four years, but time has validated the move.
What if Morey would have offered the three-year, $25 million contract to Dragic instead of Lin (which actually could have happened)? More importantly, what if Dragic would have accepted the deal and stayed in Houston?
Y! SPORTS
Instead of hitting it big, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey completely struck out, and instead decided to settle for a pair of above-market-value contracts to restricted free agents Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin.
As it turned out, Morey pulled off the genius trade to get James Harden a handful of months later, and then pried Howard away from the Los Angeles Lakers the following summer. All is well that ends OK, I guess.
However, did Morey's dreams of bringing in Williams and Howard keep him from retaining the biggest bargain of the summer of 2012?
Houston spent the first half of its up-and-down 2011-12 season with Kyle Lowry as its point guard, and the Villanova product was en route to a career year before going down in early March with an injury. Before getting hurt, Lowry averaged 15.9 points, 7.2 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals a night for the surprising Rockets, nearly earning his first All-Star bid.
Meanwhile, Goran Dragic played second fiddle to Lowry, averaging just 7.5 points, 3.4 assists and 20.1 minutes per game up until Lowry went on the shelf. When Lowry went down, though, Dragic took the team by the horns, and pushed it to new heights. During Lowry's absence, Dragic averaged 18.5 points (52% FG and 44% 3pt), 8.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
When Lowry was finally ready to return to the lineup, McHale did his best to ease him back into the rotation, but ultimately decided to keep Dragic as the starter. Within a week, Houston started to fade, dropping six games in a row and falling out of contention. It was clear that Lowry's return had messed with the chemistry, and it was later reported that Lowry was unhappy with his reduced role.
We'll never know how much Lowry's negative attitude actually affected the team (although, I'm of the belief it cost it a playoff berth), but, either way, Houston entered the offseason with a number of decisions to make. Morey wanted to grab a couple stars and abandon most of the surprisingly competitive roster; he was only able to do the latter.
Morey traded Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for 50 cents on the dollar, amnestied Luis Scola and dealt Samuel Dalembert to move up a few spots in the draft. But, worst of all (in retrospect), he let Dragic walk in free agency. At the time, it wasn't clear whether the Phoenix Suns had made the right move offering Dragic, who had only started 36 games in four seasons, $30 million over four years, but time has validated the move.
What if Morey would have offered the three-year, $25 million contract to Dragic instead of Lin (which actually could have happened)? More importantly, what if Dragic would have accepted the deal and stayed in Houston?
Y! SPORTS
