Daryl Morey declined to put a timetable on building the Rockets back into contenders.
“To me, we’re not on any timetable to getting back to being a championship contender,” Morey said. “It often takes a much longer time than anybody wants to talk about.
“We’re trying to find a way that shortens that timetable to do it as quickly as possible in a smart way. We’re using free agency and trades as tools. When you lose two franchise players – we’re really on year two. Last season was the first year we were not betting on Yao being a franchise player.”
Morey wants to maintain salary cap flexibility in order to be in position to acquire a franchise player.
“For sure we’d make that kind of move as long as it is a move that fits in the context of helping us win and keeps our chances of getting a franchise player,” Morey said. “The latter we’ll never compromise. We’re never going to reduce our chances to keep ourselves in play for a franchise player.”