Why Rockets' Daryl Morey might welcome losing job over tweet

With one seven-word tweet on Friday -– “Fight for Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong” -– Rockets GM Daryl Morey sparked an international incident. The response was swift. Owner Tilman Fertitta denounced the tweet, after an army of bots slammed Morey in the replies; and then after Morey deleted it, they ripped NBA figures such as Adrian “Woj” Wojnarowski, who simply liked the tweet.  Since then, the controversy has escalated to the point where the NBA seems likely to cancel the planned preseason games, after the China Central Television cancelled the television broadcasts and multiple Chinese companies cut ties with the Rockets. 

Will the scandal lead to Morey’s firing? At this point, he might welcome it.

In the tweet, Morey didn't go off on a diatribe or post a lengthy thread. He simply posted an image he saw somewhere. It’s much more akin to people tinting their Facebook photo blue to support Paris, or checking in at Standing Rock: simple, performative social media wokeness. Morey didn’t call for a boycott or mention Muslim re-education camps or firing on protesters. Nevertheless, his apology didn’t appease the Chinese government. In addition to the Chinese cancelling the broadcasts, a Chinese apparel company and a bank suspended their ties with the Rockets. Note to Morey: A good apology doesn’t say “I didn’t mean to offend anyone”; it says “I’m sorry.”

Will this get to the point where the Rockets get rid of Morey to appease their Chinese interests? It doesn’t seem like it so far -– Feritta called him “the best general manager in the league.” But would it be the worst thing in the world for Morey to get out of Houston? He has been there since 2006, but he was hired by the previous owner, Les Alexander. The Sixers courted Morey after they said goodbye to Bryan Colangelo and his burner accounts in 2018, and there would clearly be a lot of interest around the league in Morey if he got fired, no matter what the Chinese government said about the hire.  

Feritta extended Morey in March, but is he willing to stick with him if it means the Rockets will never be able to sell jerseys in China again? That’s a lot of lost revenue for an owner who hasn’t been willing to pay luxury tax since buying the team (though he claims they dodged the tax tax last year by mistake). Even before this crisis, Fertitta made Russell Westbrook back-load his contract to facilitate the trade to Houston, not a good omen for the Rockets’ cash flow and willingness to spend. It’s not out of character for Fertitta, a billionaire restaurant chain owner who added a “minimum wage fee” to the receipts at some of his restaurants.

The Rockets are in win-now mode, but their window is closing. The team has lost to the Warriors four times in five years, and may have maxed out at the Conference Finals level. New Rocket Westbrook couldn’t get out of the first round for three years, and Houston’s only young player of note is Clint Capela. It doesn't look good for the future of this roster, even though the Rockets should still be near the summit of the Western Conference for now. They’re still a contender, with the highest projected win total in the West, but the road to the Finals is much more crowded with two star-studded powerhouses in LA and teams in Utah and Denver that might be even better than Houston. It’s not the worst time for Morey to jump ship with his reputation perfectly intact, except for his use of social media.

Firing Morey right away would look terrible, but it’s possible that Houston decides to ease Morey out, just like the Sixers did with Colangelo. He’d get a buyout of his remaining contract, and go work for a team where he doesn’t have to worry about staying under the tax, or future pick swaps, or the mascot’s “bear naked” photo shoot, or the remaining years of giant salaries owed to 30-year-olds Harden, Westbrook and Eric Gordon. He clearly doesn’t love Mike D’Antoni, after firing his assistant coaches this summer. No general manager likes it when his owner is giving constant impromptu news conferences, like when Fertitta urged the Rockets to “cut their throats” after their second-round loss. And Morey can’t be thrilled that Harden issued an unprompted apology to China, turning his back on Morey despite their seven years together and his diligent MVP campaigning.

There’s also job burnout involved; namely, the stress of watching Harden pretend to get fouled for 82 games a season. Maybe Morey saw Harden’s new one-legged three and decided he couldn’t stand to watch that all season, and created an international incident to escape. Conspiracy theories abound: Nate Silver semi-seriously speculated that it could have been Morey’s master plan to anger China, reduce league revenues, and lower the salary cap, thus making the capped-out Rockets at less of a disadvantage. It’s crazy, but no crazier than the NBA’s relationship with China crumbling over one tweet.

If Morey does go, he’ll certainly get a sizable buyout, which means he can pursue his greatest passion outside of basketball: musical theater. (His Twitter bio is a quote from Into The Woods: “Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor”) Even while running the Rockets, he managed to produce a musical called “Small Ball,” which featured six-inch tall Lilliputians, a full-sized human named Michael Jordan who isn’t the Michael Jordan, and what basketball is like in a world where they don’t have the concept of the number five. 

Imagine what he could do if he devoted all his time to theater! He’d write a musical about Harden called “Phantom of the Flopera,” or produce a touring company of “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Staples Center.” He has a chance to be the first person with an Executive of the Year Award and a Tony, though Morey would probably find off-Broadway productions more efficient. He might even develop his own advanced stats for musicals, like Value Over Replacement Patinkin, or Applause Shares.

It’s ridiculous that Morey is getting so much blowback from the Hong Kong situation, but it may be a blessing in disguise. A nationwide boycott and a crackdown on personal liberties in China may be what gives Morey his freedom from Tilman Fertitta. And he’ll probably please the Chinese government by leaving without a protest.