Sunday, February 17, 2013
Rockets GM Morey's job security
By Tom Carpenter
Although Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander typically doesn't negotiate contracts with his front-office personnel until their current deal is done, he said that he intends to extend general manager Daryl Morey's contract before it expires after next season, according to Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen.
“His contract is up next year, I believe,” Alexander said on Saturday. “We’ll re-up him. Daryl knows that I judge him all the time. I've told him. He’s not shy about it, either. He just knows that’s the way I operate. Why wouldn't I? The general manager is the one person in your organization you can really judge. He can make good moves or bad moves. This year, I think he’s made three terrific moves.”
There is no doubting how Morey has upped the talent level of the Rockets by bringing in James Harden, Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. Per Feigen, the Rockets don't have any trade offers on the table at the moment and any pre-deadline deal likely would only swap cap-space for a draft pick.
Obviously, they'll be cautious with their cap space as they hope to land a big free-agent fish like Dwight Howard this offseason. Securing the right piece in that regard should give Morey even more negotiating power on his next deal. The only long-term issue he may face is just how toxic Lin's contract will be down the road, but if the Rockets have enough talent to compete for a title, overpaying Lin shouldn't be much of an issue.
