Daryl Morey

Daryl Morey (born September 14, 1972) is an American sports executive who is the president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He co-founded the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Morey's basketball philosophy, heavily reliant on analytics, favors three-point field goals and lay-ups over mid-range jumpers. This style has been dubbed "Moreyball", as a nod towards Michael Lewis's Moneyball.

Daryl Morey
Morey in 2008
Philadelphia 76ers
PositionPresident of Basketball Operations
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1972-09-14) September 14, 1972
Baraboo, Wisconsin
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High schoolHighland (Medina, Ohio)
CollegeNorthwestern University
Career history
2007–2020Houston Rockets
2020–PresentPhiladelphia 76ers
Career highlights and awards

During his tenure as general manager for the Houston Rockets from 2007 to 2020, he had posted the second most wins in the NBA—behind only the San Antonio Spurs—and since the blockbuster trade that brought James Harden to the Rockets, he had posted the third best record—behind only the Spurs and the Golden State Warriors.[1]

Early life and education

Morey was born on September 14, 1972 in Baraboo, Wisconsin. He graduated from Highland High School in Medina, Ohio[2] before receiving a bachelor's degree in computer science with an emphasis on statistics from Northwestern University in 1996,[3] as well as an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Career

EY Parthenon

Morey began his career with EY-Parthenon, a leading strategy consulting firm, as a principal consultant with an emphasis on sports. He was also a statistical consultant with STATS, Inc. with a focus in sports.

Boston Celtics

In 2002 Morey left EY-Parthenon to become senior vice president of operations for the Boston Celtics, with responsibility for setting ticket prices and developing analytical methods and technology to enhance basketball decisions related to the draft, trades, free agency, and advanced scouting of opponents for the coaching staff.[4]

Houston Rockets

Then-Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander named Morey the team's assistant general manager on April 3, 2006. Morey succeeded Carroll Dawson as general manager on May 10, 2007, following the Moneyball trend of integrating advanced statistical analysis with traditional qualitative scouting and basic statistics.[5] Although several teams had previously hired executives with non-traditional basketball backgrounds, the Rockets were the first NBA team to hire such a general manager. In the fall of 2012, he and the Rockets acquired now-All-Star and 2017-18 league MVP James Harden via trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder. During Morey's tenure, the Rockets did not have a losing record and advanced to the playoffs 9 times, including to the Western Conference Finals in 2015 and 2018. He was also named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2018.

Morey is the co-chairperson for the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. He is also an avid Esports supporter, has attended MLG (Major League Gaming) events, and is part owner of Clutch Gaming, the Houston, Texas based League of Legends Championship Series eSports team. Morey is also passionate about musical theater. He commissioned and produced the basketball themed musical Small Ball,[6] which opened in April 2018 at the Catastrophic Theater in Houston, Texas.[7]

On October 15, 2020, the Rockets announced that Morey would step down as general manager on November 1, 2020.[8] He confirmed his departure in a full page ad in the Houston Chronicle on October 18, 2020.[9]

Philadelphia 76ers

On November 2, 2020, the Philadelphia 76ers named Morey as president of basketball operations.[10]

Media

The Undoing Project

Author of Moneyball, Michael Lewis, chose Daryl Morey as the new nerd-hero at the center of his 2016 book, The Undoing Project. Whereas Moneyball highlighted the plight and success of Billy Beane as GM of the Oakland Athletics in 2003, The Undoing Project reveals Daryl Morey as the underdog king of basketball, making use of a similar analytical method to acquire undervalued talent as Beane did with the A's to produce a forceful team. Lewis uses Morey as a real-world example of one who has exemplified ideas introduced by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, two Israeli psychologists whose work pioneered the field of behavioral economics.[11][12] The psychologist duo defined a simple, two-part distinction of the way the brain makes decisions: System 1 and System 2. A more intuitive, subjective, fast, and efficient process, System 1 represents the brain's capacity to make split-second choices, often using personal experience to guide decision-making. System 2, however, characterizes a slower, more analytical process of reasoning to reach a conclusion. Michael Lewis points out in The Undoing Project how Daryl Morey observed basketball experts of the time making awfully subjective assessments in looking at basketball players. Shifting the Rockets' scouting strategy to look at hard data over simple observations, Morey implemented a more System-2-based approach to the team's hiring practices. This strategy is thought to be critically linked to the Houston Rockets' recent success.[12]

Twitter comments on Hong Kong

On October 4, 2019, Morey tweeted in support of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, drawing criticism from Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who said that while Morey was the best general manager in the NBA, the Rockets were not a political organization.[13][14][15] Morey later deleted the tweet.[14][15][16] In mainland China, where the Rockets have an extensive relationship after the selection of Yao Ming in 2002,[17][13] Morey's tweet resulted in the Chinese Basketball Association's suspension of its relationship with the Rockets and the issuance of a statement of dissatisfaction from the consulate office of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Houston.[17][18][14] All Houston Rockets-related items were removed from the Tmall and JD.com sites and the team's games would no longer broadcast on Tencent.[19] The Associated Press said that the reactions underscored Beijing's sensitivity about foreign attitudes toward the protests.[17] At the time of the tweet, Morey and the Rockets were in Tokyo for the NBA's Japan Games. He remained isolated in his room at the hotel and only engaged with Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri upon the fallout. According to Ujiri, Morey claimed that the timing of his tweet was in response to a new law in Hong Kong prohibiting protesters from wearing masks and that himself and his friends had discussed political autonomy in Hong Kong since attending MIT Sloan.[20]

A few days later, Morey and the NBA each issued a separate statement addressing the original tweet, with Morey saying that he never intended his tweet to cause any offense and the NBA saying that it was regrettable.[17] The statements were criticized by US politicians and third-party observers for the perceived exercise of economic statecraft by the PRC and insufficiency of the NBA's defense of Morey's tweet.[21] Critics also contrasted the league's disparate response to Morey's tweet with its history of political activism[22] and compared the incident to an October 2 South Park episode "Band in China" which parodies the self-censorship of the American entertainment industry to meet PRC censorship demands.[23] The statements also drew criticism from PRC state-run media for their perceived insufficiency, as Morey did not apologize.[24][25] NBA commissioner Adam Silver later defended the league's response to the tweet, supporting Morey's right to freedom of expression while also accepting the right of reply from the government of and businesses from mainland China.[26] Further fallout from the tweet included the decision by China Central Television to cancel the broadcasting of two NBA preseason games,[27] pro-Hong Kong protest demonstrations held at preseason games in the United States involving teams from the Chinese Basketball Association,[28][29] the cancellation of NBA Cares community events in Shanghai,[30][31] criticism by US President Donald Trump of the perceived double standards by the reactions of specific coaches to NBA response relative to their past criticisms of his policies,[32] and the suspension/termination of all mainland Chinese sponsors of the NBA.[31][33] An article by Fox Business said that the NBA would look to Africa and India for growth if the league were to sever ties with mainland China as a result of the tweet.[34]

References
  1. Kram, Zach (July 16, 2019). "The 30 Facts That Will Make or Break the Harden-Westbrook Rockets". The Ringer. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  2. Windhorst, Brian (March 8, 2009). "NBA Insider: Going way beyond the box score". Cleveland.com.
  3. Vranicar, David (May 19, 2010). "A Cruncher's Chance". PurpleWildcats.com. FoxSports.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  4. {{cite web|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/news/rocket-science-daryl-morey-brings-hard-core-statistical-analysis-to-the-nba-6540549
  5. https://www.thestar.com/article/345327 Morey's 'Moneyball' approach paying off
  6. Cacciola, Scott. "Daryl Morey Built an Elite N.B.A. Team. Now He's Building a Musical". nytimes.com.
  7. Topham, Pnina. "BWW Review: Clutch Play SMALL BALL Delivers for Catastrophic Theatre". BroadwayWorld.com.
  8. Wojnarowski, Adrian. "Daryl Morey stepping down as Houston Rockets GM, sources say". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  9. Young, Matt. "Daryl Morey takes out full-page ad to thank Rockets, city of Houston". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  10. "Team Names Morey President of Basketball Operations". NBA.com. November 2, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  11. Lewis, Michael (2003). Moneyball: The art of winning an unfair game (1st ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-05765-8.
  12. Lewis, Michael (2016). The Undoing Project: A friendship that changed our minds (First ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-25459-4.
  13. "Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweets support for Hong Kong protests, prompting response from owner". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  14. Polacek, Scott. "China Basketball Suspends Work with Rockets After Daryl Morey's Hong Kong Tweet". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  15. Feigen, Jonathan; Chronicle, Houston (October 5, 2019). "Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta shuts down GM Daryl Morey's Hong Kong tweet". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 6, 2019. I have the best general manager in the league," Fertitta told ESPN. "Everything is fine with Daryl and me. We got a huge backlash, and I wanted to make clear that [the organization] has no [political] position. We're here to play basketball and not to offend anybody.
  16. "Rockets GM Daryl Morey in hot water after Hong Kong tweet". USA Today. October 5, 2019 – via MSN.com.
  17. "Rockets' general manager's Hong Kong comments anger China". Associated Press. October 7, 2019.
  18. "Chinese groups suspend ties with Rockets after Daryl Morey's tweet". Rockets Wire. October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  19. Kharpal, Arjun (October 8, 2019). "Alibaba shopping sites appear to have de-listed Houston Rockets products in China". CNBC. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  20. Arnovitz, Kevin (November 12, 2019). "Inside the NBA's silent tension surrounding Daryl Morey". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  21. Some relevant sources include:
  22. Some relevant sources include:
  23. Brzeski, Patrick (October 7, 2019). "'South Park' Scrubbed From Chinese Internet After Critical Episode". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  24. 陈远丁; 黄钰; 席莉莉 (October 7, 2019). "莫雷、NBA声明均未道歉 网友：这是对中国的无视和挑衅" [Morey & NBA did not apologize; Netizens: It's provocative behavior toward China]. 人民网 (in Chinese). Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  25. "央视快评：莫雷必须道歉" [Morey Must Apologize]. CCTV (in Chinese). October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  26. "NBA head Adam Silver defends response over tweet uproar". Reuters. October 8, 2019.
  27. 王晓遐 (October 8, 2019). "中央广播电视总台央视体育再发声明 立即暂停NBA赛事转播安排" [CCTV Sport Channel issued another statement: immediately suspending NBA live broadcasts]. 央视网 (in Chinese). Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  28. "Protesters show support for Hong Kong at Wizards game". AP News. AP News. October 9, 2019.
  29. "China demonstrators protest at Wizards, 76ers games vs. Guangzhou". ESPN. ESPN. October 9, 2019.
  30. Blennerhassett, Patrick (October 8, 2019). "Brooklyn Nets' NBA community event in Shanghai abruptly cancelled by government as China political storm rages on". South China Morning Post. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  31. "Lakers' NBA Cares event in Shanghai canceled amid China rift". ESPN.com. October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  32. "Trump criticizes Kerr, Popovich for China reactions". Reuters. Reuters. October 9, 2019.
  33. "All of the NBA's official Chinese partners have suspended ties with the league". CNN. October 9, 2019.
  34. "NBA eyes India & Africa if China closes up over Hong Kong tweets". Fox Business. Fox Business. October 10, 2019.
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