When former Rockets GM Daryl Morey recently took the lead role in Philadelphia’s front office, many observers around the NBA wondered if he might eventually acquire one of his prior stars in Houston.
That won’t be happening any time soon, at least not if new head coach Stephen Silas has anything to say about it.
In a Friday interview with ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith asked Houston’s first-time coach whether he viewed certain players on his new roster (such as James Harden) as untouchable. Silas replied:
As far as James, he’s our guy. In the interview process, I talked to both James and Russ [Westbrook], and let them know that the reason I want this job is because of them.
I expect those guys to be here. I haven’t heard anything else to the contrary. That’s how I feel about it, and that’s how it’s going to be.
At Thursday’s introductory press conference for Silas and Rafael Stone, the new GM expressed that he’s on the same page. Stone’s comments:
For the last eight years or so, our goal has been to win a championship because we had James Harden. We still have James Harden. Our goal is still to win a championship. And if you’ve got him, you know you’re halfway there. It’s incumbent on me, Stephen and the whole team to figure out the rest of the whole. But the key piece is there.
We’re going to continue to be extraordinarily aggressive. We’re going to shoot for it. Whether we get there or not, I don’t know, but I can guarantee you we’re going to shoot for it, and I’m really, really looking forward to it.
We have this immensely talented roster. The goal is to bring in another guy or two who can really complement these guys. There are a variety of mechanisms we can use to do it. And we’ll be just incredibly aggressive about making that happen.
One clear offseason emphasis for Silas, Stone, and the Rockets will be bringing in a traditional center, and Houston is reportedly willing to spend the taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (MLE) — worth a starting annual salary of roughly $5.7 million, last season — to make that happen. Per Stone, owner Tilman Fertitta has not imposed any financial restrictions.
Free agency will begin later this month, with training camps for the upcoming 2020-21 season expected to open on Dec. 1.
