Luis & Kyle New Contract Press Conference

[From the FanPosts. Thanks for reaching out, sir. -- Tom]

Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry were called in to discuss their newly signed contract extensions today at 3 P.M. with Daryl Morey, and I had the opportunity to sit in and watch the media pick their brains for their sentiments on the matter. I was seated in the fourth row talking about the ridiculousness of KFC’s Double-Down with Bill Worrell immediately in front of me when Daryl Morey walked in followed by the "Ice Cream Man" and "Bulldog".  Here are some of the points I got out of the meeting and how the interviewees felt about certain topics pertaining to the team.

Daryl started the conference off by saying that he was obviously very happy about the re-signing, being that "these two guys really embody our culture here in Houston" and are "fan favorites" on and off the court. When Kyle was asked about signing the offer sheet from Cleveland, he was honest in saying that it was merely "part of the business", but had the intention of staying here and backing up Aaron. Naturally he got questioned about the vocalization of his desire to be a starter and go-to point guard in which he responded that it is "wasn’t an issue at all-everyone knew I wanted to be a starter" and felt that he and Aaron meshed well together.

Lowry seemed really impressed by the professionalism of the Rocket’s front office and recalled the moment that he heard of the matched offer. He was working out when an interviewer from HoopsWorld confronted him asking about the details of Cleveland’s offer and literally 5 minutes after he finished, got a voicemail from Daryl saying he was staying in Houston. The thought he had after the call was "wow, they really kept their word", as if it is a surprise that the Houston Rockets are excellent at the business side of the game.

Luis broke his silence when asked about the arrival of Brad Miller: "He’s a great player, knows the game, knows Rick Adelman and his system…He’s a really good addition to our team." He pointed out how Miller always destroyed us when we played Chicago and was "glad to know he didn’t have to guard him". (Miller said the same thing about Yao, I’m feeling pretty good about the mutual respect our big guys have for each other.) Kyle also seemed excited about Brad, adding a backhanded compliment in "he’s slow, but gets it done." A funnier moment in the day was when Kyle was asked about the change in tempo this year with our slower big men and looked at Luis and said "yea, Luis can’t get much slower". He reiterated his faith in Rick’s system and him being "a fantastic player’s coach who lets us play basketball and doesn’t hold back."

Daryl got asked about his intent on accumulating such a deep roster and responded by explaining that when they target a player they respect and want, they do all in their power to keep them and show them loyalty. I was hoping he would go more in depth about his plans, but that would defy the sneakiness Morey has mastered.
The conference took no more than 25 minutes and showed that these two pivotal players were genuinely excited about returning and competing for a championship next year. Not a shocking interview in the least, but thought I would share the experience.
 
Note: The quotes above are derived from my notes and may not be correct verbatim.