FanHouse Daryl Morey

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! has a half-harrowing, half-hilarious tale out of Minneapolis, where sources say Tracy McGrady put on his uniform Wednesday to confront coach Rick Adelman about the team's timetable for the fallen star's return. Woj reports that McGrady -- who may or may not have told Yahoo! last week that he'd planned on returning Wednesday against the Wolves, a plan the Rockets quickly squelched -- is angry the team is holding him off the court, and wanted answers from Adelman.

What resulted (with McGrady in full uniform after warming up with teammates before the game) was a heated closed-door argument, Woj reports. The writer's sources claim Mac demanded to know why team management wouldn't let him get back on the court sooner than next week's scheduled MRI.

This wouldn't be the first time Tracy McGrady announced his plans to the world before discussing them with his team. (It probably will not be the last, either.) Last season, the Rockets learned McGrady had decided to undergo season-ending microfracture surgery through the media. This time, McGrady is telling reporters -- Yahoo! Sports, specifically -- that he plans on making his season debut on Nov. 18 against Minnesota.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey, though, told the Houston Chronicle that McGrady won't play until he's been checked out in a full practice. The next Rockets full practice is slated for Nov. 23. Which is after Nov. 18.

The biggest free agent on the market this year just got inked. Kind of. Though he wasn't going anywhere, Daryl Morey's been working without a contract since the end of last season. And today, the Houston Chronicle reports, the Rockets have finalized a deal that will keep him with the team through 2013.

So given the new timeline for Morey and his prior success, what are the odds Morey nabs an Executive of the Year award by the time his next contract is up?

In our inaugural edition of the NBA Twitter mailbag, we've got some interesting topics to get us started. How will Shaq's ego fit in Cleveland? Is Kevin Durant getting the attention he deserves? And what's left on the Celtics' summer to-do list?

These questions and more, answered for you below.

LAS VEGAS -- Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said the team isn't quite there yet in terms of making an announcement regarding the prognosis for center Yao Ming and his left foot.

But what he will say unequivocally is that his team needs a center, and he's going to go out and get one.

"I think we're probably going to have to trade for a center," Morey said after watching the Rockets beat the Warriors 73-69 in an NBA Summer League game. "That will probably be the plan at this point. There are a few free agents that might be later fill-ins, but I think most likely we'll address some of our needs through trades."

The Rockets have targeted Orlando center Marcin Gortat as a desirable pick-up. Whether this had been the plan all along, or whether Yao Ming's injury has forced management's hand(s), it doesn't matter. It only matters that the Rockets are seriously serious about landing Gortat, who caddied for Dwight Howard this season.

How serious? Right around midnight, Houston GM Daryl Morey posted a message on Facebook and Twitter imploring Rockets fans to tell Gortat how much they love him.

A true minor league system, something similar to what has allowed Major League Baseball to thrive, has seemed a natural for the NBA for years.

Perhaps the league with the most underdeveloped young talent is on the brink of landmark movement.

The Houston Rockets announced Monday they are entering into a single-affiliation partnership with their NBA D-League squad, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, making them the first such NBA team to do so. Under this agreement, the Rockets will take over the Vipers basketball operations, while Alonzo Cantu and his local ownership group in Rio Grande Valley will continue to oversee the business operation. Rockets GM Daryl Morey will oversee the Vipers basketball operations starting this upcoming season.

UPDATE: Rockets doctor Tom Clanton confirms report.

Dire news out of Houston, if reputable Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! has the right information. The Rockets announced last week that Yao Ming would remain out "indefinitely" -- in other words, the broken foot suffered in the playoffs that was set to be healed by now has not healed. But there's plenty of time until opening night, right?

Maybe not enough time. Woj reports the prognosis could have Yao on the bench for all of 2009-10, and there's a chance his basketball career is completely finished. The info comes from general managers who have talked trade with Houston GM Daryl Morey over the past weeks.

HOUSTON -- Unexpected achievement in the face of incredible adversity isn't quite how the Houston Rockets saw their playoff run unfolding.

But that was certainly the theme that carried the Rockets, minus injured stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, to within one game of reaching the Western Conference finals this season. One amazing night by McGrady or just the presence of aging Dikembe Mutombo in the paint might have been all the Rockets needed to avoid a Game 7 Semifinals in Los Angeles and overcome the Lakers.

It wasn't meant to be, but still it was enough to re-energize a franchise that seemed in serious trouble a few weeks ago because of it's often-injured stars and nondescript supporting cast. The Rockets hadn't been out of the first round of the playoffs in 12 years prior to this season.

The proclamation Moneyball had arrived in the NBA when the Rockets shockingly hired non-traditional Daryl Morey as the heir to the franchise's general manager throne was premature. Baseball is endlessly different than basketball, and while strides are being made (and hotly debated) among fans, real progress on analytical side is less prolific than in MLB.

AOL Sports' Randall Kim talked to Morey about why that is.

"In baseball it just turns out that the sport lends itself to those decisions being driven more by objective evidence," continues Morey. "But in basketball, given the high level of interaction between the players and the play - you know, did a guy make the shot because there was a good pick, or because there was bad defense, or because the guy's a good shooter? - it's very hard to isolate those things, so you need to blend (scouts and statistical analysis) a lot more, and traditional scouting is something (the Rockets) value highly."

Houston fans should have lots of hope with this guy, given both his early track record (bringing in Mike James, Luis Scola and Jackie Butler cheaply) and his obvious grasp of reality. Billy Beane has had (varying levels of) success because he understands the balance. (And Theo Epstein has had even more success because he understands the balance and has more money than God.)