Rockets G.M. Daryl Morey: I feel like we were 'close' to getting Dwight Howard

Spurned Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey -- who blew up his team in hopes of trading for Dwight Howard, and whom many observers felt could put together the most attractive package for the Orlando Magic -- finally broke his silence to comment on last Friday's stunning deal that sent Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.

During an appearance on SportsTalk 790 in Houston, Morey was asked if he thought the Rockets were close to acquiring Howard. His response, according to SportsRadioInterviews.com: “I do, yeah. I do feel like it was close, but they did their diligence and they were searching for something they thought they liked even more, and they liked this trade better than anything we could offer."

Morey was also asked about Orlando G.M. Rob Hennigan's comments that the offer sheets the Rockets had agreed to with Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik made talks between the teams more difficult. "I think those deals were done for a while now so that would surprise me, but really the only opinion that matters is Rob’s. If he felt like that made it difficult, then it was difficult, right? ... I really think in these big trades it often comes down to how people value individual players in the deal. ... In this case, Orlando really liked the players they were getting in [the Lakers] deal. That’s all that matters."