Did The Houston Rockets win the offseason!?

Did The Houston Rockets win the offseason!?

Red Nation blogger back with another video. I wanted to wait at least until day two of uh NBA free agency before I made a video because it was so much happening so fast, so rapidly. I didn’t want to make a video and then immediately get another notification. So, I waited. But the Houston Rockets, I don’t want to say in the NBA because the Atlanta Hawks had a fantastic off season as well. The Milwaukee Bucks are having a great day, too. The Denver Nuggets are having a great free agency. It’s a lot of teams that’s having really, really good free agencies. But the Houston Rockets have had one of the best free agencies in the NBA. So much so that they’re leading like ESPN’s first take. They’re leading those discussions, you know, coming into the show, which is kind of crazy for the Houston Rockets to be doing that after not really getting like a blockbuster name in free agency. We all know about the Kevin Durant deal. We all know Fred Van Fleet resigned to a two-year $50 million contract. We know about J Shante, Aaron Holiday, and Jeff Green, and the Stay Ready crew getting brought back. We know about Steven Adams extension. But yesterday was about Dorian Finny Smith and surprisingly Clint Capella. I’m gonna I’m not gonna lie to you guys. Like for me, I really wanted the Rockets to get Nuel Alexander Walker. I felt like this team needed another guard and he’s that type of guard that could be interchange interchangeable with the one and the two. specifically like I wanted him because if you want him to be a point of attack defender, he’s long, he he’s strong, he’s athletic, he’s not going to be bullied. It’s a lot of times where like Fred Van Fleet, as solid of a defender as he is, especially for his size, he could still get bullied by the Demar Roans of the world, by the De’Aran Foxes even of the world. And I saw it over and over, especially versus Sacramento. Like the Rockets just did not I don’t think they beat Sacramento one time last year, which is crazy because Sacramento wasn’t even a playoff team. But I wanted to Alexander Walker, he ended up going to Atlanta for I think $15.5 million. So congrats to him. But the Houston Rockets in terms of a plan B and who they got to replace Dylan Brooks, Dorian Finny Smith, just phen a phenomenal signing. It was a four-year deal, 53 million. um 13.2 a year. Not not bad, you know what I mean? Uh a guy that’s shot 41% from three last season. I believe the season before that he was at like 43% in Brooklyn. So, he can shoot. And that was one of the Rocky’s biggest issues last year in the half court and overall was shooting. and losing Dylan Brooks, I kind of felt like it wasn’t as big of a hole left in the offense or left in the team as advertised because I felt like well, sorry about that. Didn’t have my light on. But it wasn’t that big of a loss because I felt like Tori Isa could pick up those minutes. Jabari Smith could pick up those minutes. A man Thompson could pick up those minutes. Even Jan Tate can pick up those minutes. But evidently, the Rockets didn’t feel that way. They wanted the security. They wanted a guy that could, you know, fill that role even more and just give them a little bit more insurance, a little bit more depth at the wing spot. And that’s what they went out and got in Dorian Finny Smith. Phenomenal pickup by the Houston Rockets. Really, really, really good pickup. I’m happy about that. Then the surprising trade happened and and this is this is crazy. Like Clink Capella is back on the Houston Rockets. three years, $21.5 million. 25 $21.5 million by 7 million a year, age 31, not longer in the tooth obviously, but not so old that he doesn’t still have value. And what I kind of imagine the Rock is doing is because Stephen Adams is not going to play all 82 games and Click Capella is not going to play all 82 games. So, I think this gives the Rockets like a little bit of versatility where they can still go double big if they need to during the regular season where hey, Adams taking the game off and it’s just Son and Capella and Capella taking the game off and it’s Singon and Adams or god forbid Singon missing some time. You got Adams and Capella. So you still have notable like good center play, good defense, good rim protection, great rebounding, you know, and Click Capella is different from he’s different from Son and Steven Adams because he’s a lob threat and that’s what Houston has been missing since, you know, Click Capella was here last in Houston, which was 2019. That’s what they have been missing for a very, very long time. So I’m happy that Click Capella is back. I think that is great and it’s just a long it’s it’s it’s a full circle type of moment where he comes back as a Houston Rocket after going to Atlanta for a certain stint and you know doing what he’s doing there. side of Clunk Capella. I just felt like since 2022, 2023, I have not seen him play a single game in Atlanta. And I I looked at this the sheets, you know, I know he’s missed some time with injuries, but like any time that I have just happened to watch the Atlanta Hawks play like in the last three years, I just have not seen Capella. Like I’m like, why is he always hurt? I don’t know if I It’s just every time I turn on the TV, he’s hurt, but it’s just kind of crazy. with my expectations going into this season. I know the Rockets have the the the second largest uh second best odds to win a championship. I’m going to put the pressure on a team right now in July. This is today is July 1st. I’m going to put the the pressure on this team. This is the best team in the NBA going into next season. This is the best roster in the NBA going into next season. I think that this team is destined to win a championship. I haven’t felt great about a team like this since the 2017 2018 Rockets. That team I felt like were going to win the championship if they stayed healthy. Obviously, they didn’t and we know how that story ended. But this team, I understand you got to give Oklahoma City respect. I understand that you have to talk about them and and they have to be number one because they just won a championship. I get all of that. I really do. But in a league where there has not been a repeat champion since the 2017 and 2018 Warriors, I feel like there’s going to be a new team next year and it’s going to be the Houston Rockets. That’s just my opinion. I feel like we should be going ahead going downtown figuring out a street where the parade is going to be going because like it’s a long time coming. Personally, as a fan, although I love it, I’m tired of seeing highlights from 30 years ago from championship team. I’m tired of hearing a quote, “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.” I’m tired of hearing about the story of Hakee Elijah won cooking David Robinson after he felt like David Robinson stole his MVP. I’m tired of hearing about those stories. I’ve heard him a hundred times in my lifetime. It’s time for new stories. It’s time for new memories. It’s time for a new championship with the Houston Rockets. It is. It’s just It’s time. It’s overdue. Raphael Stone, the GM of the Houston Rockets, give yourself a pat on the back. Give yourself a hand. You have had a phenomenal off season all the way from the the Jaylen Green trade to get Kevin Durant in here and now with free agency. You can literally hang up the phone, put your phone on DND and just enjoy vacation. We’ll see you in summer league when Reed Shepard is playing in summer league. Every single pitch that has been thrown your way, you have hit. Every single one. And the reason why I feel so confident that the Houston Rockets are gonna win a championship is because of the moves that Raphael Stone has made. And again, I I just want to stress it’s not just the new faces that are coming in. Jeff Green, Aaron Holidayiday, Jan Tate coming back, that’s big time. Fred Van Fleet coming back, that’s big time. Stephen Adams, that’s big time. Jabari Smith extension, that’s big time. The fact that you were able to do all of these things speaks volumes about you as a GM and what you value. You don’t just value players as assets. You see the importance of having the camaraderie and the culture, the the culture setters still in the locker room. There’s not just going to be this drastic shift with the new personalities coming in. No, it’s going to be the old personalities that have already set the culture and the new guys are come in trying to blend in and mesh to what’s already been established here. Last thing and then I’m out of here. The Jabari Smith Jr. contract, 5 years, $122 million, $24.4 million a year. I was in the rocket spaces. Shout out to Will, um, DeAndre and the crew. Shout out to all of them. I was in the spaces and it was like some people were happy, some people were not happy and it was a lot of people kind of like teetering in the middle. I’m going to say there’s three things about this Jabari Smith deal that I love and I may not explain it in the best way, but just stick with me. The first Jabari Smith Jr. lives up to his number three pick billing. he actually becomes the star that was the reason why he got drafted number three in the first place. And then the Rockets have a guy under contract for five years that they’re not even paying what they’re supposed to be paying him because he signed his contract this year. That’s option number one, which would be a great option. Option number two, Jabari Smith Jr. gets marginally better or stays the same and kind of really doesn’t, you know, he’s Rory Hachimara. You know what I’m saying? Let’s just say he kind of gets, you know, he’s just inconsistent. He’s up and down, up and down, up and down. Two, a year from now, two years from now, if you need to trade the contract, you could convince a team, this guy’s 23, 24 years old a year or two from now, he’s only making $24.4 million. The cap goes up every single year. That’s tradable salary that a team will feel good about. Hey, we get this young guy in here who isn’t even 25 years old on this great contract that has all this potential and upside and you could kind of sort of trick a team into believing that he’s a winning player. He is a winning player, but the fact that he’s playing on the Houston Rockets, he will really be a winning player. He will really be a player that I’m trying to think how to word this like he would really be a player that every stat or every analytic will be like plus+ plus plus plus plus plus plus. So, if a team is trying to look at the numbers, it’s kind of deceiving in a in a way because it looks like Jabari can impact winning and they might not be like, “Oh, he’s just putting up bad numbers on a bad team.” And they might look at it as, “Oh, well, you know what? He’s in a winning situation. It’s this guy in front of him. Is this guy in front of him? And is this guy in front of him? Maybe if he gets another opportunity where it’s more usage, his numbers will go up.” That’s basically what I’m trying to say. And number three, the last thing, if Jabari regresses, once again, this is tradable, tradable salary. if you involve this deal with Jabari Smith going forward for any player that may become available in the future. Now, it’s kind of it’s very similar to Jaylen Green in which now since I signed you under this contract, I don’t have to add three, four, five, six players to go along with this to go trade for that guy which will crumble my foundation in the process. No, now I only have to trade Jabari Smith Jr. That’s it. So, those are my three reasons why I love the Jabari deal. Um, let me know what you guys think in the comments section below. Let me know what you agree with. Let me know what you disagree with. Let me know what I missed and let me know what I didn’t miss. As always guys, thank you for watching. Enjoy the offseason. Red Nation blogger out.

RedNationBlogga reacts to the #houstonrockets latest offseason moves! In this video he talks about the Rockets recent free agent pickups in #dorianfinneysmith and #clintcapela! He then discusses Houston’s GM Rafael Stone as a top front office executive of the NBA, not only by picking up the new faces but keeping the old ones here in the “Stay Ready Crew”

He then applauds Stone some more with the extension of one of the Rockets former top picks #jabarismithjr and the 3 things that his extension could bring in the future!

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