The Rockets Could Have the Craziest Offseason Ever

The Rockets Could Have the Craziest Offseason Ever

The Rockets made a statement against the Warriors and that statement was we have no one who can get a clutch basket. I mean look at their scores in losses. 85 106 9389. What is this? 1995. We had felt like 1997 out there. Okay. 1997. But guess what? It’s 2025. You cannot win big games like this. However, the Rockets have two gigantic tricks up their sleeve. They’ve got the best trade package in the NBA and a potential number one pick. Should be a great off seasonason, right? No. Houston could mess up everything they’ve built so far if they play this wrong. But what do they have so far? Like how was Houston the number two seed without a star on offense? Normally need like an SGA, Luca, Joic. Well, they dominate on defense. Amin Thompson and Tari E are nicknamed the Terror Twins, but it’s a whole team approach. You could argue the only negative in their rotation is Jaylen Green, Fred Van Vleet’s a dog, Dylan Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr. has length, Alvin Shingun improved, but regular season defense can only take you so far. They’ve got a really weird way of scoring points, and it all stems from Steven Adams, who drops four points a game. But round one of the NBA playoffs this year. Look at this gigantic human being grabbing rebounds. No one is a match for this man. And because of this, Adams set the all-time record for grabbing his own team’s miss shots by percentage. Dude was better than prime Dennis Rodman. But it’s more than Steven Adams. Rebounding is the offensive DNA of the Rockets. This year, they were the number one rebounding team in the NBA. Why is that a big deal? Because rebounding is actually the one thing that can replace a superstar player. Thinking Basketball pointed this out. The average first chance basket scores just over one point per 100 possessions. The average shot overall is 1.14 points. But the average second chance shot is worth 1.22 points over a season would be the number one offense in the NBA. So even though Houston doesn’t have an MVP, they make up for it with elite rebounds. So Steven Adams is a free agent and they have got to resign him. But the biggest rocket storyline this year was the emergence of a min Thompson. You know how Houston needs their number one player like their Michael Jordan? Well, whoever that is, he’s already got his Scotty Pippen waiting. Now, Bull Scotty stood at 6’8 with a 73 wingspan. Quick and athletic to guard any position on the floor. Look at him here making life hell for Magic Johnson in the 91 finals. Able to move his feet and keep himself squared up with the ball. A man did the same thing to Steph Curry, picking him up at half court, forcing turnovers and getting the ball out of Steph’s hands. But what about recovery and length? Scotty here gets beat on this close out. But from behind the play, he can still reach across and swat the jumper. Now watch Jaylen Brunson here get a step on a end. But Jaylen’s nowhere near safe against that Scotty Pippenlike length and explosiveness. Now while stepping out and pressuring the ball, Pippen also had wicked fast hands. Notice on this play how he keeps his shoulder and hips squared up, but he still has the reach to extend across and poke the ball free. And even against Steph’s elite handle, a man picked his pocket. Also used those quick hands to crush passing lanes. Pippen also had just as much of an impact defending off the ball. I like this play here where Isaiah Thomas is playing in isolation at the top of the key. And as he tries to create space for a pull-up, look at how Pippen is going to rotate over from the weak side to get a piece of his jumper. A man also thrives in a help role, rotating just like Scotty to erase Steph’s j. But also like Scotty, Amin is not qualified to be the number one option offensively. He definitely improved this year as a cutter and scoring off the dribble. I mean, if the defense steps back, Amin builds up ahead of steam to hit the turbo button. Leave you in the dust. But the elephant in the room is his shooting. Dude hit just 33% for the mid-range, 27% from three this year. That is not close to a lead guy on a championship team. And who’s that going to be? Jaylen Green. Dude scored 38 points in game two, but outside of that, averaged nine points, which pretty much sums up Jaylen Green’s career. It’s also not Alper and Shenun. ESPN’s Tim McMahon said it best. Alpie ain’t the next Nicole Joic. He’s the next Demanis Sabonis, which won’t get it done. So, who could they get? Well, here’s where it gets tricky. Next week, we’re going to find out where Houston is going to draft. They’ve got the Suns pick, which is likely ninth overall. But in just seven spins on Tankathon, Houston picked number three. Two spins later, it’s number two. And a few more it goes number one. Not saying that it’s likely, but it can happen. Now, Cooper Flag is not your Luca Donuch level scorer, but he could potentially grow into that eventually. A much quicker fix would be a trade. Now, Houston is at the front of the line for any of these big star trades we’ve been hearing about. They have by far the best package in the NBA. Biggest rumors are for Kevin Durant, Giannis, Trey Young, maybe Zion. Well, DraftKings says that KD is most likely a rocket if he leaves Phoenix this summer. He is tight with coach Eme Udoka and assistant Royal Ivy. But Brian Winhorse says the Rockets are on the record and off the record making it clear that they do not want to acquire a player that does not match the age group of their team, which uh would be 37year-old Kevin Durant. So why all this smoke? Because Houston will not rule it out if the Suns ask for a small return in a trade and KD takes a pay cut. Those are two big ifs. So, what about Trey Young? I mean, Fred Van Vleet could play the two guard next to Trey like he did in Toronto. And Houston’s defense could make up for Trey’s deficiencies. But by far the biggest fish this off season is Giannis. He is a proven number one on a championship team. Finals MVP defensive player of the year and MVP. Still in his prime at 30 years old and a five to six-year timeline fits Houston. So, the trade maybe Bucks get Jaylen Green Jr. reach Shepard and control of four quality draft picks. This would fill the Bucks need for young talent and picks and it would get the Rockets that number one guy. But there is a huge problem on the Rockets. Milwaukee only broke out as a team once they surrounded Giannis with shooters and Houston ranked in the 20s this year for three-point attempts, makes, and percentage. Remember how Steve Ker said they reminded him of 1997? Yeah, that includes their shooting. Now, the Rockets obviously could add shooters, but they would have to basically remake a lot of the roster around Giannis. That is a huge risk to what they’ve already built. That also applies to getting Zion Williamson, who doesn’t shoot, you know, outside of his obvious flaws. Even John Moran ain’t a perfect fit. So, maybe they’re better off waiting on a star and just adding a top 10 pick to this already awesome roster. But what’s crazy is the Rockets have remade their team after James Harden without a number one pick. I mean, look at their homegrown talent on this team, ranging from pick two all the way to 17. Now, number one is usually where you find that future offensive MVP, but outside of landing that, this front office has pretty much nailed their draft position overall. I think the perfect addition to this team is a two-way player who can score at all three levels. So, Duke can shoot, which makes him a seamless fit with Amin Thompson. But literally, every team is looking for that player. So, the Rockets could really mess this up by rushing things. Either way, the Rockets were a huge success this year, just like Russell Westbrook. Dude, not only just beat the Clippers in round one, but had the game-winning assists game one against OKC. So right now, Russ is getting revenge against all the people saying his career is done.

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The Rockets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and now the offseason in here. Houston could have a wild offseason with a lot of exciting changes but if they play it wrong they could ruin everything they’ve built so far.