The Rockets Houston

USATSI The Houston Rockets are not the darlings of the NBA. They are not on an upward trajectory. They ended the 2019-20 season in shambles, with four straight losses to the eventual champions, the last of which was a complete clunker, presaging the departures of general manager Daryl Morey and coach Mike D'Antoni, who have left behind a roster that is expensive, bereft of young talent, devoid of draft picks and built to play a specific style. Before the Rockets were even eliminated, The Athletic's John Hollinger wondered how long it would be before they'd face the music and move James Harden. When it becomes too difficult to add reinforcements to the team you've built, the most prudent thing to do is dismantle it. At 31 years old, Harden's trade value might never be higher than it is right now. Houston is not there yet. Shortly after Morey left, owner Tilman Fertitta said there's no reason to blow up the roster and promised Rockets fans that they'll...

Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Houston Rockets . Salary Cap Outlook Nearly identical $41MM salaries for James Harden and Russell Westbrook will prevent the Rockets from opening up any cap space this offseason, barring a major roster shakeup. With over $123MM in guaranteed money already committed to just six players, Houston is in position to surpass the luxury tax threshold in 2020/21 unless the club cuts costs. For now, we’re assuming the Rockets will be operating with the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.72MM) rather than the full MLE or the bi-annual. Our full salary cap preview for the Rockets can be found right here. Roster Decisions To Watch Options: Non-Guaranteed Contracts: Two-Way Contracts: Free Agents: 2020 Draft Assets First Round: Second Round: While it remains possible that ...

“For me, it was just a great run.” That’s how Daryl Morey summed up his 13 years as the Rockets’ general manager—a tenure that ended, suddenly and surprisingly (although maybe not that surprisingly), on Thursday—in a postmortem phone call with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “Personally, the timing worked for me,” Morey said. “My youngest son just graduated from high school, and it was just the right time to see what’s next with family and other potential things in the future. It just felt like the right time.” No one can fault Morey for an earnest desire to spend more time with his children, or for needing to recharge after grinding for a decade-plus and enduring the longest (both literally and figuratively) and undoubtedly most stressful season of his career. But a month after another Rockets season ended earlier than they’d hoped, it seems at least possible that this “felt like the right time” to leave Houston from a competitive standpoint, too. Morey told The New York Times that “he was ...

Dwight Howard #39 of the Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) With the Houston Rockets in need of roster additions while being on a tight budget, here are five former Rockets players that could be inked on a veterans minimum deal that are worth consideration. The Houston Rockets face an uphill battle as it pertains to adding players to their roster, while also doing so on a restricted budget. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has made it known that he would prefer to refrain from having to pay the luxury tax, which could prove to be a tall order. The Rockets currently have $131.6 million in total taxable salaries, which doesn’t provide much breathing room from the luxury tax threshold, which is currently set at $132.6 million. This means the Rockets would have $944,000 to operate with, in order to stay under the luxury tax, assuming everything remains as is, from a roster standpoint. Granted, there will be some flexibility, depending on which players exercise th...

And to think I forgot you, good people. Never! It’s been a little over three weeks now since the Rockets last played a competitive game and can shift their attention to a busy offseason and next season, whenever the heck that is. In our first two installments, we touched on quite a few things — available head coaches, best fits, small ball, the Danuel House dilemma, and more. If you missed any of those, you can check Part 1 out here and Part 2 here. But here’s where the fun begins, the real stuff you all care about. Today, we’ll be discussing free agency, internal roster decisions, quick-fires from Twitter, and anything else that falls off the question truck. Let’s get to it. Who do you think could be moved this offseason? — Bailey G A good place to start here, Bailey. Let’s take a quick look at Houston’s cap sheet and who’s under contract for next season. Rockets in 2020-21...

Jamal Crawford #11 of the Phoenix Suns (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) As the Houston Rockets round out their roster, should they be interested in Jamal Crawford, who has prior experience with Mike D’Antoni? The NBA’s “transaction window” is quickly coming to a screeching halt, as it’s set to end on June 30th. The Houston Rockets have made good use of this time, as they added 3-and-D guard David Nwaba, while releasing developmental prospect and fan favorite Isaiah Hartenstein. At just 27-years-old, Nwaba provides plenty of reason for excitement in the coming years. But Nwaba won’t be able to make any contributions for the Rockets when the league resumes in Orlando, as he’s still recovering from a torn Achilles, which will sideline him for the duration of the 2019-20 season. But the Rockets’ pursuit of Nwaba further validated the fact that Rockets GM Daryl Morey is targeting guards, particularly combo guards. Prior to signing Nwaba, the Rockets were rumored to...

With the NBA set to resume on July 30, the league is encouraging teams to sign replacement players amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 22 teams participating in the start-up are permitted to sign free-agents or convert two-way players into full NBA contracts. The only restriction — teams can only sign players who were on an NBA roster during the 2019-20 season prior to the suspension. Now with the growing concern that a variety of players will decline the Disney invitation, the league has granted more leeway on how teams can reconstruct their roster. Instead of the traditional 15-man roster, each team can sign up to 17 players ahead of the NBA restart. Sources: The NBA is planning to allow teams to bring up to 17 players per roster (including two-ways) into the resumed season. Previous estimate was 15-player limit. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 11, 2020 Although this is more of a precaution given the anomalous state of the world, the Houston Rockets should look to take adva...

Since taking over as president of basketball operations in Minnesota, Gersson Rosas has brought a similar philosophy to the one he was greatly a part of with the Houston Rockets. He has shifted the team to a brand of basketball that prioritizes shooting and skill above all else, which played a large part in the chase of D’Angelo Russell, as well as the additions of players such as Malik Beasley and James Johnson. Ironically enough, this past season the Rockets dove even FURTHER into what Mike D’Antoni refers to as “skill ball”. After moving veteran center Clint Capela at the trade deadline, the lone true center on Houston’s roster was Tyson Chandler, who barely ever played. The Rockets were all-in on going small, starting five guards/wings and playing the 6’5” P.J. Tucker as the team’s de facto center. Minnesota hasn’t shifted quite that far, and they likely never will because Karl-Anthony Towns is the team’s best player, and also happens to stand 7’ tall. In that sense, the Timberw...

Houston Rockets guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) The Houston Rockets will be part of a league that will likely have an imminent start. There’s a bunch of scenarios, which is gaining steam? You know what?  I miss my Houston Rockets dearly and it looks like things are going to be restarted soon with an imminent plan to bring them back right in front of our televisions on the hardwood. It has been a long time coming because it has felt like an eternity as we go into our third month without any NBA action.  Who would’ve thought that there would something so serious like this pandemic to put sports on pause. Sports is undefeated — sports never loses, sports is our go-to in times like this but it has been paused just like the daily nuances of our lives through and through. The Houston Rockets haven’t played a game since March 11, a 117-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, an encouraging win that this team was on the right tr...

Houston Rockets Daryl Morey (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) Although the NBA has been on a hiatus since mid-March, the Houston Rockets have used the break in action to prepare for their offseason moves. The Houston Rockets have been out of commission since March 10th, as the novel coronavirus pandemic forced the NBA to shut down once Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive. Although basketball fans have been starved and destitute for action, there have been positive signs and reasons for optimism for an NBA return, as much of the league’s teams have already opened their facilities back up, like the Rockets. But the hiatus hasn’t exactly been all bad, as it’s allowed teams to get a head start on the offseason, which is what the Rockets have done during this unprecedented pause in action. While previously speaking to SportsTalk 790, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey explained how the Rockets have been taking advantage of the break. “Right now we’re working...

Houston Rockets Robert Horry (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) The Houston Rockets were one of the best teams of the 90s, winning two championships and over 300 games between 1990-96, but did they break up the core too soon? The Houston Rockets of the 1990s had the best decade-long run in the franchise’s history, winning two championships along the way. While they were certainly the second-best team of the decade, they could’ve had even more success if they didn’t break up the squad so quickly. A series loss to their playoff nemesis, the Seattle SuperSonics, in 1996 effectively ended up being the end of the Clutch City era as we knew it, as the team’s young core was traded away that offseason. As I’ve come to find out in speaking with some former Rockets, many feel that breaking up that core was a bit premature. Was there possibly a way to keep most of the title-run team together, and what could have been the result if so? The Trade that Broke up the Title-winning Rockets ...

Tom Thibodeau's stock around the NBA fell essentially to zero after he was fired by the Minnesota Timberwolves in early 2019. At that point, his trade for Jimmy Butler had backfired spectacularly when the All-Star forced his way out of Minnesota, the development of Andrew Wiggins stalled after Thibodeau gave him a max contract, and many of his strategies appeared archaic in a quickly modernizing league. But after more than a year outside of the NBA, his reputation appears to have rebounded enough for him to land another head coaching job.  Thibodeau was already reportedly a candidate for the New York Knicks job, but as of Monday, we can add two more high-profile teams to the list. Both the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets "will have strong interest" in Thibodeau, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Thibodeau has prior connections to all three franchises that make him a compelling candidate for their jobs.  Thibodeau has coached both Kyrie Irving and Kevin...

Steve Babineau/Getty Images The 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, also known as the Dream Team, is arguably the best sports team ever assembled. A group of 12 of the NBA's best pros gathered together to take on competition in Barcelona during the summer of 1992 and emerged with the gold medal after winning their eight games by an average of 43.75 points. The players were at various levels in their NBA careers at the time. Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird had played his last NBA game. Duke forward Christian Laettner hadn't started his yet. And Michael Jordan was approaching the end of the first three-peat of NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls.        Michael Jordan Career Earnings: $93,772,500  ( Spotrac ) Career Stats: 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.3 SPG Net Worth: $2.1 billion ( Forbes ) The man who authored some of the game's most iconic individual moments in NBA history retired as the game's leading scorer and its best player. De...

Ike Diogu #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils holds the ball during the game against the UCLA Bruins on January 15, 2004 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA defeated Arizona State 66-58. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) James Harden is the face of the Arizona State basketball program because of what he’s done in the NBA. But many other Sun Devils — stars and role players alike — have put together great college careers in Tempe. ArizonaSports.com’s Matt Layman and Kevin Zimmerman are reaching back three decades to consider Sun Devils who played from 1990 onward — apologies to Fat Lever, Byron Scott and Lionel Hollins, among others — to create a 10-man squad. They’ll alternate by drafting Sun Devils based on their abilities at the peak of their college careers. To be clear, this is a team-building exercise, not a “Who is the best player?” list. Once they mock, we will put the results up for a public vote to see who constructed the best roster of ASU players. You can ...