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With the Rockets’ retooling exceeding his expectations, owner Leslie Alexander said he will not let the contract of general manager Daryl Morey expire after next season. Though he typically has not worked on one contract until the previous deal is complete, Alexander said he intends to re-sign Morey. “His contract is up next year, I believe,” Alexander said on Saturday. “We’ll re-up him. Daryl knows that I judge him all the time. I’ve told him. He’s not shy about it, either. He just knows that’s the way I operate. Why wouldn’t I? The general manager is the one person in your organization you can really judge. He can make good moves or bad moves. This year, I think he’s made three terrific moves.” Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey 

With the Rockets’ retooling exceeding his expectations, Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said he will not let the contract of general manager Daryl Morey expire after next season. Though he typically has not worked on one contract until the previous deal is complete, Alexander said he intends to re-sign Morey. Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Leslie Alexander 

“His contract is up next year, I believe,” Alexander said. “We’ll re-up him. Daryl knows that I judge him all the time. I’ve told him. He’s not shy about it either. He just knows that’s the way I operate. Why wouldn’t I? The general manager is the one person in your organization you can really judge. He can make good moves or bad moves. This year, I think he’s made three terrific moves.” Alexander said the decision to trade for James Harden, along with the moves to acquire the pieces that set up that deal and free agent additions of Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik convinced him to keep Morey beyond his current contract. Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Leslie Alexander 

I also spoke with Daryl Morey, the Rockets general manager. He declined to make any on-the-record statements, but he seems to have a pretty reasonable view on White's potential future. Morey also mentioned that the true risk of selecting White was not as severe as many people think, since only about 20 percent of players drafted 16th overall end up having major NBA careers anyway. Grantland

Houston Rockets, Draft, Daryl Morey, Royce White 

Ben Golliver: Rockets GM Daryl Morey, in letter to White, says White apologized for misleading Rockets about his fear of flying prior to 2012 NBA Draft Twitter @blazersedge

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Royce White 

Ben Golliver: HBO feature reveals letter from Rockets GM Daryl Morey to Royce White, dated Nov. 20, in which Morey says Rockets have "bent over backwards" Twitter @blazersedge

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Royce White 

General manager Daryl Morey says the non-traditional analytics used by the Rockets actually rated Parsons high. “I think often teams believe that guys that play roles in college can’t translate that over to the NBA,” he said. “But the truth is we’ve got him doing the same things here that he did at Florida. “It’s hard to know for sure what happened. It’s not an exact science. Obviously, he shouldn’t have made it to 38.” NBA.com

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey 

"I know everyone talks about it being a short period, but it was long enough where you can't fluke it," Morey said. "His ability to attack the basket, because his first step is really, really top-notch in the league, will always be there. He's going to learn how to use that better and better. Your shot is the thing that improves the most during your career. Look at Jason Kidd. He's a knock-down shooter now. He's 40; let's hope it doesn't take that long. But he was a knock-down shooter in his 30s. "I see a very high ceiling," Morey said. "How high? I don't know. He played honestly like an All-Star last year, so he's shown he can do that. What are his odds of doing that? I don't know. But it's nice to have a guy who's played many, many times on that high of a level." CBSSports.com

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey 

Daryl Morey on drafting Royce White: "His upside is that great. I really think he's a top-five talent. Without some of the risk factors, he would have gone ... I don't know exactly where, but for sure in the top 10 if not the top five. For us, especially prior to having James [Harden], and prior to some of the other moves, we were just so desperate for at least one guy who's got elite talent and I think he's got it. Will we ever get it out on the floor? That's the question. Given where we were strategically, taking a lot of swings at really high-upside guys was more rational than taking a lot of safe bets." SI.com

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Royce White 

On his desk he keeps what he calls "my letter from God": And indeed it is from God -- he shows me the return address, a premade label that reads "God Shammgod." SI.com

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, God Shammgod 

“I have all these opinions about the dancers but they should be kept to myself. No one consults me. I keep asking to be invited to the dance tryouts but no one ever allows me there. I’ll just say this: My general philosophy is that you can teach them to dance.” —Rockets GM Daryl Morey talking about the other entertainment at NBA games. This is from Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated, maybe the best personality feature writer in sports today, and a column of extra tidbits he got from his research on a feature on Morey in the magazine this week. NBCSports.com

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey 

Rockets GM Daryl Morey is an interesting interview. And when you put him on a podcast with the interesting questions and discussion run by the people at Slate, you get good insights. Morey was on a recent podcast and discussed Jeremy Lin, the state of analytics in the NBA and more, and relatively openly. (You can listen or read the transcript at the link above.) He also talked Royce White, the No. 16 overall pick of the Rockets who is not with the team right now as they try to figure out how to deal with his anxiety disorder. The Rockets knew of the disorder before the draft and it is the reason Young was still around at 16 and not taken higher in the lottery. Morey discusses why he made that pick and the risk involved. NBCSports.com

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Jeremy Lin, Royce White 

Daryl Morey on Royce White: Basketball is sort of an interesting sport that, you know, the top player on your team makes so much more of an impact than the top player in any other sport. Any other of the major team sports, I should say. There’s no other sport where LeBron James can have a team winning three out of four games or 60 games out of 80, and then when he leaves, that basically the same team wins 20 games out of 80. That kind of a swing just shows you the impact. You need these elite talents to win in this league. We think Royce is an elite talent—top five talent in this last draft, which was very deep. Obviously if we’re getting him at 16 in the draft, there’s going to be something wrong, or something that’s a gamble with the player, and really you’re just choosing the gamble. Maybe they’ve got an injury history. NBCSports.com

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Royce White 

Daryl Morey on Royce White: Maybe they’ve got a particular part of their game that could be an Achilles’ heel that would make them fail. Maybe they’ve never gone against that level of competition. So there’s going to be something wrong, so you’re really just picking among things that are potentially going to derail that player and which ones you’re most comfortable with. Royce was someone who played every game at Iowa State, played it well. So even with his issues, he showed that he is very functional. We knew going in that potentially there could be issues and right now obviously things are bumpy at this point, I’d say, but you know it takes a little time for him to get going at the various stops he’s had in his career to this point. We’re trying to work things through with Royce, and hopeful that we can. That’s sort of the current state. NBCSports.com

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Royce White 

Yannis Koutroupis: Daryl Morey (@DMorey) about Royce White (@Highway_30): Plan was never for him to go to D-League. Working through the issues, optimistic. Twitter @YannisHW

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, D-League, Royce White 

White confirmed an ESPN report that he will meet with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey on Monday to discuss his situation. However, he said that meeting will not produce immediate results. "It can't be that fast," White said. "We have to do it justice. There's no quick fix for mental health issues, because it's a gray area. It may take more time, but taking more time is the right thing to do. "The Rockets have been great in saying 'we understand that we don't know a lot here.' The Rockets asked me 'what can we do better or how can we support you?' I've been writing some ideas based on what I know about mental illness and what I know about myself of trying to create a nice, sound protocal to add in there. I'm making great progress." FOX 26 Sports

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Royce White 

The gulf between the Rockets and rookie Royce White has continued to escalate. With White blaming the Rockets for failing to consistently support his treatment for anxiety issues, White is being fined every day he remains away from the team or fails to attend sessions with a therapist the Rockets have arranged for him, a person with knowledge of the situation said. White and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey have declined interview requests. Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Royce White 

The Rockets intend to continue to fine White every day he fails to report to practice or attend sessions with Fink, the person familiar with the situation said. Rockets owner Leslie Alexander on Tuesday said that there were “internal repercussions” for White missing practices and games. Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, Leslie Alexander, Royce White 

White met extensively with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff and assistant strength and conditioning coach Dave Macha last Wednesday, and again with Morey on Thursday. Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, JB Bickerstaff, Royce White, Dave Macha 

Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin and his teammates may get an assist from Wall Street in their quest for a National Basketball Association championship. General Manager Daryl Morey, a 40-year-old statistical analysis devotee, is seeking to fill two vacancies in his basketball operations department: an analyst and an intern. The team has received more than 1,100 resumes, about 20 percent from people working in finance. “Wall Street folks are great at forecasting, at using objective evidence in decision making,” Morey, who holds a Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in a telephone interview. “And they’re often overworked and miserable. The smart ones figure out it might not be worth it.” San Francisco Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey