The Rockets and general manager Daryl Morey have agreed on a five-year contract extension, a deal that came together during the Rockets’ surge back to contender status but began with talks during the Rockets rocky start of the season.

Tilman Fertitta, in his second season owning the team, said he was determined to lock up “one of the most respected GMs in the NBA.”

“This is something we’ve been working on since … early in the year,” Fertitta said. “I’ve known Daryl for years. We’ve worked well together. You want to keep good people under contract. Both of our goal is to bring another championship to Houston. We don’t like rebuilding. We like to be competitive every year. We’re on the same page. We look forward to being a successful team for many years to come.

“This makes Daryl one of the highest paid general manager in the league, which he rightfully deserves.”

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Morey, 46, had been approached by the 76ers about the position in Philadelphia, before opting to remain with the Rockets and said he would like to complete his career in Houston.

"I'm super happy," Morey said. "I'd love to be with the Rockets for life. This obviously solidifies us for a little while. "I'm just really thankful to Tilman Fertitta for having the faith in our team. And really, it is about us having a team of people that makes this all work; Coach (Mike) D'Antoni, (vice president) Keith Jones, (vice president) Gersson Rosas, (trainer) Jason Biles, (assistant general manager) Monte McNair, (assistant general manager) Eli Witus, (assistant general manager, Vipers GM) Jimmy Paulis, (general counsel) Rafael Stone.

"We have too many people to mention, but I'm only as good as the people behind me."

The Rockets picked up their option on the final season of D'Antoni's contract, keeping him under contract through the 2019-20 season. But Morey said he would like to work on an extension for D'Antoni in the off-season.

"He's such a critical factor," Morey said. "Speaking for myself only, I would love for him to be here for as long as he wants to be here. He's so critical to everything we're doing here. Hopefully, that's something we can work out at the right time. I think the right thing for everyone is those things are done in the off-season."

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The Rockets will go into Wednesday's game with a 42-25 rebound. With 15 games left, they would need to go at least 8-7 to have 50 wins in four of five seasons including last season's franchise-record 65 wins when Morey was named NBA Executive of the Year.

The Rockets' 13-consecutive seasons with a .500 record or better is the second-longest streak in the NBA with their record in that span second only to the Spurs.

"The damn Spurs still got us," Morey said. "They got us in rings and wins."

They have not won a championship, or reached the NBA Finals since the 1994 and 1995 titles. But after winning just one playoff series in a stretch of 17 seasons, they have reached the Western Conference Finals twice in the past four seasons, winning five playoff series in that stretch.

"We're trying to give ourselves a chance to win every year," Morey said. "I feel like we've done that most years well while our team of people have been here. I think we've given ourselves a very good chance to win this year. Frankly, I think that's all you can ask for a group working with a team. Obviously, we'd love to deliver a ring this year or very soon."

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