Houston Rockets: 2016 Offseason Grades

The Houston Rockets are going all in on offense with Dwight Howard gone, but was it a successful summer? Here are their complete 2016 offseason grades.

Perhaps more than any other Western Conference team (well, except the Oklahoma City Thunder), the Houston Rockets needed to have a successful offseason.

Coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2015, the Rockets were once again knocked out in a gentleman’s sweep against the Golden State Warriors in 2016…only this time it happened in the first round of the playoffs.

With Dwight Howard opting out of the final year of his contract and Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas hitting restricted free agency, the Rockets had decisions to make about how they wanted to build another contender around James Harden.

Now that free agency is winding down, it’s pretty clear that general manager Daryl Morey opted to assemble an offensive juggernaut around the Beard and new head coach Mike D’Antoni, rather than haphazardly pursue a more balanced roster.

The question is, how did he do? And how good will this team be in 2016-17 with so much offensive firepower and so many defensive liabilities? Here’s a look at the Houston Rockets’ complete 2016 offseason grades.

Next: The Draft

The Draft

The Rockets didn’t own their first round pick in this year’s draft, by courtesy of the ill-fated Ty Lawson trade with the Nuggets. Denver used that pick on Juan Hernangomez — the exact kind of promising young stretch-4 who would’ve helped Houston, especially with Motiejunas still unsigned.

Houston did own two second-rounders, however, the first of which they used in Chinanu Onuaku at No. 37. An athletic, 6’10” center from Louisville, Onuaku is the exact type of long, energetic defender Houston needed as a potential long-term replacement for Houston’s departing frontcourt depth.

Onuaku is an elite shot-blocker, a tremendous rebounder and if it weren’t for his complete lack of offensive polish, this 19-year-old would’ve been a bonafide first round pick. In his final season with the Cardinals, he averaged 9.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in just 24.6 minutes per game, shooting 62 percent from the field.

The Rockets signed him to a four-year deal.

In NBA Summer League, Onuaku struggled to put up those same numbers, averaging 3.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game on 43.8 percent shooting. He needs time and won’t be a fixture in the rotation as a rookie, but this 19-year-old could be a useful addition down the road.

Plus, you’ve got to love a player who puts his pride aside and shoots his free throws underhanded — something Rockets fans would’ve loved to see from Dwight.

At No. 43, the Rockets selected Zhou Qi from China. Qi is a draft-and-stash pick for the time being, but his potential value as a 7’2 center with a massive 7’8 wingspan and 9’5″ standing reach is pretty clear.

Though he’s so thin he has to run around in the shower to get wet, Qi is an impressive athlete for his size, he’s an excellent shot-blocker and he’s got a high basketball IQ, complete with clever passing and fundamentally sound footwork in the post.

If he’s actually 20 years old, the Rockets may have gotten a steal a few years down the line. For the time being, however, missing that first-rounder because of the awful Lawson trade and not adding a difference-maker for 2016-17 hurts.

Grade: C+

Next: Adding Anderson

Adding Anderson

Were the Rockets going to try and replace Dwight Howard with Al Horford? Did they have a chance at snagging fellow lefty Mike Conley for the backcourt? Were they a dark horse in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes?

These were the types of questions Rockets fans wanted to start permeating the free agency chatter for their team, but in the end, Ryan Anderson wound up being Houston’s marquee signing this offseason.

To be clear, that’s not a terrible thing. Anderson’s abilities as a stretch-4 have long been tailor-made for Morey’s three-point-heavy attack and adding Ryno to an offense that was already ranked eighth last season is going to make them that much deadlier.

Anderson also bolsters Houston’s three-point attack. Though the Rockets attempted the second-most three-pointers in the league last season (30.9 per game), they only made 34.7 percent of them — ranking 19th in three-point percentage.

Last year, Anderson was a top Sixth Man of the Year candidate, averaging 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 36.6 percent from three-point range. That last number will need to increase in Houston, as will his number of games played (66, 61 and 22 over the last three seasons).

However, if Anderson can stay on the court, he’ll be a definite boon to an already formidable offense. Good luck cutting off Harden’s penetration when he’s flanked with a shooter like Ryan Anderson on the perimeter.

Ryno is also extremely effective in the post, and was an efficient scorer in off-screen situations as well, per Synergy Sports.

The only problem is, a four-year, $80 million contract is WAY too much money for an injury-prone 28-year-old power forward, especially one who has as many defensive shortcomings as Ryan Anderson.

Though he’s a great fit for the offense, he only exacerbates the flaws of a team that ranked 21st in defensive rating last year. The season Houston went to the conference finals, they had the league’s sixth ranked defense, helping compensate for Harden’s flaws on that end and the absence of Dwight Howard.

The Rockets are right to have faith in Clint Capela‘s long-term outlook, but it’s going to take some time for him to become a defensive anchor. Surrounding Harden with a player like Anderson doesn’t make that adjustment any easier, even with the clear advantages Ryno brings to Houston’s offense.

Within a Mike D’Antoni offense and playing alongside Harden, Ryan Anderson will be unleashed like never before. But given the health concerns and the $20 million annual salary for a defensively flawed player, this deal only gets a passing grade.

Grade: C

Next: Getting Gordon

Getting Gordon

Speaking of overpaid and injury-prone New Orleans Pelicans players, Eric Gordon also joined Anderson to bolster Houston’s potent offensive attack, signing a four-year, $53 million deal with the Rockets.

To be fair, a contract worth around $13.3 million a season is hardly an albatross under the new cap. Next season, that figure would be the equivalent of a $9.9 million deal under last year’s $70 million cap — nearly $6 million less than he actually earned last season as a member of the Pelicans.

However, just because Gordon is finally being paid something closer to his worth doesn’t make this a good deal either. Anderson has had his injury bugs over the last few seasons, but they’re nothing compared to the perennially injured Gordon, who has missed 37, 21, 18, 40 and 73 games, respectively, over his five years in New Orleans.

Perhaps a change of scenery will do him some good, and his three-point shooting shouldn’t be overlooked. Gordon shot 39.1 percent from three in 2013-14, 44.8 percent in 2014-15 and 38.4 percent last season, taking 4.0, 5.2 and 6.5 attempts per game, respectively.

Though he’s hovered around 42 percent shooting overall over the last three years, putting Gordon on the floor with Harden (off the bench) will take the pressure off Harden to score and enable Gordon as a standstill shooter.

Unfortunately, Gordon shot an ho-hum 35.2 percent on catch-and-shoot threes last year, surprisingly performing better on pull-up threes (48.2 percent).

At age 27, this was supposed to be Gordon’s big pay day. And while he earned far more than some  were expecting given his underperformance, four years is a long commitment to a player with such an extensive injury history.

Gordon may help spread the floor for Harden to operate with the ball in his hands, but between his recurring health issues, his mediocre defense and his wonky fit as a catch-and-shoot perimeter threat, Houston’s gambit for all-offense hit a bit of a snag here.

Grade: C-

Next: Nabbing Nene

Nabbing Nene

With Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones gone — and Donatas Motiejunas still unsigned — the Rockets needed to a bit of frontcourt depth.

I’m not sure “veteran leader” is the right word to describe Nene, given the attitude he’s been prone to play with and the way that he never managed to put all his talent together, but even if he doesn’t serve as a mentor for the blossoming Capela, he’ll still be useful from a depth perspective.

On a one-year, $2.9 million deal, the Rockets also got great value on this signing. Nene is nowhere near what he once was now that he’s 33, but he still averaged a modest 9.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game for the Washington Wizards last year.

Like Anderson and Gordon, Nene’s ability to stay on the court is a legitimate concern. He’s battled injuries for the better part of his career and dating back to the 2011-12 season, he’s missed 43, 21, 29, 15 and 25 games, respectively.

However, the Rockets didn’t bring him in to do the heavy lifting in the frontcourt. Anything he contributes off the bench will be a bonus for a team relying on young bigs and for such a low price, it’s a borderline steal — even if no one should be expecting anything special from his defense or locker room leadership.

Grade: B

Next: A Beard Extension

A Beard Extension

To be perfectly honest, the best part of Daryl Morey’s offseason was securing James Harden for the long-term with a rarely seen contract extension — and even that statement is sure to be controversial given the Beard’s almost universal disapproval rating these days.

With a four-year, $118 million contract extension, the Rockets committed to Harden for the long haul, paying him an average annual salary of $29.5 million and granting him a $32.7 million player option for the final year in 2019-20.

With the salary cap expanding the way that it is and all the other quality free agents gone, committing a considerable chunk of cap space to keep the franchise star satisfied is a justifiable move. It only delays Harden from hitting free agency by a year, but that extra time could be crucial given the way this summer’s rebuild has gone.

The truth is, the jury is still out on whether Mike D’Antoni is still a good coach in the modern NBA. He’ll be coaching the best playmaker he’s had since Steve Nash with James Harden, but the personnel on this team is set to exaggerate the stereotypes about the many defensive flaws of his previous teams.

If D’Antoni can’t turn the ship around quickly, and with Morey dishing out four-year deals to both Anderson and Gordon, the Rockets’ window for assembling a contender around Harden will close quicker than you’d think.

Say what you want about Harden, but he’s an offensive force who just put up Kobe Bryant-in-his-prime numbers over the last two seasons. He’s an offense unto himself and a bonafide MVP candidate when he actually tries on defense (which was rare in 2015-16, but actually happened in 2014-15, when he finished second in MVP voting).

This move buys the Rockets some extra time, keeps the franchise star happy, establishes a positive relationship by making him Houston’s highest paid player and brings stability. That’s a pretty deft way to put Dwight Howard’s extra cap space to good use.

Grade: A

Next: Odds And Ends

Odds And Ends

Tying up the loose ends, the Rockets allowed Michael Beasley‘s $1.4 million contract for the 2016-17 season to become guaranteed this week, bringing back a guy who turned a successful stint in China into 20 games with the Rockets.

Beasley doesn’t move the needle much, but he averaged a respectable 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in just 18.2 minutes per game for Houston.

He’s instant offense off the bench and could be set to take on an expanded role given the state of the Rockets’ second unit. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking he does anything but make this team’s defense even worse.

Houston also re-signed Pablo Prigioni to a two-year, non-guaranteed minimum contract. The move makes sense with 17-year veteran Jason Terry still unsigned and though it’s hardly an impactful return, Prigioni is at least a pesky defender who rarely turns the ball over.

Rounding out the roster with Summer League standouts and undrafted prospects, the Rockets turned to Gary Payton II from Oregon State to get things started.

Payton, a 23-year-old who went undrafted in this year’s NBA Draft, averaged 16.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game, establishing himself as a tenacious defender like his father while also throwing down dunks that let the world know he was a freak athlete of his own as well.

On the Rockets’ Summer League team, Payton struggled a bit, putting up 4.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game on 37.5 percent shooting (despite making two of his four three-pointers). If he can make the roster, he’ll eventually give D’Antoni an alternative to Prigioni at the backup point guard spot.

Then there’s Texas’ Isaiah Taylor, another undrafted youngster who averaged 15.0 points and 5.1 assists per game in his junior season with the Longhorns. At age 22, this 6’3″ guard is another more mature prospect for the Rockets to develop if they so choose.

Taylor also failed to consistently perform at Summer League, averaging 5.0 points and 4.0 assists per game on .375/.250/.857 shooting splits, though he did pull off one of the most beautiful moves of the entire tournament:

Finally, the Rockets added Gonzaga’s Kyle Wiltjer, who is coming off a stellar senior season in which he averaged 20.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on .491/.437/.857 shooting splits.

Wiltjer was a bit more impressive in Vegas, averaging 8.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on 41.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc, though he did only shoot 38.1 percent from the field overall. He could be a productive stretch-4 down the road if he carves out a spot on the roster.

All three players have been signed to three-year, non-guaranteed deals. They’ll have to prove themselves, and none of them (including Beasley and Prigioni) will change this team’s fate next year, but all three undrafted prospects are worth taking a closer look at.

Grade: B-

Next: Overall

Overall

The Rockets made some splashy moves this summer, but they were “splashy” the same way that throwing a pebble into a rushing river technically makes a splash, but does nothing to change the unstoppable current from sweeping it along in the same direction.

On the defensive end, last year’s 21st ranked unit just got even worse. Dwight Howard is gone, and though Capela has the makings of a stout rim protector and defensive anchor, he’s not there yet at age 22.

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Throw Anderson’s rigidity and Gordon’s ailing body into a mix that already included Harden’s frequent lapses and you’ve got one of the most porous defenses in the NBA.

The offense, however, should be hard to stop, especially if Anderson and Gordon both play around 65 games. Despite not having very many efficient three-point weapons last year, Harden still dragged that group to a top-10 offensive rating, and having Anderson and Gordon to spread the defense and knock down open looks will only help matters.

The truth, however, is that Houston is only as good as James Harden wants them to be. Will he step up again as a leader like he did in 2014-15, putting in effort on the defensive end and empowering his teammates to make good on this gaudy extension? Or will he be the same defensively lazy, uncharismatic stat sheet stuffer he was in 2015-16?

With the Rockets putting all their chips in the middle and betting on a high-powered offense making up for what will be a miserable defense, the onus is on Harden to bring all the pieces together and somehow make this work.

More hoops habit: San Antonio Spurs: 2016 Offseason Grades

Perhaps we’ll all be proven wrong, but this strategy of trading any modicum of defense for offense doesn’t appear to be a very sound one. Unless Harden has an MVP-caliber season again, the Rockets may struggle to even make the playoffs following a fairly underwhelming offseason.

Grade: C