Rockets GM Daryl Morey trolls Steve Kerr by tweeting article from 2016

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Programming note: Watch the pregame edition of Warriors Outsiders Tuesday night at 6, streaming live on the MyTeams app.

So here's what happened:

Steve Kerr opened his media availability on Monday by making contact with Ann Killion of The San Francisco Chronicle and pretending to flop.

The Warriors coach did this to troll James Harden and the Rockets, who complained about the officiating in a very public way following Golden State's Game 1 win on Sunday.

So how did Rockets GM Daryl Morey respond?

On Monday afternoon, he simply tweeted out a link to a Bleacher Report article from November 2016 with the headline: "Steve Kerr Reportedly Fined for Criticizing NBA Referees for Missed Calls ."

The Warriors beat the Raptors in Toronto on Nov. 16, 2016. The next day, Kerr went on KNBR 680 and voiced some frustration:

"How is it that everybody on Earth can see these traveling violations except for the three people that we pay to do the job? I don't get it. It's bizarre. It's (traveling) a point of emphasis on one particular play and that's when you catch and go ... it's just the one that the officials are taught to see.

"But I can literally put together a blooper reel of plays that are embarrassing travels that are just not called.

"I want to make it clear -- our guys travel all the time, too. So this is not me saying, 'Hey, we're getting a raw deal.'"

A couple of days later, Kerr was fined $25,000.

But back to present day ... Kerr was asked Monday afternoon about all of the noise coming from the Rockets.

"It's disappointing because the focus should be on two teams who played extremely hard," he told reporters. "Watching the tape, both teams just got after it and competed.  But we just watched the tape -- you don't think there were 10 calls that we thought we got fouled?

"This is how it goes and every coach in the league will tell you the same thing ... it's the nature of the game. It's very, very difficult to officiate an NBA game. There's all kind of gray area. And in the modern game, a lot of players have gotten really good at deception.

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"I don't remember people falling down on 3-point shots all the time when I played ... I'm disappointed that this has become the whole narrative."

Gee, I wonder who Kerr is referring to here.

As for Morey, he will now have to deal with the fallout from the reported memo the Rockets created after last year's Western Conference Finals that claims the referees cost Houston the 2018 NBA championship.

Buckle up folks. This series has only just begun.

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