Hands-on ownership
Despite hands-off reputation, Alexander deeply involved in team decisions as owner
GM Daryl Morey and president Tad Brown know how Leslie Alexander will be missed.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey long since had one part of his news conference speech down pat.
No matter the deal, whether a trade or free-agent signing, at some point Morey would credit “Mr. Alexander.”
He was not sucking up to the boss, who has as much interest in hearing praise from a podium as he does in taking a seat there.
But Morey knew everything was influenced by Leslie Alexander, the Rockets owner of 24 years. He also knew the void that will be left even if the only change to come to the Rockets when Alexander sells the team is the occupant of the corner office.
As much as Alexander had the image of a hands-off owner, those in the organization knew there was no detail he considered too small, from checking with Rockets president Tad Brown about the installation of the new double doors near the loading dock last week to discussing deals with Morey on filling the 15th roster spot.
More than staying informed, Brown and Morey — the only members of the organization who report directly to the team’s owner — said Alexander drove every decision.
“Everything that touches … how we build our business, run our business and evaluate our business, he has a hand in directing,” Brown said. “It’s through conversations he and I have had for 14 years now that impact the way everyone here thinks about how the business should operate.
“It’s because of what he wants us to be, which has given me and Daryl the ability to create the organization we have been able to create. His impact is felt in everything we do. It’s in the design of the building. It’s in retrofitting the building to make sure we keep it up to standards that are best in class. It’s making sure we go above and beyond in our energy efficiency and LEED certification, our waste management programs, employees utilizing time in community initiatives.”
Brown could go on, but the most conspicuous influence is naturally on the court. Alexander has long had the reputation of a hands-off owner, but he never was, often prompting laughter from the front office when he was described that way.
He more than expected to be informed about deals large and small. He is part of the debate, usually with Socratic method in which he expected well-informed answers.
“People don’t understand how many of the very good trades, signings, drafts, everything he had a big influence on either directly or indirectly through the smart questions he asks or his ability to challenge our staff or myself,” Morey said. “He’ll very much be missed. I don’t envy the new owner. He’ll have big shoes to fill.”
Type of owner ‘fans should want’
Typically, if Morey presented a plan, Alexander had been a part of the discussions but would sign off only after considering the answers to his questions, usually without offering his opinions until he reached a conclusion.
“When the decision gets close, he’ll ask some very good questions,” Morey said. “If you have good answers, he’ll say, ‘Go ahead.’ If he feels like something’s been missed, he’ll challenge the decision. Maybe you do it anyway, but that challenge/response approach is very important for a healthy franchise.”
Morey would not be specific about examples of the alternatives, but he described an involved owner as a watchdog for a team’s future and a hand-off owner as dangerous.
“A good, smart, involved owner is something fans should always want,” he said. “That’s one of the great con jobs that has been foisted upon other fan bases, that they don’t want an involved owner. An uninvolved owner is almost always worse.
“An uninvolved owner is almost as bad as a bad owner because they are really the only ones that have exactly the incentives of the fans and only the fans in mind. They’re owning the team for a very long time. You don’t have to look very far for franchises with an uninvolved owner where they traded the next five years of draft picks unprotected for three more wins to make the job look better. You want a smart, involved owner. That’s what’s best for fans.”
On smaller moves, such as the signings of Troy Williams and Bobby Brown, Alexander was part of the general planning and kept informed. On a move such as the trade for Chris Paul or the planned pursuit of Paul as a free agent, Alexander weighed in on every step of the process.
Similarly, he made sure his lieutenants worked together.
“It was very clear from Leslie to make sure Daryl and I operated as one,” Brown said. “We’re here on the same floor. We have like goals and objectives, which is we’re going to win and we’re going to give back. All our resources are going to align and work toward those goals. That doesn’t happen in a lot of places. You have church and state and they are never intertwined. That’s not (the way it is) here.”
‘At the top of their game’
New ownership can change anything it chooses. An owner might not want the same level of involvement or could fancy himself the expert telling a coach the sort of offense to run.
The Rockets will not argue that Alexander’s conclusions and decisions always worked. There have been highprofile hits and misses. But as they consider the changes to come with the sale of the team, those that work most directly with him know things will change more dramatically than many outside the organization realize.
“Leslie changed my life,” Morey said. “I can’t imagine working for anyone else. He’s such a good owner. People forget, when I was hired it was one of the worst teams in the league records-wise. He took a big risk. I’ll forever appreciate that.
“He makes us better. Those smart questions are super important to come from an owner. It crystallizes the decision-making. It challenges everyone to be at the top of their game.”