Daryl Morey stepping down as Rockets GM
Analytics innovator also spurred China standoff
Daryl Morey is stepping down as general manager of the Houston Rockets.
Morey was the Rockets’ GM for 13 years and was with the team for 14 years overall. ESPN reported Morey approached Houston owner Tilman Fertitta about leaving after the team was eliminated in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Rafael Stone is expected to be promoted to general manager, a person with knowledge of the team’s plan told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because the team had not announced a successor. Morey said in a statement he will stay with the team until Nov. 1.
“I am very confident that the future — for the Rockets, and for our incredible fans — is in great hands, and that the Rockets will continue to perform at the highest level,” Morey said.
The Rockets are also in the middle of trying to find a coach for a team that has All-Star guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Mike D’Antoni left after four seasons last month.
Since 2007-08, the first season of Morey’s tenure, the Rockets reached the playoffs 10 times. However, they never advanced further than the Western Conference Finals (twice, 2015, 2018). Morey won executive of the year after the team went 65-17 in 2017-18.
“Daryl is a brilliant innovator who helped the Rockets become a perennial contender,” Fertitta said in a statement.
About a year ago, Morey’s support of protesters in Hong Kong — sent via tweet — triggered a months-long standoff between China and the NBA. Chinese state-run television pulled NBA broadcasts. At the All-Star Game, commissioner Adam Silver estimated losses from the league’s business standoff with China to be in the $400 million range.
Morey is considered one of the fathers of the modern-day NBA analytics movement, developing an offensive philosophy of taking 3-pointers, shots at the rim and free throws with not much in between.