NBA: Top 10 Candidates For Executive Of The Year Award In 2016-17
10. Daryl Morey
Like the James Harden acquisition, like the Dwight Howard signing, like Ty Lawson, like Michael Beasley and like pretty much every other move that Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has engineered over the last few years, this offseason will either prove to be a stroke of genius or completely crash and burn.
By signing Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon to massive four-year deals, by giving Harden a four-year, $118 million extension and by hiring Mike D’Antoni as head coach, Morey went all in on a high-powered offense, hoping it will overshadow an alarmingly porous defense.
GM Daryl Morey on whether #Rockets can reach 50 wins this season: "I think so. Absolutely."
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) September 27, 2016
To beat opponents next season, the Rockets are going to need to outscore teams 120-118. That’s going to hopefully lead to some beautiful offense as Harden is empowered like never before with legitimate shooters on the wings.
But if Clint Capela is unable to anchor and improve what was a bottom-10 defense last year, or if Anderson and Gordon continue to be injury-prone, Morey’s offense — and his case for Exec of the Year — will crumble and fall apart just as quickly.