Houston Rockets: Early bold predictions for 2018 offseason

1. DeAndre Jordan becomes Houston’s consolation prize

Man — based off these predictions, the Rockets’ 2018 offseason goes about as bad as it could. Not only do they lose Capela and shed other pieces to create cap space for LeBron, but the King spurns them in favor off the inferior Cavaliers. Ouch.

After the Decision 3.0 is announced, the Rockets go into full-on panic mode. They’ve missed on James, Paul George has signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant has already rejoined the Golden State Warriors. Patiently waiting for LeBron didn’t pay off, but now the market has dried up of most of the big names.

Still, it doesn’t all go wrong. Instead of making some drastic jump, DeAndre Jordan has bided his time, choosing to wait to make a decision on his future. With a huge chunk of cap space now available, the Rockets immediately give his agent a call, offering a max contract and a prominent role on one of the West’s better teams.

After a day or two of careful contemplation, Jordan signs on the dotted line. He takes over for Capela as the imposing threat at center, getting all of the alley-oops from Harden and Paul that his heart could desire. Jordan isn’t worth tearing this roster apart like James would have been, but at least they got some sort of superstar as a consolation prize.

Next: Early predictions for where top free agents will sign

It undoubtedly puts the Rockets in a worse situation heading into 2018-19. However, not every team can win every offseason. Houston still hangs around as one of the West’s best teams, but missing out on LeBron after tearing the roster down to the bones certainly puts a damper on their ability to immediately contend.