Houston Rockets: Offseason Report Card
The Houston Rockets were an elite team last season. Finishing with a 54-28 record and finishing fourth in the brutal Western Conference is not something that should be taken lightly. The Houston Rockets played the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. The Blazers ultimately ended the Rockets’ season in heart-breaking fashion, as Damian Lillard hit a game-winning jumper in Game 6 to send Houston home.
Offseason Needs:
Going into the offseason, the Houston Rockets had high hopes to potentially secure a third star player to help propel them to an NBA title.
The Rockets didn’t have a major need anywhere. Improving the bench could have been useful to the team. The Rockets had a solid draft, taking 6’10” Clint Capela and combo guard Nick Johnson with their two picks. Capela projects to be a defensive stopper and was a bit of a sleeper. Johnson is a supremely athletic guard who can play both point guard and shooting guard. Other than some general improvement, there was no massive hole to fill.
More from Houston Rockets
- 5 NBA players everyone should be keeping a close eye on in 2023-24
- 5 NBA teams on the rise that will surprise everyone in 2023-24
- The latest intel has Houston ready to overpay for two free agency targets
- NBA Rumors: Houston has a polarizing backup plan if they don’t land Harden
- NBA Rumors: Houston could make a win-now trade for a star this summer
Free Agency:
Ultimately, Daryl Morey pushed really hard to acquire another star player. He entered into the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, coming up empty. He pushed for Chris Bosh while not accepting Chandler Parsons‘ team option. He ultimately signed an offer sheet with Dallas, with the Houston Rockets telling him that they would match as soon as they acquired Bosh.
That didn’t pan out. While in pursuit of the final piece of the puzzle, the Rockets got rid of two other important pieces.
First, the team traded away Jeremy Lin and a first-round draft pick for basically nothing. And second, the team traded Omer Asik to the Pelicans for a first-round pick. After letting Parsons go to Dallas, the Rockets acted fast and signed Trevor Ariza to be his replacement.
While Ariza was a good signing to replace Parsons, it still doesn’t change the fact that the Rockets lost a lot of productive players this offseason. Was it the right choice?
Grade: D+
Although the Rockets had a solid draft, they took a big step back in free agency, losing a few good role players and replacing them with unproven players, or inferior players on cheap deals.
I understand what Daryl Morey was trying to accomplish this off season by acquiring another superstar player. With the NBA in the midst of a “Big Three” era, he was simply trying to get that third superstar that has eluded his team. It was an extremely risky move that didn’t pay off for Houston.
Of course, if everything had worked out according to plan, this grade would have easily been an A. The team had the possibility of signing another star player while still keeping Parsons. It was a major gamble, and I’m not sure if it was the right call given how good the team was one year ago.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned and it hurt the Rockets. I understand the mindset that Morey had, but the end results were a step back for Houston.
With that said, this offseason wasn’t a major catastrophe. The Houston Rockets are still powered by James Harden and Dwight Howard and the team still has a very good chance of making the playoffs, even in the West. There’s always the possibility of a young player developing into a very good player. The team did get worse, and the bench is now a big question mark without an obvious answer.
The Houston Rockets had high hopes into this year’s off season. Unfortunately, Daryl Morey’s moves this offseason didn’t pan out. The Houston Rockets took a step back, and in the West, that isn’t something that can be taken lightly.