If the rhetoric of Houston Rockets team owner Tillman Fertitta is to be believed then general manager Daryl Morey will not have to worry about cleaning out his office (yet).
Reporting from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon indicates that Fertitta hasn’t “wavered” on keeping Morey as the general manager.
Morey’s job status has seemingly been on shaky ground since he tweeted his support of Hong Kong protesters back in October of 2019, which placed a great amount of strain between NBA and the Houston Rockets relationship with China.
Speaking with the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Fiegen, Fertitta has this to say:
The tweet was seven words. There was nothing wrong with the tweet. That’s why one hour later I told ESPN when I was asked ‘Are you going to get rid of Daryl Morey,’ I was like, ‘Are you crazy? Why would I get rid of Daryl for that tweet?’ I think Daryl’s one of the best general managers in the league. Plus, we truly enjoy working with each other. To this day, we plan on working with each other, and I expect Daryl to be here for years to come.”
Morey has sat in the Rockets GM chair since 2007 and the franchise has appeared in ten postseasons, including coming within a sniff of the NBA Finals.
With Morey’s status, for now, assured, the other major personnel decision for the Rockets is the fate of head coach Mike D’Antoni, who is in the last year of his current deal.
