HANG TIME, Texas – Never mind that the weather map says it’ s hurricane season. This is the time of year when there are nothing but blue skies over every NBA franchise from Miami to Portland to Los Angeles to Toronto. 对于每支NBA球队而言，这是一年中天气最好的时候，从迈阿密到波特兰，从洛杉矶到多伦多。选秀已经结束，新秀们都进了训练营。自由球员也已经签约，在公众面前亮相了。阵容的补缺补漏也已经完成。该是顶级球队和那些渴望球队实力提升的人们开始夺冠计划的时候了。

      但事实上，在所有球队管理层自擂自吹的背后，却只有少数的球队主席和总经理在休假期有大收获。这也是为什么我们不用等到明年4月(常规赛结束)——甚至只要赛季开始——就可以知道谁的决定是正确的。

      在过去的这个夏天，年度最佳总经理的梦幻人选——火箭队莫雷。

      除非火花某天早上醒来宣布加盟火箭是一个错误——他其实还是很想和科比做队友，并且非常地喜欢德安东尼的进攻体系，而且他从来没有打算离开这些在洛杉矶可爱的招聘标语——莫雷当选就像博尔特跑赢穿着铅靴的巴克利一样简单。如果火花身体健康，他和全明星队友哈登将带领火箭立刻变成西部四强的有力挑战者，甚至有可能变成一路杀进总决赛的黑马。但在他们还未在排行榜得到一个“W”（获得一场胜利）之前，就莫雷让火箭队这些年来第一次又有了夺冠的机会，他就应该出现在这份榜单上。自从不幸的姚麦组合解散，接着选择了一箩筐平庸之辈后 ，火箭重新回到人们的视线中。一年前，他们只在全国直播中出现一次。现在他们在ESPN上有10次转播，9次在TNT上，一次在ABC，甚至和马刺队的圣诞大战也将被直播。
  
      Draft picks have been chosen and brought into camp. Free agents have been signed and trotted out for the TV cameras. Trades have been made to fill holes in the lineups. It’s a time for championship planning among the elite class and fantasizing about moving up by the wannabes.

      But the truth is that, despite so much spin doctoring that comes out of all the front offices, there are a handful of team presidents and general managers that made the most of the offseason. That’s why we don’t have to wait till next April — or even the season openers — to know who’ll be taking bows for their work. They’re our summer dreaming picks for Executive of the Year:

      Daryl Morey, Rockets – Unless Dwight Howard wakes up one morning and declares it was all a mistake — that he really loved having Kobe Bryant as a playmate, that he thoroughly enjoyed Mike D’Antoni’s offense and that he never, ever meant to leave those clever recruiting banners in L.A. — this is as sure a thing as Usain Bolt outrunning a lead-boot-wearing Charles Barkley. If Howard stays healthy, he and fellow All-Star James Harden will team up to make the Rockets instant challengers for one of the top four seeds in the Western Conference and could even be a dark horse contender to advance all the way to The Finals. But before they even chalk up one “W” in the standings, Morey has put a headlock on the award simply by making the Rockets franchise relevant again for the first time in years. After drifting on a sea of anonymity and mediocrity since the star-crossed Tracy McGrady-Yao Ming pairing came undone, the Rockets are back in the spotlight. A year ago, they were on national TV once. Now they have 10 appearances on ESPN, nine on TNT, one on ABC and even made it into the Christmas lineup with a date at San Antonio.

☆☆☆☆☆五星级词汇
☆the weather map 天气地图
☆offseason 淡季
☆season openers 开幕赛
☆team up v. 合作；结成一队；协作。例句If the integration goes well, it could set an example for other Japanese companies that need a global presence to compete, but are reluctant to team up with others. 如果合并能够进展顺利，就能为那些需要在全球范围内开展竞争，但又难以与其他企业展开合作的公司展示一个绝佳的先例。