Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni gave a lot of credit to general manager Daryl Morey for making another huge move this summer.
In the hopes of improving their title chances, the Rockets traded for Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook. The move reunited Westbrook with Houston superstar and former OKC teammate James Harden.
D'Antoni heaped praises for Morey in the wake of the completion of the blockbuster deal, saying that the GM has never failed to assemble a competitive team.
“Daryl does a great job every year of assembling a lot of talent and he did it again,” D'Antoni said via Mark Berman of Fox 26.
The Rockets were on the verge of having a quiet offseason, as they were not in serious pursuit of game-changing players in free agency because of lack of cap space. However, Morey managed to pull off a surprise for their fans, striking a deal with the Thunder for Westbrook.
The Rockets acquired Westbrook in exchange for superstar point guard Chris Paul along with a 2024 and a 2026 first-round picks. The Thunder also got the right to swap picks with the Rockets in 2021 and 2025.
While they had to give up a lot for Westbrook, the deal placed Houston among the title favorites for next season.
Houston finished fourth in the Western Conference in 2018-19 with a 53-29 record. They had high hopes heading into the 2019 playoff, but those were extinguished early by the Golden State Warriors. Now, they head to the new campaign better and more confident than ever.