Houston Rockets: Why Daryl Morey’s contract extension makes sense

The Houston Rockets did the right thing by announcing that they’ve retained their own for a bit longer on the docket.

Yes, I’m talking about Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.  Considering one of the most aggressive GMs in the business as a whole, he just received himself a new deal with the franchise.

This news comes as not much of a surprise as Morey has built a sterling reputation as a respected GM in the NBA.  His out-of-the-box thinking — sprinkled with a heavy dose of analytics — has ensured that the Houston Rockets field a competitive team each an every year.  Morey, who has been with the team since 2006-07 season as assistant GM to the legendary Carroll Dawson, fully transitioned to his role to take over in 2007-08.

With this new deal, he’s locked up through the 2021-22 season, just as he passes his 15th year with the franchise.  You better believe he’ll honor that contract and hopefully we’ll have had a championship by the time he gets close to the end of his deal.

Since then, the Houston Rockets have had some bumps in the road along the way during his tenure but the overall product out on the court has been a solid one to watch.  But if you base his success by how we’ve done in the postseason — we still haven’t been to an NBA Finals since the championship season — then one has to be misguided in the forward-thinking vision that Morey entails.

Mark Berman of FOX26 (KRIV) reported the news first:

But the proof is in the pudding.  Over Morey’s 10 seasons as GM the team has compiled a 479-326 record.  That indicates the team has won 59.5 percent of their games with five 50+ win seasons, four 40+ win seasons and one 34-win season.  We’ve had seven playoff appearances with four first-round, two semis and one West Finals exit.  Every season James Harden has been a Rocket, we’ve made qualified for the playoffs.

That’s a damn good record if you ask me.  Morey was on the brunt end of the Yao Ming/Tracy McGrady-era that Dawson initiated but it was in 2012 where he made the trade heard ’round the world with acquiring Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder.  This will forever be his signature move because it has paid tremendous dividends of millions — even billions of dollars — many times over.

You can fault him for not being attached to players and viewing them as assets as they way an accountant would on their balance sheet but he knows what he’s doing.  I certainly trust in the process and I always appreciate that feeling that there’s no ceiling, that he can work to make this team better than before.  It’s a constant swing for the fences he has that continues to make me a fan of him.

I hear the notion — especially from friends of mine — that he needs to be fired.  Why?  If that happens, his phone will explode from all the texts from teams that want his services.  The reality is that owners want guys like Morey in their corner because they speak the same language — numbers — which translate to M-O-N-E-Y.  Yes, I had to spell that out for you because I can certainly attest that he’s made a lot for the Rockets and helped fill owner Les Alexander’s ever-flowing coffers of cash.

In 2007, the franchise was worth $462 million and as of February 2017, the Rockets are now worth a whopping $1.6 billion.  When you adjust for inflation over the past 10 years, that’s a incredible $1.1B increase in value during his tenure.  Can he be given the credit for all of that?  Of course not, but he certainly helped get that number to where it is now.  Alexander knows this and he’s going ensure that Morey doesn’t go anywhere.

Next: Why Daryl Morey will win NBA Executive of the Year

He’s likely going to win the NBA’s Executive of the Year award — one that he has never obtained — as this accolade will certainly validate the top-notch work that he’s done over the years.  So take a bow Morey, you deserve every bit of the credit that has been bestowed upon you.  You’ve got my full support.

And that’s why this extension not only makes sense but it’s just the prudent thing to do.

Go Rockets.