Why Daryl Morey is the reason the Rockets are awful

Let’s get one thing very clear. This isn’t a Daryl Morey hit piece. He’s an excellent general manager, team president, and Tweeter in support of democracy. But he’s also the reason the Houston Rockets are currently one of the worst teams in the NBA. 

Daryl Morey relentlessly chased a title with the Rockets

One of Morey’s greatest strengths as a general manager is his willingness to relentlessly push a team toward a championship. If he believes in his team, he’s all in. However, there’s a downside to his tenacious pursuit of a championship, and it’s called the future. 

The idea of straddling two competitive timelines is the ultimate dream of any organization. To be set up for greatness now and later sounds amazing, but it’s also never really been done in the salary cap era. The San Antonio Spurs are the closest example. But that required one of the great draft day trades in history to land Kawhi Leonard for George Hill, the rest of the NBA not scouting the international basketball world, and Tim Duncan aging as finely as Greg Popovich’s favorite wine. 

Morey understands that chasing the Holy Grail of basketball GMing is foolish and instead pushes all of his chips in to win with a roster that can win right now. He doesn’t leave the present to chance, but that can make the future vulnerable, which is exactly where the Houston Rockets find themselves now.