NBA Rumors: Daryl Morey Reportedly Stepping Down As GM Of The Houston Rockets
Former NBA Executive of the Year Daryl Morey looks to be stepping down as general manager of the Houston Rockets after spending the last 13 years running the team’s basketball operations. ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report on the 48-year-old’s apparent decision to resign his post, with Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reporting on the move shortly thereafter.
Per Wojnarowski, it was Morey who floated the idea of leaving the job to Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta after the team was eliminated from the playoffs in the league’s Orlando, Florida, bubble. At that point, the two sides quietly began to work out the details of an exit agreement. Feigen’s source offered a similar account of the events, stating that Morey’s departure is “100 percent” his own decision.
The Rockets will reportedly promote Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Rafael Stone to GM. Meanwhile, Morey will remain with the franchise in an advisory role on a temporary basis to aid in its ongoing head coaching search. Mike D’Antoni, who was hired by Morey in 2016, elected not to re-sign with the Rockets after having coached for the last four years.
Similar to Billy Beane’s “moneyball” approach to constructing a roster for the Oakland Athletics in the early 2000s, Morey employed data-based analytical concepts to inform his personnel decisions in Houston. As a result, he was able to quickly rebuild the team in the wake of the Yao Ming era and propel the Rockets back into the upper echelon of NBA squads.
The key move of his tenure came in October of 2012 when he was able to acquire James Harden — as well as Daequan Cook, Cole Aldrich and Lazar Hayward — from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and multiple draft picks. Although Harden had been an important cog in Oklahoma City, and had even captured the league’s Sixth Man Award the previous season, he became a superstar with his new club, racking up a number of All-Star nods and winning the NBA MVP trophy in 2018.
In turn, the Rockets evolved into a powerhouse in the Western Conference, advancing to postseason play in each of the last eight years, making two trips to the conference finals and winning 50-plus games five times.
Although he has been lauded as one of basketball’s best decision-makers, Morey came under fire in late 2019 for tweeting his support of protestors in Hong Kong. Although Fertitta and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver publicly defended Morey’s actions, it has been estimated that the tweet cost the league nearly $400 million in revenue by straining its business relationships with China.
