5 worst decisions made by Daryl Morey as the Houston Rockets' GM
In hindsight, it would be easy to say that Chris Paul's contract in 2018 was the worst decision made by Daryl Morey as the Houston Rockets' General Manager. Considering how Chris Paul has played for the OKC Thunder, opinions about that deal might start to change a bit now, though.
Daryl Morey was the Houston Rockets' General Manager since 2017. During his 13-year stint with the team, he made a total of 77 trades, which ranked second among NBA teams for most trades since 2007. During his tenure, the Houston Rockets ranked second in regular-season wins, behind the San Antonio Spurs.
In this article, we will take a look into the five worst decisions made by Daryl Morey as the Houston Rockets' GM.
5 worst decisions made by Daryl Morey as the Houston Rockets' GM
The list has been formulated after evaluation of trades, signings, draft picks and signings that were not made during his tenure. Of course, Daryl Morey' stint at the franchise was a very successful one but he made a few choices which in hindsight could have been different.
Without further ado, let us have a look at the five worst decisions made by the former Houston Rockets' GM Daryl Morey who decided to leave the role due to personal reasons.
#5 Drafting Marcus Morris in the 2011 NBA Draft
It is not an easy proposition to get the right player in the NBA Draft. That is because selecting a player is not just a matter of going for what the staff feels is the rich choice. The said player also needs to be the right fit at the franchise.
In the 2011 Draft, Daryl Morey's staff thought that Marcus Morris was a better fit than Kawhi Leonard or Nikola Vucevic, the two picks made immediately after Morris. Even Tobias Harris was selected after Daryl Morey pulled the trigger on Marcus Morris.
Now it may seem that it was a crazy choice for the Houston Rockets, but it was only a wrong choice at that time and not a blatantly poor one. Leonard was usually ranked higher than Morris, but Daryl Morey and his crew thought that the latter could be better for them.
#4 Trading Kyle Lowry after he started to find his stride
Kyle Lowry entered the NBA in 2006 with the Memphis Grizzlies and spent two and a half seasons with them, averaging 8.6 points and four assists while playing 24 minutes per game.
After Lowry was traded to the Rockets on 19 February 2009, two years later he averaged 14 points and seven assists per game.
In the shortened 2011-12 season, Lowry again had a good year for the 34-32 Rockets. He thrived as the playmaker with Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic, Courtney Lee and Chandler Parsons around him.
Daryl Morey's Houston Rockets traded Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for Gary Forbes and a first-round pick in the 2013 Draft on 11 July 2012. Lowry's contract with the Houston Rockets at that time was in its second year, and the deal was a four-year $24 million contract.
In that same off-season, Daryl Morey went after Jeremy Lin and had to give up $25 million for the next three seasons to get the player. Since then, Lowry became an NBA All-star and is averaging 17.6 points, seven assists and five rebounds in eight years with the Raptors while helping them win the 2019 NBA championship.