Rockets Luncheon with Daryl Morey

I recently purchased some season tickets for next season and was invited to a luncheon at Toyota Center where Morey talked for about 30 minutes. To be honest, he didn't share much info at all but I'm sure some of you are like me and will take any Rockets news you can get at this time.

DM: Most of the team will be back next year. We were the youngest team in the league. Just by adding one year under their belt, teams like ours will add 4 to 5 wins. So where we want to be trying to get to next year is that 50 win range. If we can add one of these significant free agents we feel like that could potentially put us in the championship contention. The models out there that we are similar to that we are trying to accomplish are OKC which was similar to us, similar age, similar to us in everything. Three years ago they lost 4-2 to the top seed just like us and then they progressed very well from there. The other team that has really done things the right way is Miami. First when they only had Wade, who we think is equivilant talent to Harden at a similar age, they planned their cap really well like what we are doing right now and they were able to add Shaq. Then they were very careful with their cap again when they added the players they added this time(Lebron & Bosh obviously). So that's sort of the plan, to go after some of the bigger free agents this year and if we don't get them then carefully manage the cap to get us to the 50 win range with most of the players we have now and keep our flexibility. We feel we took a big leap forward this season but we still feel we need to take another big leap forward whether that is through trade or free agency.

(Disclaimer: I'm taking some liberties with my summary of the Q&A to save time)

Q: The eastern conference is much easier than the western conference and how does that get evened out?

DM: It's not changing. Really you have to look at the owners and the western conference has better owners for the most part so the teams are better. We just have to keep fighting. Our goal is to win the title and even though our path will be harder it's still the same goal. It is what it is.

Q: You are known for being a different type of GM but who are the people you modelled you management style after?

DM: Primarily I did a lot of reading. Probably reading Bill James and his ideas of how to build a team before he was hired by the Red Sox. Danny Ainge was a forward thinking, smart ,former player that I took a lot from. And then Carol Dawson for one year. The owner Les Alexander is the unsung hero that does a lot behind the scenes. He consistently takes gambles on us so we can accomplish big things.

Q: Dwight Howard?

DM: I can't answer that. Let's just say we are going after 2 of the biggest free agents(obviously Dwight & CP3) and not being as agressive with the others.

Q: Could it be a package deal?

DM: There are some sort of very unlikely scenarios where that could happen. But it's very unlikey because like 20 things would have to align for that to happen. It would be very interesting but I have to live in the world of getting things done and that is very unlikely to get done.

Q: Do you feel this team is one player or one draft pick away from being a championship contender?

DM: Every team is one piece away and his name is LeBron. But if it were one of the 2 free agents that I can't name it would be significant. Draft picks are unlikely bring help to us unless maybe it's a rotation player but hopefully we won't have good picks. We have to do like the Spurs who get guys like Gary Neal or players like that. We need 1 more all star level player. The likliest ways of that happening are first free agency, then current player improvement, and least likely is through our draft pick.

Q: Thoughts on Thomas Robinson?

DM: He is actually here today(at the Toyota Center) working out. We have high hopes for him. We normally wouldn't have the opportunity to get a guy that was 5th in the draft and we are still high on him. He came in a tough spot of the season. This year we could have Dmo, Jones, TRob, Greg Smith, and potential the Turkish player all fight it out to see who's best.

Q: Will F.Garcia be back?

DM: We had to be careful with the cap so we had to let him go. Later on in free agency we would like to bring him back but it takes 2 sides to agree.

Q: What's plan B if you can't get Dwight or CP3?

DM: We would like to keep our flexibility and be open to other trades. By the way, I want you all to know it's safe to buy Harden jerseys or most all of our jerseys even though that has not been the case in the last few years. But our goal is to go for the big dogs in free agency and then be smart if that doesn't work to keep flexibility.

Q: With guys like Aldridge and Love being free agents the following summer is there any reluctance to spend this summer?

DM: Well that is an option. However, both of the guys you mentioned are not free agents the following year but that doesn't mean they won't come available because Harden wasn't a free agent either. Anyways, it's so hard to get an elite player so we can't pass up a big free agent in hopes of someone in another year. We have Harden all the way til he is 28 years old and we don't want to waste his prime. Look at the Blazers they were set up with Roy, Aldridge, and Oden so we don't want to take anything for granted.

Q: What is team's biggest team to improve?

DM: We don't like locking into a position because that gets you in trouble. The biggest need is an all star regardless of position except for SG where we have Harden. But our weakest spot is obviously PF but we don't want to bring in an average guy that stunts the growth of the young guys and hurts our flexibility.

Q: What do you think of how Patrick Beverly took over for Lin?

DM: Beverly played very well. I hate how Lin's season ended with the muscle pull. Lin had an unbelievable season. Unfortunately most people only remember the beginning and the end. At the start of the season jeremy struggled coming back from knee injury and ended with the chest injury but we are happy with how he played. Harden won the most games for Rockets, then Asik, and then Jeremy and CP were tied for third. So Patrick is going to be a nice rotation player for us at least the next 3 years with a very high ceiling. But about Jeremy, not to be defensive, but we were not expecting him to have 30 points a game 10 assists like he did in New York so we are happy with how he played.

Q: Are other GMs afraid to deal with the Rockets?

DM: No. Fortunetly, the egos in the NBA are really big so they are all really confident in what they do and they should be since most have accomplished more than the Rockets.

Q: How are you using the SportsView data that collects data on player movement on the court?

DM: We have overhead cameras along with 10 to 12 others teams. It's a lot of data and it can be used to analyze a lot of different things but we'd like to keep that pretty quiet. Everything you can think of we can track so it is a great advantage.

Q: How attractive is Houston to free agents?

DM: I always thought Houston was a great destination. Between the state income tax, our presence in China, and our players are guys other players want to play with. You could argue that only 1 to 4 destinations in the NBA are argueably better.

Q: Thoughts on Royce White?

DM: We are hopefully but he is dealing with a lot issues off the court. It was nice to see him on the court during the 2nd half of season.

Q: What are long term plans for Chandler Parson/

DM: (sarcastically) It's shocking that the first female that asks a question asks me about Chandler. haha. But he is our starting 3 and he is critical to our future. I would extend his contract now if they would let me but the NBA rules say I can't. He has at least 2 more years here and hopefully many more.

Q: Is Sergio Llull going to come over?

DM: It was great that Les Alexander gave us money to buy 2nd round pick a few years back to get him. Now the rules have changed so teams can't do that as much. He is #1 guard in Spain. Was MVP in one of the Euro cups recently. He is for sure an NBA ready guy. He won't come over this offseason but maybe the following one as his buyout gets lower. Now with Lin and Beverly it would be unlikely he'd play right now anyway. It's kind of admirable, he really wants to win a title in Europe and he was close this year. Before he comes over, he sort of wants to win big for Real Madrid's team because they brought him along this far in his career.

I think Daryl didn't say anything that he wouldn't mind all of us knowing so I feel okay sharing this with you all. Again, there is no breaking news in here but it took a long time to type it up so hope you guys enjoy reading it.