{"id":196961,"date":"2026-05-24T14:30:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T18:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=196961"},"modified":"2026-05-24T13:08:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:08:00","slug":"daryl-morey-rockets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/24\/daryl-morey-rockets\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Houston Pivot Too Hard From the Daryl Morey Rockets?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> decided to part ways with President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. Morey had been with the team since 2020. Before that, he was memorably the Houston Rockets general manager for 13 years. Is there anything left of the Morey Rockets legacy in Houston?<\/p>\n

Examining the Legacy of the Daryl Morey Rockets<\/h2>\n

Morey started as the Rockets\u2019 general manager in 2007. The apex of his tenure came in 2018. He guided the franchise to a seven-game Western Conference Finals against the Steph Curry<\/a>, Kevin Durant<\/a> Golden State Warriors. The Rockets lost Game 7<\/a> 101-92 courtesy of 27 straight missed three-pointers.<\/p>\n

It’s a poetic twist of fate, then, that Morey’s interim replacement on the Sixers is none other than Bob Myers. The same Bob Myers who was the general manager for that dynastic Warriors team. Considering Morey’s uninspiring Sixers tenure and his current reputation with the players, it seems unlikely he’d be appointed to lead another NBA front office.<\/p>\n

But Morey’s Rockets tenure will continue to have a lasting legacy in the league. It just seems to be ignored for the moment in Houston.<\/p>\n

Morey stayed with the Rockets until 2020, when he was replaced by Rafael Stone. Stone\u2019s first assignment after serving as Morey\u2019s long-time assistant? The deconstruction of the final Morey Rockets innovation \u2013 micro-ball.<\/p>\n

The Morey Rockets’ Micro-Ball<\/h3>\n

In 2019-20, the Rockets had a starting lineup that featured the 6-foot-7 Robert Covington<\/a> as its tallest player. 6-foot-5 PJ Tucker<\/a> officially started at center and defended the opposing five. The center on offense was basically 6-foot-4 Russell Westbrook<\/a>. The 6-foot-8 Jeff Green<\/a> was the tallest player in the rotation.<\/p>\n

That team flamed out in the second round versus the Los Angeles Lakers. They were simply too small to compete. Six years later, in 2025-26, the Rockets flamed out versus the Lakers again — this time in the first round. It certainly wasn\u2019t because they were too small.<\/p>\n

The Rockets have completely flipped on the size spectrum in Stone\u2019s tenure. But for injuries, the Rockets probably would have started Durant, Steven Adams<\/a>, Alperen Sengun<\/a> and Jabari Smith Jr.<\/a> — all 6 feet, 11 inches tall — alongside the 6-foot-7 Amen Thompson<\/a>. That was Houston\u2019s fourth most-played lineup<\/a> this season at 97 minutes.<\/p>\n

As it turned out, Adams was injured by the playoffs, and Durant missed all but one of Houston\u2019s six postseason games. Size was still very much not the issue. Instead, it was another way in which the franchise has fully departed from the Morey Rockets era: 3-point shooting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Morey Rockets era was characterized by heliocentric basketball and as much 3-point shooting as possible. In 2017, the Rockets led the league<\/a> with 40.3 three-point attempts per game. The Cleveland Cavaliers were second with 33.9. In the 2025-26 regular season<\/a>, six teams took over 40 threes per game.<\/p>\n

Morey\u2019s vision was to have star players handle the vast majority of shot creation, most notably the now estranged<\/a> 2018 MVP, James Harden<\/a>. To enable that, he sought to surround them with teammates whose only offensive responsibility was hitting catch-and-shoot three pointers.<\/p>\n