Via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:

After three years of a largely successful retooling of the Rockets' roster and the team's first playoff series win in a dozen years, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has signed a contract to remain with the team, multiple individuals with knowledge of the deal said Thursday.

The contract will keep Morey, 37, with the Rockets through the 2012-13 season, according to one of the individuals familiar with the contract.

Morey's initial contract with the team had expired after last season. He and Rockets owner Leslie Alexander reached agreement after the season on a new deal, which was finalized this week.

Well, that's nice to hear. I'm glad we get him back for at least four more years. I like him a lot and think he's one of the top GMs in the league by far.

The full article is here.

It's a topic that's been discussed ad nauseum over the last couple of years, so naturally, it's time to bring it up again.

The Houston Rockets have not had a vocal leader since Steve Francis was in Houston. Now, whether you loved (apparently all of my friends) or hated (me) Steve Francis, he was indeed the outspoken player on the roster in the early part of the decade, with Cuttino Mobley also doing his part.

When those two (along with Kelvin Cato) were traded to Orlando, we had a tag team of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, two superstars. Surely, one, if not both, would take over the team and bend them to his attitude. Alas, it wasn't to be. Then, there was the Ron Artest experiment, but he wasn't really a leader, either.

Now I know what you're going to say: leadership is overrated. We don't need one vocal guy. We just need each player to play hard and things will work themselves out in the end.

I disagree wholeheartedly.

A leader doesn't have to be a player, though those are usually the manifestations we see. I would argue that the leader can just as easily be a head coach. Want proof? Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown were the true leaders of their teams. You can even make a case for Pat Riley/Stan van Gundy and the 2006 Miami Heat.

But the player-leaders are great, too. As much as the media loves to crown Phil Jackson as some kind of guru in the leadership department, it was apparent to me that Kobe Bryant has been the leader of the Lakers. In 2008, it was the GAP gang in Boston. Going back, Jordan and Olajuwon, then even throw in Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird.

Having a vocal leader is not just for the sake of having someone talk. Teams tend to take on the personalities of their general. The intensity of champions is borne through one man, whether it be coach or player.

Do these Rockets have that intense leader this year? Would signing Joe Johnson (unlikely now) or Chris Bosh change that next year? We already know Sleepy can lead no one, unless it's in a thrilling game of count the sheep. It seems to me this Rockets team is very quiet. That won't help a young team with low expectations next year.

Ok, so I was wondering to myself yesterday at work. Obviously, work allows for plenty of deep thought when bored, and I was thinking of the goal of any NBA team. That is, to hoist a banner when the following season starts. Coming off a season where we (finally) got out of the first round, and an offseason that offers little hope for the coming season, I asked myself: when will the Rockets win another title?

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I was talking to a friend today and we started talking Rockets and the draft (obviously, since I'm posting here). 

We were talking about the potential lack of suitors the Rockets could have to make similar deals to last year's draft-night orchestrations by Daryl Morey. The question that came up: is it possible that teams don't want to deal with the Rockets because they know Daryl Morey seems to only make good moves?

Yes, there's the signing of Steve Francis, but everything that the Boy Genius seems to touch regarding the draft turns to gold.

Luis Scola, Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, and even the Batum/Greene/Artest moves have all made the Rockets contenders, and each player contributed mightily to the Rockets' 2009 playoff run and at least the former four will be integral parts of a 2010 run (Artest as well, should he re-sign). And yes, I know Scola was not a draft-day thing, but it was an offseason move in July, so close enough.

The point is, Morey is magic on draft deals. Do teams want to mess with fire with this guy genius? I can't see the Rockets getting any major steals this year, but I can see teams only coming to the Rockets because they need the help financially, which probably won't help us moving forward. All of this because of Morey.

I'm not saying he should be fired or anything, and if I ever did, you have permission to shoot me in the face. Teams should absolutely be scared of him. What I'm trying to get at is this: is Morey "too good" at being a GM? Are teams afraid to go near him now?

What do you think?