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Houston Rockets

How We Got Here: From Yao To Now

NIKEstrad breaks down the past two years of Rocket transactions, showing how Daryl Morey’s approach to team building set the Rockets up beautifully for this moment.

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Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets

Through a flurry of transactions, Daryl Morey completely transformed the Rockets’ roster

I want to take a trip back to the end of the Yao Ming era in Houston and look at just how Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has taken this team from utterly mediocre to superstar-laden and brimming with potential.

To start, check out the Rockets roster at the start of the 2011-2012 season. This is the depth chart from about 18 months ago as the Rockets were set to open that lockout-shortened year:

These are pretty much average starters all around, a bunch of “nice” players but nothing special. From the prior year’s team, Morey had made deadline deals of Shane Battier for a look at Thabeet, Aaron Brooks for Dragic and a pick, and let Chuck Hayes walk. They used the picks received from those two trades to move up and draft Donatas Motiejunas, and also drafted Parsons and Morris. They also picked up Jeremy Lin off waivers, but cut him shortly after to make room to sign Dalembert.

The Moves Begin
Come March, the team is surprisingly in contention for a playoff spot, and makes some maneuvering around it.

  • Flynn, Thabeet, and a 2nd rounder for Marcus Camby
  • Jordan Hill for Derek Fisher and a first rounder

Shortly thereafter, the team cuts Fisher (hooray!) and releases Terrence Williams. They miss the playoffs, but have a winning record, coming away with their customary #14 draft slot. They also pick up Greg Smith from the NBDL after trying out and subsequently waiving several guys like Earl Boykins, Courtney Fortson and Jeff Adrien.

During the course of the season, Dragic shines while filling in for an injured Lowry, causing friction. The Rockets also had numerous free agents, including Dragic, Lee and Camby. Likewise, Parsons overtakes Budinger for the starting spot.

2012 Offseason
Morey starts dealing yet again.

  • Budinger for a first round pick (which becomes Terrence Jones)
  • Dalembert + #14 + a 2nd round pick for #12 pick, Jon Leuer, Jon Brockman, and Shaun Livingston

They now have three first round picks in the 2012 Draft, the #12, #16 (T-Mac trade), and #18 (Budinger trade) to take Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, Jones and buy the rights to 2nd rounder Furkan Aldemir. Next up? Free agency, where the Rockets have ample cap room. But here’s where the moves start to get crazy:

  • Lowry to Toronto for a future expected lottery pick and Gary Forbes
  • Amnesty (waive with cap relief) Luis Scola
  • Sign and trade Marcus Camby for Toney Douglas, Josh Harrelson, Jerome Jordan, and two future 2nd round picks
  • Sign and trade Courtney Lee for JaJuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore, Jon Diebler, and Sean Williams plus a 2nd round pick
  • Sign Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to max restricted free agent (RFA) contracts, utilizing a minor loophole nicknamed the “poison pill” to make their contracts especially tough to match
  • Trade Lamb, Kevin Martin, two first round picks (acquired in Lowry and Hill trades) and a 2nd (acquired in Courtney Lee trade) for JAMES HARDEN plus some guys (Cole Aldrich, D. Cook, and Hayward
  • Cut a bunch of the random guys acquired, including Shaun Livingston and E’Twaun Moore
  • Sign Carlos Delfino.

This offseason was defined by the little things – like acquiring Camby for a playoff run at the cost of a 2nd round pick (while getting a first for Jordan Hill), and then moving him in a sign and trade for two 2nd round picks, plus snagging a 2nd rounder for Courtney Lee. After all that, the team now sports the following roster as they enter the 2012-2013 season:

Point Guards: Jeremy Lin, Toney Douglas, Scott Machado
Shooting Guards: James Harden, Carlos Delfino, Daequan Cook
Small Forwards: Chandler Parsons, Marcus Morris
Power Forwards: Patrick Patterson, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Royce White
Centers: Omer Asik, Cole Aldrich, Greg Smith

2013 Trade Deadline

But the moves aren’t done. Prior to the 2013 trade deadline:

The team makes the playoffs and gives the OKC Thunder an exciting series. The Rockets then make two final cap-clearing moves — the trade of Thomas Robinson for two international players and two 2nd round picks, and the unloading of Royce White’s contract at the cost of cash and the draft rights to Furkan Aldemir — setting themselves up to land the biggest fish in free agency, Dwight Howard.

So to recap our roster, and how they came:

  • PG, Jeremy Lin – Signed, free agency
  • PG, Patrick Beverley – Signed, undrafted free agent; minimum salary guy under contract for 3+ years
  • PG, Isaiah Canaan – 2nd round pick
  • SG, James Harden – Trade – which cost us what we got for McGrady (Kevin Martin, pick we got for Hill), Kyle Lowry (Toronto pick), our own pick+Dalembert (Lamb), and the 2nd rounder from the Courtney Lee deal
  • SG, Francisco Garcia – Acquired as a trade throw-in; resigned to vet. minimum (below market after a very good playoff run
  • SF, Chandler Parsons – 2nd rounder, a pick acquired in trade/bought
  • SF, Omri Casspi – Signed in offseason to vet. minimum
  • C, Omer Asik – Signed, free agency
  • PF, Terrence Jones – mid-late 1st rounder, rights acquired by trading Chase Budinger (himself, a 2nd rounder)
  • PF, Donatas Motiejunas – mid-late 1st rounder, rights acquired by trading soon to be free agents Battier/Brooks
  • C, Dwight Howard – Signed, free agency
  • C, Greg Smith – Signed, undrafted free agent; minimum salary guy under contract for 3+ years

We now have a tentative depth chart of:

Point Guards: Jeremy Lin, Patrick Beverley, Isaiah Canaan
Shooting Guards: James Harden, Francisco Garcia
Small Forwards: Chandler Parsons, Omri Casspi
Power Forwards: Omer Asik, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas
Centers: Dwight Howard, Greg Smith

We also hold the rights to international prospects Sergio Llull (bought the pick), Kostas Papanikolaou and Marko Todorovic (both acquired in the Thomas Robinson trade) and are owed the Knicks’ 2nd round picks in 2014 and 2015, two future 2nd rounders from Portland (plus the Clippers’ second rounder in 2015 if it’s between 51-55), while owing our 2nd rounder in 2014 to Philadelphia. We currently own all of our future first round picks.

That is how you redefine a roster. There is exactly one player that was on this team just 18 months ago – Chandler Parsons, who at that point was a newly drafted 2nd round pick.

Howard was drawn to this team for the chance to win. The Rockets could have tanked this year (not signed Asik/Lin), and having done that, they probably would not have gotten Howard (as the Mavericks didn’t). But Morey kept the team competitive while avoiding long term deals, which is incredibly impressive (see, Zaza Pachulia’s new three-year deal). The last two offseasons, Morey has waited and gotten a quality vet to sign a short term deal with a 2nd year team option (Dalembert/Delfino). Players who no longer have value to the Rockets as future players still seem to yield great returns (Battier/Brooks at trade deadline converted to first round picks; Camby and Lee as free agents converted to three 2nd rounders).

Part of the way this was done was by taking a shotgun approach to talent identification, which is how they landed guys like Beverley and Greg Smith for nothing.

They didn’t just pick them at first grab. Here’s the list of the 20+ players that were “waived” by the Rockets in the last ~2 years, essentially leading to guys like Beverley and Smith:

  • Jon Leuer
  • Jerome Jordan
  • E’Twaun Moore
  • Josh Harrelson
  • Sean Williams
  • Tyler Honeycutt
  • Scott Machado
  • Courtney Fortson
  • Shaun Livingston
  • Lazar Hayward
  • Gary Forbes
  • Jon Brockman
  • JaJuan Johnson
  • Daequan Cook
  • Jeremy Lin
  • Marcus Cousin
  • Jeff Adrien
  • Earl Boykins
  • Terrence Williams
  • Derek Fisher
  • Diamon Simpson

There have been misses along the way. Terrence Williams cost us a first round pick (this year’s, to Atlanta) and was cut. Royce White was the 16th overall pick just a year ago, and it cost us the rights to Aldemir just to unload him. Trevor Ariza was a signing mistake — a player who still has a year remaining on the contract he signed with the Rockets — but he was quickly flipped for Courtney Lee. You can argue about Thomas Robinson too, but at the end of the day, the Rockets were going to need to clear the cap room, whether it was Patterson or Robinson. The Rockets knew what they had in Patterson, but Robinson was a chance at that third star. On the off-chance he develops, it would have created more options for Morey (e.g., moving Asik instead). And when he didn’t quickly, the value was still there to get four second rounders and clear cap space. He also gave the team a veteran free agent-to-be who ended up re-signing here for the veteran’s minimum in Francisco Garcia.

Smart gambles. Smart contracts. Avoiding multi-year deals on non-core pieces. That is how you turn a duo of Kevin Martin and Luis Scola into James Harden and Dwight Howard, and the best part of all?

We’re not done yet.

Houston Rockets

Poison Pill: The Impact of Recent Extensions on the Rockets’ Trade Options

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Just before the start of the regular season, the Houston Rockets signed Jalen Green to a three-year, $105.3 million extension and Alperen Sengun to a five-year, $185 million extension, locking up two key pieces of their rebuild. These extensions eliminated any meaningful salary cap room for Houston in the summer of 2025. However, since the NBA is trending away from key players changing teams via free agency (recent examples such as Paul George and the Rockets’ own Fred VanVleet notwithstanding), Rafael Stone and his team likely viewed the extensions as worth the risk.

The Rockets have positioned themselves as one of the league’s most interesting trade teams, as they boast a unique combination of good young players, premium future draft picks, and expiring salaries. But signing Green and Sengun to those extensions made trading each of those players this season significantly more difficult.

Article VII, Section 8(g) of the 2023 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement – you know the one! – is more commonly known as the Poison Pill Provision, which relates to the trade treatment of players recently signed to rookie scale extensions. If a recently extended player is traded prior to the July 1 in which the extension kicks in, then while the player’s outgoing salary would be the same as his then current cap figure, the player’s incoming salary to the acquiring team would instead be the *average* of the player’s then current salary and all salaries during the extension. This makes any trade made under the Poison Pill Provisions exceedingly difficult.

Using Green and Sengun as examples, their respective outgoing and incoming salaries would be:

Jalen Green
Outgoing Salary for Houston: $12.5 million
Incoming Salary for Acquiring Team: $29.5 million

Alperen Sengun
Outgoing Salary for Houston: $5.4 million
Incoming Salary for Acquiring Team: $31.7 million

These vast discrepancies in outgoing and incoming salary treatment make Green and Sengun very difficult to trade, as most NBA trades must fall within salary-matching rules. While there are possible trade scenarios involving numerous players and salaries that could allow for Green or Sengun to be traded, most of those scenarios are unrealistic and/or would involve three or more teams and the expenditure of additional assets to get those additional teams to take on salaries.

The Rockets don’t seem to have much desire to move either Green or Sengun right now. However, if they do decide to move either of them, it would most likely not be until next July, when the Poison Pill Provision is no longer applicable and those players can be traded at their new extension salaries.

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Houston Rockets Draft Decisions: Who Will Be the #3 Pick?

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Houston Rockets Podcast

It’s officially NBA Draft Week!

The weeks of speculation are coming to an end as we’ve just about arrived at the 2024 NBA Draft. The Rockets hold picks #3 and #44 and could be quite active on the trade market.

Dave Hardisty and David Weiner paired up on the ClutchFans podcast to discuss the options before the Houston Rockets as they approach the June 26th NBA Draft. Is it really down to Donovan Clingan and Reed Sheppard as options? The pair also discuss trade-down options and whether Devin Carter could be intriguing to Ime Udoka. And are the Rockets a darkhorse for a Paul George trade?

The podcast premieres at 8:00am CT! Come join us!



CLUTCHFANS PODCAST: SPOTIFY | APPLE

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Podcast: Houston Rockets options with the #3 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft

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Houston Rockets 2024 NBA Draft prospects Zaccharie Risacher Stephon Castle Reed Sheppard Donovan Clingan

The offseason is now underway.

The forecast looks good for the Houston Rockets, but… there’s pressure as well this offseason because there are a handful of other West teams that might have rosier futures. Ime Udoka wants to win and win big. As we are about five weeks away from the NBA Draft, what are the Rockets looking to do this summer?

David Weiner joined Dave Hardisty on the ClutchFans podcast to discuss the Rockets shockingly landing the #3 pick and their options in this draft, including Reed Sheppard, Donovan Clingan, Zaccharie Risacher, Stephon Castle, Matas Buzelis and others. They also discuss the possibility of some big game hunting in Houston.


CLUTCHFANS PODCAST: SPOTIFY | APPLE

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Podcast: Steven Adams, Mikal Bridges and Trade Possibilities for the Rockets

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Houston Rockets Trade Deadline 2024

The Houston Rockets already made one deal, acquiring center Steven Adams from Memphis for a handful of second-round picks, but we still have several days left before this Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline.

Are more deals on the way?

Rumors of interest in Mikal Bridges have swirled, with the Rockets holding precious (and unprotected) first-round picks from Brooklyn. They also could use some help inside this season, which Adams can not provide. Shooting is always in demand.

David Weiner joined Dave Hardisty on the ClutchFans podcast to discuss the Adams trade, its impact on the Rockets in 2024-25 and beyond, the Mikal Bridges rumors, the Brooklyn picks, other trade possibilities and options for Rafael Stone moving forward. Also discussed is the play of Houston’s core 6 prospects: Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and Jalen Green.


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Rockets trade for center Steven Adams

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Steven Adams Houston Rockets

The Rockets made a surprise trade on Thursday, sending the contract of Victor Oladipo and three second-round picks to Memphis for center Steven Adams.

The deal came together quickly and the Rockets had a small window to get it done, hence why this trade was made with a week to go until the trade deadline.

The Price

When you consider that Memphis did this for cost savings primarily and that Adams would not play for any team in the league this season, the price seemed a little high to me. The Rockets gave up the OKC second-round pick this year, which is no big loss, but they also give up the better of Brooklyn’s or Golden State’s second-round pick this season. That’s a pretty good pick (likely in the late 30’s). They also give up the better of Houston’s or OKC’s second-round pick in 2025. If things go as planned for the Rockets, that pick should be in the 45-55 range.

But they didn’t sacrifice a first-round pick, which would have been brutal, and they were not going to use all those seconds this season. So it’s just a matter of opportunity cost — who else could they have gotten for this package?

My understanding is they (particularly Ime Udoka) are very high on Adams.

The Rockets also did this move for cap purposes as well. By moving out the Oladipo contract, which was expiring, and bringing in Adams’ deal, which is signed for $12.4M next season, the window for the Rockets to put together a trade package for a star player is extended out until the 2025 trade deadline. They continue to wait to see which players, if any, shake loose here and become available. They want flexible (see: expiring) contracts that they can combine with assets and this gives them another year to be in that position.

The Trade

It’s not often that the Rockets acquire a player I had not considered beforehand but that’s the case with Steven Adams. The Rockets sorely need a big with size that provides more traditional center strengths, making Clint Capela, Robert Williams, Nick Richards or Daniel Gafford potential candidates, but Adams was overlooked for a few reasons.

First, the 30-year old big man is out for the season after knee surgery cost him the entire 2023-24 campaign, so the Rockets won’t get any benefit from this trade this season. Secondly, Adams is not your traditional center either when it comes to rim protection.

But what Adams does do, he’s really good at and he has some of the same strengths of Brook Lopez, who the Rockets tried to sign in the offseason. Adams is quite possibly the strongest guy in the league and a legitimate 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan. He’s an outstanding screen-setter, something that could really benefit the likes of Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson and Jalen Green. He was also an elite rebounder last season, finishing 6th in the league in caroms at 11.5 a game despite playing just 27.0 minutes a contest.

After watching Jonas Valanciunas absolutely bully the Rockets inside on Wednesday, it should be apparent by now to everyone that this was a pretty big need.

In 2021-22, the Memphis Grizzlies finished #2 in the West at 56-26. Their top two players in Net Rating that season were Dillon Brooks (+11.0) and Adams (+8.3), key cogs in a defense that held opponents to 108.6 points per 100 possessions. They’re both now Houston Rockets.

So this adds another trusted vet to Ime Udoka’s rotation.

The question is will the 30-year old Adams return to form after the knee injury? Adams sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee a year ago, which cost him the end of that season and the playoffs. He tried rehabbing it and it never got better, so surgery became the option just as this season was kicking off.

I like to think the Rockets did their due diligence on that, despite the short time it took for this deal to come together, but that’s unclear.

If he does bounce back, then Udoka has a big man he can turn to reliably in situational matchups or on nights when the younger bigs struggle. He wouldn’t be Boban or even Jock Landale in that scenario — he’s going to play, so the frontcourt depth in 2024-25 should be better. In the end, they got a starting-caliber center who will have no problems coming off the bench, and that’s what they were looking for.

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