3 NBA organizations heading into a bleak offseason
By Luke Duffy
2. Houston Rockets
How is it that an organization only a couple of seasons removed from the Western Conference finals with an All-NBA First Team player in James Harden on their roster can be in this position? Unfortunately for the Houston Rockets, the position that they are in now is all of their own doing, and they appear stuck.
It is clear at this point that the roster as it is currently constructed around Harden is good enough to make the playoffs each season. They’ll probably win a round as well. But in trading Chris Paul and some draft picks for Russell Westbrook last summer, the organization went all the way in on winning with the group they had.
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We know now that as long as the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers are around, to say nothing of a Golden State Warriors franchise that will be back with a bang next season, the Rockets are going to continue to come up short. That’s bad news for Harden and he can certainly feel upset at how they appear to have failed him and his talents.
Swapping Paul for Westbrook was a move most people would have made, only Paul appeared to find new life with the Oklahoma City Thunder while Westbrook had a poor postseason (he did miss time through injury). If knowing that this duo isn’t good enough to win it all wasn’t bad enough, the lack of roster flexibility makes this situation so much worse.
So much of Houston’s cap space is tied up in Harden and Westbrook, with Robert Covington, Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker all making large sums as well. Throw in the fact that they don’t have a traditional center since trading Clint Capela away, which unlocked Westbrook but also exposed obvious issues with going so small, and the next few seasons look murky.
Harden isn’t even exempt from ridicule either, as although the Rockets will always be a great regular season team, he has had numerous flame-outs in the postseason at this point. Head coach Mike D’Antoni might be held in high regard around the league too, but if something has got to give this offseason, firing him seems the only option. Adding a new head coach to this mix would only add more uncertainty to what is already a tough reality to face up to.