Houston Rockets: Best Move They Did, Didn’t Make

The Houston Rockets had a busy offseason retooling their rotation and replacing their head coach. What was the best move of their offseason? And did they make a fatal error in the moves they didn’t make?

Every year, only one of 30 teams can win the NBA championship. That leaves 29 teams out, disappointed in their season finish. Those odds put stress on NBA front offices to make the right sort of moves to build towards that one-in-30 chance.

Sometimes those moves work out as stepping stones to the prize. Other times they don’t, turned to stumbling blocks in their path.

The Houston Rockets entered this offseason with the taste of disappointment fresh in their mouths, a season of high hopes ending in an eighth seed and a first round playoff exit. A new coach and a freshly stocked starting lineup are indications of a busy offseason.

Did the Rockets make the right moves to bounce back next year? What was the best move they made this offseason? And what was the best move they didn’t make?

Best Move They Made: Extending James Harden

Players on a pedestal are the easiest to find flaws in. The Internet is filled with memes of James Harden’s defensive lapses, either from a lack of lateral quickness or, more commonly, disdain for the effort involved. A total of 47 players ranked ahead of Harden in Defensive Real Plus-Minus last season at the shooting guard position alone; overall he came in at 321st.

But to focus on what Harden isn’t is to ignore what Harden is, and Harden is an elite offensive player. His ability to drive and generate offense is unique in the league; only LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are in that conversation.

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Harden paces the league in fouls drawn every year, uses his famed Eurostep to open up space for layups, and his passes to the outside keep a number of players employed in the league.

Without Harden, the Rockets had no hope of a championship in the near future. After years of being an average team without a star, they made the now infamous trade to bring in Harden. They didn’t want to face the possibility of Harden mimicking his former teammate Kevin Durant and walking in free agency in 2018.

By locking him up to an extension, the Rockets ensure that they will have a star in the fold for at least an extra season, through 2018-19, and two seasons if he plays on his $32.7 million player option in 2019-20.

With the rising cap, max-level players were being underpaid. By giving Harden an increased salary the next two seasons, Houston had the leverage to tack on an extra two seasons for the shooting guard.

James Harden may never lead a team to a championship. He may need another star, one who can complement his skillset. Dwight Howard was clearly not the answer for this team or for Harden. The extension gives the Rockets time to find that other star, and build a roster around Harden that can compete in a fearsome Western Conference.

Best Move They Didn’t Make: Applying Any Resources to Defense

The Houston Rockets had a busy offseason, retooling a rotation that could have as many as three new starters. That in and of itself is not an indictment, as last year’s Rockets’ team fell well short of expectations and change needed to occur.

The issues is how each of their primary moves this offseason focused on improving the offense, not the defense. That begins with the extension for James Harden; while a strong move, it locked a subpar defender into the 2-guard spot for the next four years.

General manager Daryl Morey and the front office decided to double down on that approach, and extended major free agent contracts to a pair of one-sided players.

Ryan Anderson is the quintessential stretch-4, a deadly shooter from outside (a career 37.7 percent shooter from distance) with the 6’10” height to guard inside. But Anderson’s positive offensive RPM last year was perfectly matched by his negative RPM on defense, making him the league’s only precisely neutral player in that stat.

The Rockets paid Anderson $80 million this offseason to be much more than a neutral player. They similarly gave Eric Gordon a four-year, $53 million deal to improve their team. Gordon’s balance comes out fully in the red, with his defensive RPM outweighing his offensive impact.

This is the mark of one stat (other plus/minus stats tell similar stories), but it illustrates the issue that Houston is focusing solely on one side of the ball to the neglect of the other. Teams often do that — focus on building a strength rather than shoring up a weakness. But generally it’s because they have belief they can address that weakness in another way.

What that way is remains hidden to those on the outside of the organization. Some years back in Orlando, coach Stan Van Gundy covered up for the defensive limitations of Anderson by pairing him with Dwight Howard, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year. In Houston the Rockets will hope Clint Capela can do the same, with the aforementioned Howard leaving for Atlanta. Capela has the raw skills, but he is unproven in a large role.

Another way to cover up for weak defensive talent is to hire a strong defensive coach. Steve Clifford built a top-5 NBA defense in Charlotte with Al Jefferson as the anchor, using creative schemes and top-notch coaching to lessen the bite of weaknesses. Houston could’ve sought to do the same.

But on the surface they again went the opposite way, hiring Mike D’Antoni to be their next head coach. D’Antoni has an up-and-down track record in the league, with his crowning moments as an offensive wizard in Phoenix. While D’Antoni’s defenses have been underrated due to the pace at which his teams play, he has never coached a great defensive unit. There is no example to point to of D’Antoni coaching a weak defensive player into a good one.

Houston is betting on their offense being so great that the defense doesn’t matter. They still have Patrick Beverly and Trevor Ariza, solid defenders who still provide value on offense. But they had those players last season and finished 20th in defensive efficiency. There is not a single player on the roster who moves the needle on their own.

Next: 2016 NBA Offseason Grades For All 30 Teams

Winning games 120-118 is not the formula of title contenders, but it seems like the blueprint for a wild Rockets offseason. By this time next year it may become clear that the Rockets have locked in a core that cannot contribute anything on defense, and that could be the stumbling block that holds this team back from its lofty goals.