Morey thought he 'might never work in the NBA again' after Hong Kong tweet

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey believed his career was in jeopardy after his tweet in support of pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong decimated the NBA's business relationships in China.

"In the last 12 months, I had moments where I thought I might never work in the NBA again, for reasons I was willing to go down for," Morey told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan. "But I love working, I love what I do, and I didn't want that to happen."

There were steep financial ramifications following Morey's since-deleted tweet, which featured an image with the text "Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in February that the league expected to lose "hundreds of millions of dollars" because of the fallout, according to The New York Times' Sopan Deb, though the pandemic-induced stoppage made it difficult to determine an exact figure.

Morey was more concerned about his family's well-being. Without citing specifics, the 48-year-old alluded to safety threats stemming from his tweet.

"I was actually really, really worried about that," Morey told ESPN. "Luckily I had (access to) different people who were assisting me with that and giving me advice on how to handle it. Hopefully, I've been able to get where we have some level of safety.

"But I was extremely concerned. You don't want the second-most powerful government on Earth mad at you, if you can avoid it. In this case, I couldn't."

The Rockets have enjoyed a particularly deep connection with China, largely stemming from the team's association with Hall of Famer Yao Ming, the top selection in the 2002 draft.

Within the Rockets organization, there were discussions about terminating Morey's contract with cause, sources told TrueHoop's Henry Abbott.

However, after initially rejecting Morey's tweet, throughout the season team owner Tilman Fertitta voiced modest public support for his top executive's right to free speech and protest. Morey then remained with the franchise until his resignation on Oct. 15 of this year.

He was officially introduced as president of basketball operations for the 76ers on Nov. 2.