In October 2019, Daryl Morey — who was then the general manager of the Houston Rockets — sent out a tweet in support of the Hong Kong protesters. This immediately marred the business relations between the NBA and China. Understandably, Morey hasn't spoken about the controversial tweet that much. But now as the president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers, Morey shared his honest thoughts on the now-deleted tweet.
Per Dan Feldman of NBC Sports, Morey — citing 76ers head coach Doc Rivers and general manager Elton Brand:
I do believe a lot – and I know Doc and Elton agree with me – with using this platform to push things that are important.
I do believe in using the platform.
The single tweet pretty much tarnished the relationship between the NBA and China — the league's number one market outside the US. Several Chinese networks pulled out of their TV deals, while a bunch of advertisers followed suit.




The Rockets did their best to control the situation, even asking James Harden — the Rockets' franchise player — to apologize to their Chinese fans. The Rockets organization, too, tried to distance themselves from Morey. They noted that while Morey is part of the organization, his opinions do not necessarily reflect that of the franchise.
There were even whispers that the Rockets would part ways with Morey soon, hoping that it would alleviate the situation. But as the events unfolded, the Rockets kept Morey as their general manager.
Perhaps time will only tell if and when the relations between China and the NBA will be back to normal. But based on Daryl Morey's latest comments, he has not rescinded his thoughts.