Houston Rockets Offseason

[eagle eye]

The Rockets offseason began after the first round of the playoffs when Golden State sent them packing. They were lucky to win one game in that series because unlike last year Houston basically backed into the playoffs with a sub par team. James Hardin took a huge step backward after his MVP-like season in 2014-15. Dwight Howard can't stay healthy and the rest of the team just ain't that great. I believe Hardin's regression this past year is a testament to his lack of dedication as a player. He totally forgot to play defense and he came into the season unprepared and out of shape. His play had a lot to do with Kevin McHale being fired. Hardin's play was also a reason McHale's replacement, JD Bickerstaff, isn't the head coach now. I was hoping the Rockets would hire former Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel because Vogel is a defensive minded coach who may have gotten Hardin in line. Probably not but there was some hope.
When it was announced that Mike D'Antoni was hired I sort of confused him with Stan Van Gundy who I don't like as a coach. During the search Stan's brother Jeff, who had coached the Rockets a few years ago was being mentioned as a candidate for the job. I didn't like him either. I never thought much of Jeff all the back to his days with the NY Knicks. I was right about D'Antoni having run ins with Dwight Howard though from their days together in LA with the Lakers. Howard even said he would not play in Houston if D'Antoni were to become coach.
Howard is still a decent player but at 30 years old he is not the dominant player he was. Is this a function of age, because 30 isn't all that old, or is it a function of the cumulative effect of injuries? Or both? So, Howard's days may be numbered in Houston so the Rockets will need to inject some talent via free agency.
If the Rockets had hired Vogel it probably would have been a nice fit for a guy like Howard who has been defensive player of the year during his time in the NBA but it probably would have been a huge pissing contest between him and James Hardin. I figure he could get Hardin to buy in for a season or two but after that Hardin's selfish nature would have won out. Under D'Antoni the fit with Howard isn't great because of the pace of play in D'Antoni's offense but it's a great fit for a guy like Hardin.
The talk is now about won to put at point guard for D'Antoni's offense and a name that keeps popping up is former Rocket Jeremy Lin. I can see a lot of eyes rolling now but Lin did have a nice year in Charlotte last season and he's suited to run a fast paced up tempo offense. The catch phrase the D'Antoni offense is 'seven seconds or less' referring to how fast a shot should be taken. We'll see how it goes but the free agent signings have not yet begun and it remains to be seen if Houston can the players needed to run D'Antoni's up tempo offense.

[eagle eye]

James Hardin is joining a host of other NBA players who will not play for Team USA in this year's Summer Olympics in Rio De Janero. Some players like Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin aren't playing because of injury. Still others like LeBron James and Andre Iguodala might not play because of concerns over the Zika virus that is a real problem in Rio. It's not real clear what Hardin's reason is for not going to Brazil although I suspect it is due to the Zika virus.

The biggest name in NBA free agency this season is OKC's Kevin Durant. There is wild speculation about just where he will end up and every team has been mentioned even though most have not been, nor will they ever be, considered by Durant. Houston is one of the hopefuls but it's not likely he will want to join the Rockets even though he and James Hardin used to be team mates. It may be that he just stays in OKC where he can get his biggest payday. The folks in Oklahoma love them some KD but I'm sure the Thunder will never win big with a guy as inconsistent as Russell Westbrook. The gag job the Thunder did with a 3-1 series lead on Golden State may leave a bad taste in Durant's mouth. Who knows but wouldn't it be awesome if Durant did come to Houston? Darn tootin'.

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So Houston's GM Darryl Morey got blasted again for drafting two low post players when they are in need of shooters and point guard. Turns out that one of the post players, Chinese player Zhou Qi, can shoot. He is young, just 21 years old, but he has skills in the low post and he has a pretty deadly mid range jumper. Trouble with him is he is 7'2'' but he only weighs in at 218 lbs. He will need a little time to grow into his body but he could provide something from day one. The other draft pick, Louisville's Chinanu Onuaku, is a 6'9'' low post player in college but he will likely be a forward in the NBA. Both player have a lot of upside and they were good value as they were both taken in the 2nd round of the draft. The thing about the NBA draft is it only lasts two rounds and there are no compensatory picks like the NFL draft or extra picks at the end of the rounds like the MLB draft it is a pretty cut and dried system of 60 picks and they are done. Houston is attempting to shore up their front court especially now with Dwight Howard electing to test the free agent waters by turning down Houston's offer of $23MM. Okay, Howard said he didn't want to play for D'Antoni anyway after the two of them had a brief and stormy relationship when they were both with the Lakers. Howard's gone and now the Rockets have a couple of rookies to break in.

Immediately after the draft Morey got applauded for signing a big undrafted free agent, guard Gary Peyton Jr, that addresses the Rockets need for a point guard. Trouble is GPII isn't known as a good shooter. I am not really enamored with the guards Houston has now either at the point and the 2 guard spot. That sort of includes James Hardin because the guy won't play defense. Tell me, are any of you in love with Patrick Beverly, Jason Terry, Andrew Goudelock or Hardin? Hardin can score alright but is he a fit in the new head coach's run and gun offensive system? That's about all there is in basketball until free agency begins July 1st. Ho-hum no real basketball until October.

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Houston signed a couple of free agents last week that may or may not help Houston in 2016-17. They will sign F Ryan Anderson formerly with the New Orleans Pelicans. He is an 8 year vet who has averaged 13.1 PPG with a 37.7% shooting from 3 pt range and he's averaged 5.6 RPG. In 66 games he was a little better, 17.0/36.6/6.0 with 1.1 assists per game. He's had a bit of a history with injuries so he will need to stay healthy to be worth the reported $80MM over the next 4 years. Houston settled on Anderson after Atlanta's failed to lure Kent Bazemore away from the Hawks.
Houston also will sign G Eric Gordon who was also with the Pelicans. He spent the last 5 years in NOLA after beginning his career with the Clippers from 2008 to 2011 which means he, like Ryan Anderson are both 8 year vets. Anderson is 28 while Gordon will turn 28 in December. My meaning here is both are still in their prime and $53MM over 4 years isn't a bad price for Gordon and adding both Anderson and Gordon to the Rockets roster doesn't even put them in the 10 in team payrolls in the NBA. Both players are seen as good fits in the Mike D'Antoni's high octane offense. Anderson will more than make up for Dwight Howard's loss considering Howard didn't play all that much or that well the past two seasons. Couple that fact with the disconnect between Howard and D'Antoni and this is definitely a win-win for Houston.

Houston is rumored to be trying to work out a deal for Golden State center Andrew Bogut. Would Bogut be a good fit in Houston? Maybe but Bogut only averaged about 15 minutes for the Warriors. You would think that Houston would need quality depth because the up tempo offense Houston will run means the bench will be a very important part of any success Houston will have. The thing is, Bogut is good on defense and the Warriors missed him in the last 3 games of the NBA Finals.

Cleveland wins the NBA title and what happens when you do that? You lose players who are offered big contracts in the offseason. Cleveland has yet to sign free agent C Timothy Mozgov. Mozgov is a big big but he only averaged 15 MPG the past two years. He is only 29 so it's not like he's over the hill but it may not be that big a deal if he leaves either. LeBron is a free agent but the thinking is he won't be going anywhere. Cleveland also added a nice player in the offseason by acquiring PF/C Channing Frye from Orlando. Frye would be an upgrade to Mozgov but he is 33 and his NBA window is closing. The fact is Frye is under contract and Mozgov is not so it's pretty much a moot point.

The real elephant in the room is the Golden State Warriors signing the prize free agent in this year's class, Kevin Durant. Stephen A Smith went off and said Durant was cowardly for signing with GS. Screw Smith. Durant went to the Warriors to give himself the best opportunity to win a championship and he can't be blamed for that. The Warriors have to be the odds on favorite to win the championship next season assuming he can mess with the Warriors roster. The main worry would be how Durant affects the dynamic of the Warrior's Splash Brothers Steph Curry and Clay Thompson. Durant is a very unselfish player and if all three are good with their PPG stats going down some for the good of the team this could be a match made in heaven and would make the Warriors almost unbeatable. The record 73 games the Warriors won in 2015-16 might be broken next season if this all works out right. What this means to the Western Conference is OKC is now irrelevant. No matter what happens Houston will be irrelevant too. San Antonio is just too old and while they will make the playoffs they are not in the class of the Warriors any more. It's very possible that we will see Golden State v Cleveland 3 next May.

[eagle eye]

I used to be so into basketball. Back in the days when the Celtics and Lakers traded championships and Lamar so good a night at the Montagne Center was a real treat. I don't know when I stopped liking hoops exactly but I was to the point that basketball was not even on my radar. In the last 4 or 5 years I have gotten more into basketball again. Not to the extent that I used to be but it's at least interesting to me again. I like the Rockets but I do get exasperated with James Hardin. I never really liked Dwight Howard so I'm not sorry to see him gone but I wish Houston had a little more pull in attracting a higher profile free agent. After all, Kevin Durant said he wouldn't even talk to the Rockets about a deal. How sucky is that? The Rockets have been good and they have been bad and sometimes just mediocre. Like when they had Yao Ming. The guy should have been a cornerstone of the organization and he was but the front office never put anyone around him to bring success to the team. In effect, the years Yao spent in Houston was a waste of time for him and the team. Every successful team over the last 30 years has had a dynamic duo that led the team. Kareem and Magic, Magic and Worthy, Bird and McHale, Michael and Scotty, Hakeem and Clyde, LeBron and Wade, LeBron and Kyrie and Steph and Clay. Those teams also had role players who were good enough you knew their names. Just who the hell does Houston have other than Hardin that you know anything about? Is there another super star on the roster? It sure as hell doesn't look like it. So, I'll have to appreciate the Cavs (as long as they have LeBron) and hope for the best from the Rockets. I'm happy the Cavs won the NBA Championship because LeBron is a player for the ages and he's proved it by winning titles in two different cities and leading his teams to the finals six straight years and seven times in the last 10 winning 3 titles. No matter what you think about him you have to admit you are watching a generational player like Michael and Kobe. A guy who only comes around once in a while. You are watching NBA history unfolding folks and you should appreciate being along for the ride. As far as Lamar is concerned? I'm still hoping for a return to the glory days and I'm still hoping Tic is the guy who will get it done.

Could people stop bagging on Kevin Durant and Dwayne Wade for just a minute. Sports in general, IMO, suffers from all the media scrutiny. Before cable and social media you read about your team in the newspaper and you enjoyed watching them play. You didn't criticize your team for the way they won, the fact they won was enough. There were no style points for winning. Nowadays we are bombarded with sports info to the point that a gossip rag like TMZ covers sports. God, the apocalypse is definitely upon us. Durant made a career decision going to a team that gives him a really good shot to win a championship. That's it, period. He didn't bail on OKC to go win with the enemy because they couldn't beat them. No, the Warriors GM Jerry West, recruited the hell of him and convinced him to come to Oakland and play for the Warriors. Durant also had to know that his OKC buddy Russell Westbrook was probably going to bail after next season anyway and Durant also realized that Westbrook is an indiscriminate shooter who is a ball hog that tends to choke in the clutch. Because of that Durant knew he wasn't going to win a title in Oklahoma City anyway. Wade goes to Chicago because he felt disrespected in Miami. He had been the good soldier in Miami for years even taking less pay for the benefit of the team and he wanted to get paid commensurate with his standing as a Miami Heat franchise player. On the other hand the Heat GM Pat Riley didn't want to hamstring the team with a ridiculously bloated contract similar to the one Kobe got in LA. Riley saw this as a starting point to rebuild the franchise and he wasn't going to mortgage part of that future with an over-the-top contract to a player with diminishing skills. That is exactly what Wade is, a thirty something player whose production has begun to wane as he misses more and more time because of injuries. Wade getting a couple mil more in Chicago, his home town, was just a matter of pride to him and letting Wade go was just good business from Riley's position. The only people who will suffer are the fans in OKC. The Thunder are no longer legit contenders without Durant and they feel betrayed but it's not about loyalty at all. Durant has shown his loyalty, it's about championships because that is the measuring stick for all sports. Nobody cares about your stats, all they want to know is how many rings you have. To be a good businessman you have to throw loyalty out the window. It seems harsh but it's true.

[eagle eye]

Not all that much to talk about with the Rockets. Good or bad. There was one thing, James Hardin got a contract extension for 4 more years for $118MM that will keep Hardin in the Rockets fold through the 2019/20 season. This ensures that the one "superstar" the team has will be around long enough for the Rockets to complete a rebuild job around him. Hardin is just 26 so the deal will take advantage of his services while he is still in his prime.

Houston also signed another free agent. This time it was former Washington Wizard power forward/center Nene Hilario. Nene was the No. 7 pick in the 2002 draft by the Knicks and he has played 14 seasons in the NBA. He will be a solid veteran backup to Clint Capela at center for the Rockets.

The Rockets almost had Nene signed in 2011 when a trade involving Pau Gasol was nixed by the NBA when the league was running the New Orleans Pelicans franchise. The Rockets had also been trying to land both Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson but were unable to do so at the time. Now, all three are Houston Rockets.

In an article from Bleacher Report new Rockets guard Eric Gordon calls his nagging injury history "a fluke". Gordon has never played more than 64 games in a season and he's missed a total of 189 out of a possible 410 games so far in his career including missing 37 games last season after breaking his right ring finger twice. The last time required season ending surgery on March 5th. Hopefully, Gordon left his injury history in New Orleans.

Since Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson both are from the same team, the New Orleans Pelicans, you would think their transition to Houston would be easy given they were already teammates. That familiarity should help the Rockets from a lot of different points of view and the hope is both players have left their tendency for injury behind.