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Rockets GM: 'You're either in the weapons race or on the sidelines'

Bill Baptist / National Basketball Association / Getty

The Houston Rockets are just trying to keep pace with how the league is going.

Superteams have dominated the landscape over the last decade, so Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has always been focused on recruiting stars. He added Chris Paul on Wednesday to go with James Harden, and Morey's aim is to add a third star before the summer is over.

Morey makes no apologies about his strategy.

"It's a weapons race in the NBA," Morey said after the Paul trade. "You're either in the weapons race or on the sidelines.

"We felt like this is, with James Harden in his prime and Chris Paul in his prime, this gives us a real shot to chase the juggernaut teams that are out there. It puts us right there with them."

The juggernaut team Morey referenced is almost certainly the Golden State Warriors, who stacked four All-Stars to comprise a historically dominant squad. The formation of such an overpowered roster spawned criticism that the Warriors had ruined competitive balance in the NBA.

However, as Morey argues, the goal for every team is the same. Recruiting the best players makes for the best teams, and the Rockets and Warriors are trying to build the best teams possible under the rules of the league. Others can stick their heads in the sand and argue that it's unfair, but they'll only be left behind.

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