spurscenter
09-14-2007, 02:28 PM
http://hoopsblogging.com/2007/09/14/rockets-gm-daryl-moreys-outlook-for-the-upcoming-season/
A Sina Sports reporter was able to catch up with Daryl Morey, the Houston Rockets GM, at the Charity Gala that was hosted by Yao Ming and Steve Nash in Beijing.
The ironic thing about this interview is that it was done in English before being translated into Chinese for the Sina Sports website. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find the initial transcription, but thanks to pryuen of Clutchfans, I’m able to pass over a double-translated version of the interview.
Normally, I’d just provide a link to the interview and highlight a few key aspects. Since it’s necessary to post the entire interview, I’ll close with a summary of my thoughts. Here’s the interview:
—–
Daryl Morey Sina Sports: Ni Hao (Chinese greeting….like Good Day, or How Are You?), Mr. Morey. We’re sort of surprised to see you here tonight at this Charity Gala. When did you arrive into China?
Morey: I just arrived into China yesterday. (Like a lot of us), I also received Yao Ming’s and Bill Duffy’s (the renowned NBA agent) invitation to participate in this activity. But my stopover in China this time will be very short, and I will have to return to US right after tomorrow’s charity game.
Sina Sports: What is your feeling about participating in such charitable activities? Will you consider bidding in tonight’s auction?
Morey: I felt much honored to be able to attend such charity activity. I knew Yao Ming is always a noble person who enjoys doing charitable things. He had already participated in many such charitable activities in the past, and had also filmed some advertisement for charity and public services. (As to myself), I’m not good in auctioning. Even though I am very much interested to own some of these articles that are put onto auction, I’m afraid I have not brought sufficient money to buy them. HA HA HA….
Sina Sports: You have just taken over as the General Manager of the Houston Rockets this summer. Tell us something about your view of the Rockets.
Morey: Even though I just took over as the General Manager, actually I had started as Carroll Dawson’s assistant last season and handled Rockets business matters; therefore (I believe) I had acquired certain understanding about this team. Without a doubt, Yao Ming is the most important member of this team; he is an extremely outstanding player, and he is the cornerstone and foundation of our team’s future progress.
Sina Sports: You have made a lot of personnel changes over this off-season. What were your considerations?
Morey: Yes, indeed we made some very big upheavals of personnel in this summer: we have changed our head coach; we recalled Steve Francis; we acquired Luis Scola; but we also retained good players like Bonzi Wells and Chuck Hayes. The reason we were doing all that is simple; we hope we can change to become much more stronger. I really think with the addition of all these new players, together with our 2 core star players in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, our team’s overall strength will be improved by leaps and bounds.
Sina Sports: Mentioning about a new head coach, do you think, under Rick Adelman’s systems and coaching, will there be a difference in how Yao Ming will be deployed?
Morey: I don’t think so. Yao Ming is the core and anchor of our offense and defense. I was constructing this whole team revolving around him. Even though Rick Adelman’s coaching ideologies and methods are different to those of Jeff Van Gundy, I don’t think it will affect and reduce Yao Ming’s role and function. On the contrary, I think Yao Ming will have more room and space to grow and develop.
Sina Sports: Luis Scola has already become famous now in China. On one hand he has just been awarded MVP in the FIBA Americas Championship, but most importantly, he has joined the Rockets (and become Yao Ming’s team mate); so suddenly his popularity had risen dramatically here in China. It seemed like you had a great transaction/trade done with San Antonio Spurs using Vassilis Spanoulis as a bait for exchange of this Argentine.
Morey: HA HA HA, if purely judged from present situation, it is rightly so (that it was a bargain trade). Luis Scola’s performance in the FIBA Americas Championship was really exciting. Well, actually when we spotted him, we did take into the consideration of his immense potentials; or otherwise, it will not be that easy for us to carry out player transaction with teams within our own division. Let’s hope he can bring over that kind of performance that he displayed in international basketball onto NBA courts. I believe he can become a very important member of our team.
Sina Sports: So after all these series of transformations, do you think, in terms of overall team strength, the Houston Rockets has already caught up with teams like San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks?
Morey: Yes, with our current players, we are already no longer weak when compared with other teams in the Western Conference. Of course, teams like San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, and even the Utah Jazz, will still be considered hot favorite contenders to win the championship; compared to us, they have much more experience. Whether we have really reached their level and standard of play, well, we have to find it out on the court.
Sina Sports: Then, where do you think is the current weakling in the Rockets?
Morey: Relatively speaking, there are still some disparity in our Position 1 and Position 2 when compared with those apex teams in the league. Like the star of tonight’s Charity Gala, Steve Nash; he is a player that we long to sign but not even in our fantasy/dream. I must send him my regards and respect. He is definitely one of the top and best point guards in this league. Of course, players like Deron Williams and Tony Parker are basically the key to the successes of Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs.
Sina Sports: What is the goal for the Houston Rockets in the new season?
Morey: Our goal is definitely we want to advance further deep into the playoff, and simultaneously we can help Yao Ming to advance further into the playoff. We surely hope and crave for the NBA Championship, but you know we have to take it step by step on our road to Championship. I knew the Houston Rockets had a massive fan base here in China. They are the motivational forces to press us forward, but at the same time, I do start to feel the tremendous responsibility and pressure on my shoulder. I hope the Rockets fans here in China can always support us, and in return, we will repay them with our good performance and results.
Sina Sports: Thank you very much, Mr. Morey. Hope this trip of yours in China will be smooth and fruitful. Also wish the Houston Rockets will get ideal results in the new season.
Morey: Also thank you for the care and attention to the Houston Rockets, and I hope you will continue to support us.
—–
While many people are excited to hear that Yao will still be the focal point for the Rockets, there was never really any doubt. Sure, Rick Adelman runs a different system that what Jeff Van Gundy was doing with the team, but there’s no way a coach of Adelman’s stature would pass up an opportunity to utilize the best center in the league.
It also appears as though Luis Scola will have the opportunity to be a very significant part of this team’s success.
A Sina Sports reporter was able to catch up with Daryl Morey, the Houston Rockets GM, at the Charity Gala that was hosted by Yao Ming and Steve Nash in Beijing.
The ironic thing about this interview is that it was done in English before being translated into Chinese for the Sina Sports website. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find the initial transcription, but thanks to pryuen of Clutchfans, I’m able to pass over a double-translated version of the interview.
Normally, I’d just provide a link to the interview and highlight a few key aspects. Since it’s necessary to post the entire interview, I’ll close with a summary of my thoughts. Here’s the interview:
—–
Daryl Morey Sina Sports: Ni Hao (Chinese greeting….like Good Day, or How Are You?), Mr. Morey. We’re sort of surprised to see you here tonight at this Charity Gala. When did you arrive into China?
Morey: I just arrived into China yesterday. (Like a lot of us), I also received Yao Ming’s and Bill Duffy’s (the renowned NBA agent) invitation to participate in this activity. But my stopover in China this time will be very short, and I will have to return to US right after tomorrow’s charity game.
Sina Sports: What is your feeling about participating in such charitable activities? Will you consider bidding in tonight’s auction?
Morey: I felt much honored to be able to attend such charity activity. I knew Yao Ming is always a noble person who enjoys doing charitable things. He had already participated in many such charitable activities in the past, and had also filmed some advertisement for charity and public services. (As to myself), I’m not good in auctioning. Even though I am very much interested to own some of these articles that are put onto auction, I’m afraid I have not brought sufficient money to buy them. HA HA HA….
Sina Sports: You have just taken over as the General Manager of the Houston Rockets this summer. Tell us something about your view of the Rockets.
Morey: Even though I just took over as the General Manager, actually I had started as Carroll Dawson’s assistant last season and handled Rockets business matters; therefore (I believe) I had acquired certain understanding about this team. Without a doubt, Yao Ming is the most important member of this team; he is an extremely outstanding player, and he is the cornerstone and foundation of our team’s future progress.
Sina Sports: You have made a lot of personnel changes over this off-season. What were your considerations?
Morey: Yes, indeed we made some very big upheavals of personnel in this summer: we have changed our head coach; we recalled Steve Francis; we acquired Luis Scola; but we also retained good players like Bonzi Wells and Chuck Hayes. The reason we were doing all that is simple; we hope we can change to become much more stronger. I really think with the addition of all these new players, together with our 2 core star players in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, our team’s overall strength will be improved by leaps and bounds.
Sina Sports: Mentioning about a new head coach, do you think, under Rick Adelman’s systems and coaching, will there be a difference in how Yao Ming will be deployed?
Morey: I don’t think so. Yao Ming is the core and anchor of our offense and defense. I was constructing this whole team revolving around him. Even though Rick Adelman’s coaching ideologies and methods are different to those of Jeff Van Gundy, I don’t think it will affect and reduce Yao Ming’s role and function. On the contrary, I think Yao Ming will have more room and space to grow and develop.
Sina Sports: Luis Scola has already become famous now in China. On one hand he has just been awarded MVP in the FIBA Americas Championship, but most importantly, he has joined the Rockets (and become Yao Ming’s team mate); so suddenly his popularity had risen dramatically here in China. It seemed like you had a great transaction/trade done with San Antonio Spurs using Vassilis Spanoulis as a bait for exchange of this Argentine.
Morey: HA HA HA, if purely judged from present situation, it is rightly so (that it was a bargain trade). Luis Scola’s performance in the FIBA Americas Championship was really exciting. Well, actually when we spotted him, we did take into the consideration of his immense potentials; or otherwise, it will not be that easy for us to carry out player transaction with teams within our own division. Let’s hope he can bring over that kind of performance that he displayed in international basketball onto NBA courts. I believe he can become a very important member of our team.
Sina Sports: So after all these series of transformations, do you think, in terms of overall team strength, the Houston Rockets has already caught up with teams like San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks?
Morey: Yes, with our current players, we are already no longer weak when compared with other teams in the Western Conference. Of course, teams like San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, and even the Utah Jazz, will still be considered hot favorite contenders to win the championship; compared to us, they have much more experience. Whether we have really reached their level and standard of play, well, we have to find it out on the court.
Sina Sports: Then, where do you think is the current weakling in the Rockets?
Morey: Relatively speaking, there are still some disparity in our Position 1 and Position 2 when compared with those apex teams in the league. Like the star of tonight’s Charity Gala, Steve Nash; he is a player that we long to sign but not even in our fantasy/dream. I must send him my regards and respect. He is definitely one of the top and best point guards in this league. Of course, players like Deron Williams and Tony Parker are basically the key to the successes of Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs.
Sina Sports: What is the goal for the Houston Rockets in the new season?
Morey: Our goal is definitely we want to advance further deep into the playoff, and simultaneously we can help Yao Ming to advance further into the playoff. We surely hope and crave for the NBA Championship, but you know we have to take it step by step on our road to Championship. I knew the Houston Rockets had a massive fan base here in China. They are the motivational forces to press us forward, but at the same time, I do start to feel the tremendous responsibility and pressure on my shoulder. I hope the Rockets fans here in China can always support us, and in return, we will repay them with our good performance and results.
Sina Sports: Thank you very much, Mr. Morey. Hope this trip of yours in China will be smooth and fruitful. Also wish the Houston Rockets will get ideal results in the new season.
Morey: Also thank you for the care and attention to the Houston Rockets, and I hope you will continue to support us.
—–
While many people are excited to hear that Yao will still be the focal point for the Rockets, there was never really any doubt. Sure, Rick Adelman runs a different system that what Jeff Van Gundy was doing with the team, but there’s no way a coach of Adelman’s stature would pass up an opportunity to utilize the best center in the league.
It also appears as though Luis Scola will have the opportunity to be a very significant part of this team’s success.