The Houston Rockets off-season has been disastrous. Not only did they miss out on superstar talent, but they also lost some key players.
The Rockets were exceptionally confident that they would land the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, or Chris Bosh, but they ended up with none of them. In attempts to land one of those superstars, Houston dealt Omer Asik. Once LeBron James agreed to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Rockets were in serious talks with Chris Bosh and were absolutely certain that Bosh would sign with them, so they traded Jeremy Lin as well to clear more cap space.
However, Bosh pulled out of the offer with the Rockets last minute and chose to re-sign with the Miami Heat, leaving Houston with no Asik, no Lin, and no superstars.
Lin and Asik were both major losses for their bench unit. Even though Asik was unhappy in Houston, he was still producing really well. He brought elite rebounding and solid interior defense. Lin supplied Houston with terrific scoring off the Rockers’ thin bench. Lin and Asik were the main guys off that Houston bench, and they lost them both.
What’s more, they decided not to match Chandler Parsons’ offer with the Dallas Mavericks, letting him go as well. Parsons was the third option on the team. His defense was enormously important, and his versatility on offense was one of the keys to success for Houston last season.
To ease some of the painful losses, Houston snatched Trevor Ariza off the costless agent market. Ariza is an outstanding perimeter defender as well as a consistent spot up shooter, but he does not possess the same versatility as Parsons on offense.
To make up for the losses of Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, the Rockets have made multiple moves. They signed Ishmael Smith, Kostas Papanikolaou, Jeff Adrien, and Joey Dorsey. They also re-signed Troy Daniels and Francisco Garica, and traded for Jason Terry.
Those are all reasonable moves, but those players will more than likely not make up for the void left behind by Lin and Asik. Ish Smith has offensive spurts at times, but he is not consistent. Troy Daniels had a great showing during last year’s playoffs and shoots the ball really well, but he still has to learn the ropes. Jeff Adrien is a high energy player who does a good job of grabbing rebounds, but he is a bit undersized for a power forward.
Joey Dorsey is much like Adrien. He is undersized, but rebounds pretty well and plays with a lot of hustle. Kostas Papanikolaou, the forward out of Greece, endures a nice three-point shot. We will see how he does at an NBA level. Francisco Garcia is a high energy offensive player who will continue to provide three-point shooting off the Rockets bench, but Houston may need more consistency out of him this season.
Finally, Jason Terry, who has been known for his remarkable shooting touch, is recovering from a knee injury. At this point in his career, it is uncertain what he can bring to the table or if he will be able to stay healthy.
The Houston Rockets have been trying hard to clean up some of the early off-season mess, but it is not easy to restore all the talent they have lost this summer. They were a top four team in the Western Conference last season, but that may not be the case this forthcoming season.
Grade: D
Depth Chart:
PG: Patrick Beverley/Ishmael Smith/Isaiah Canaan/Nick Johnson
SG: James Harden/Jason Terry/Troy Daniels
SF: Trevor Ariza/Francisco Garcia/Kostas Papanikolaou
PF: Terrence Jones/Jeff Adrien/Joey Dorsey/Robert Covington
C: Dwight Howard/Donatas Motiejunas/Tarik Black
Coach: Kevin McHale