Houston Rockets: Daryl Morey States Team Needs A 3rd Star To Be Championship Team

Rockets GM Daryl Morey

In a recent interview with Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated about the development of Houston Rockets forward Chandler Parsons, general manager Daryl Morey stated the team needs a 3rd star to be championship contenders. Morey likes the chances of Parsons developing into that type of player, but also doesn’t write off fellow youngsters Terrence Jones and Jeremy Lin:

“We feel very comfortable that our two top players(James Harden and Dwight Howard) are what we need to be a championship team,” said Morey. “And we do need someone to step into that third role. We don’t have our third-best player on a championship team yet, and we need one of younger guys to develop into that — or potentially make an addition, whether it be this year or in free agency this offseason.

He’s(Parsons) definitely got the ability to be the third-best player on a championship team,” said Morey. “He’s played like that many times. The tough transition is whether you bring that level every night.”

While the bulk of interview centered around Parsons, and his remarkable stride from a 2nd-round draft pick to a clear cut NBA starter, Morey’s comments about the state of the team provides some insight on the possible direction that he could take in the near future.

The Rockets very well would like for Parsons, or even Jones or Lin for that matter, to mature into the 3rd best player, but if that doesn’t turn out to be the case, then the summer of 2015 could be a huge offseason where the likes of Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, David West, Goran Dragic, and Tony Parker, may all be free agents. The Rockets would have cap space as both Omer Asik and Lin’s contract would be cleared by then.

But with Parsons averaging career highs of 17.1 points, 51 percent shooting percentage, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, it would be hard to see why he can’t develop into being the team’s 3rd star.