At least two Houston Rockets players had sponsorship talks stall out in China after GM Daryl Morey’s Hong Kong tweet controversy, according to a report from The Athletic‘s Shams Charania.
In an article published Monday offering a behind-the-scenes look at the fallout between the Rockets, NBA, and China, Charania reports:
Sources told The Athletic that at least two Houston players had sponsorship negotiations stall out in China after the impact of Morey’s post began to spiral.
The report did not specify the potential financial value of those sponsorships, nor did it identify the players involved.
Charania, who cited sources in saying that Morey did not expect his tweet to implode in the manner that it did, said later in the article that NBA league sources “fear irreparable losses” for the Rockets in the indefinite future, owing to the controversy.
In all, the fallout could cost the Rockets between $10 million and $25 million due to the backlash, according to a recent Houston Chronicle report. Other NBA teams are also feeling effects.
Rockets’ players and coaches largely downplayed the controversy at Sunday’s practice, saying they’re focused exclusively on basketball and the season ahead. Houston’s 2019-20 regular season starts in just 10 days on Thursday, Oct. 24 versus the Milwaukee Bucks.
