Despite falling at the hands of the Golden State Warriors for the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Houston Rockets could be closer to the mountaintop than many believe come next season.
Although it marks exactly 50 days since the Houston Rockets‘ most recent season came to a close, general manager Daryl Morey has not let the time to lament prevent him from searching for ways that he can upgrade his current roster.
According to recent reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Zach Lowe and Kelly Iko of The Athletic (subscription required), Houston has recently compiled a short list of unrestricted free agents that they will seek to target and sign to the mid-level exception in the coming days this summer.
In addition to putting together a renewed bid to land Jimmy Butler, the Rockets have recently reached out to several teams with notable cap space to separately offer Clint Capela, P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon — in exchange for a future first round pick — to redirect back to the Philadelphia 76ers in a potential sign-and-trade deal for the All-Star.
Yet in spite of all the reported moves that Morey is seeking to pull off, several key figures around Houston’s organization have expressed a recent need for the 2018 Executive of the Year to stand pat.
"“I hope they don’t panic,” an anonymous Rockets player told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “I hope they don’t make drastic moves. We are right there. We’ve just got to figure out some things, fine tune some things, but we are right there. We don’t need to change much.“It’s not the time to [expletive] panic.”"
Can anyone seek to blame him? The following remarks may have been chuckled at if conveyed immediately after Game 6 of the 2019 Western Conference semifinals.
However, in a 24-hour sports media cycle where many pose rapid thoughts before reflecting, the thought of change always sounds good in the actual wake of a heartbreaking close to a season’s chapter.
Often times, it trickles down to all the way to the team’s majority shareholder, the front office and even the players and fans.
But at some point, the time for retracing one’s steps must come.
Although close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades to many, Houston has been the only team to come the closest in recent memory — outside the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016 — to ever dethroning the Golden State Warriors‘ reign atop the Western Conference.
Most fans will rarely ever recall who finishes in second in the West yet the juggernaut that had reigned valiantly atop of the NBA’s Mount Olympus for three out of the past four seasons no longer stands the same as it once did.
Kevin Durant — who ruptured his right Achilles in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals — has decided to opt out of his contract to test the free agency waters. Klay Thompson is down with a torn ACL.
Should the Rockets play up to the standard that they have over the last two seasons, then why can’t they find a way to capture a championship for once and for all?
The doors to contend for a title have opened up for many teams across the league. Yet the Rockets literally stand the closest when it comes to finally getting over the hump.
Barring the addition of any significant game-changing piece, the majority of Houston’s core will be returning alongside James Harden and Chris Paul next season under head coach Mike D’Antoni. This is now a period where most organizations will be working extensively to ingrain new pieces onto their respective teams at the start of training camp.
"“I think we’re going to have our starting five, plus a top-level mid-level. Maybe we’ll do better than that.” Morey told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “We were the best team down the stretch with that group and that’s without adding one more quality player like we’re going to do.“Most teams are scrambling to keep their starting unit together. We got ours next year.”"
If Houston were to acquire Butler alongside several key contributing pieces, however, it would only help to bolster their overall depth of current talent. And should any essential role player be dealt in the coming days, bringing in an All-NBA performer to Clutch City would only be welcomed.
In either case, before we all seek to play the role of clairvoyant basketball forecasters, let’s fully examine where all things currently stand in the present.
Because the whole is often greater than the sum of it parts, and one might see that the Rockets — as currently constructed — really have nothing to lose right now.