How The Rockets Rebuilt After Harden

How The Rockets Rebuilt After Harden

After James Harden left the Rockets at the start of the 2020s, things weren’t looking great for the franchise. For a couple seasons, they were literally the worst team in the league, and it was arguably the worst period in Rockets franchise history. But almost 5 years after trading Harden, the Rockets are back to being contenders once again. Yeah, it’s just as easy as making some great draft picks, hiring an excellent head coach, and then eventually landing a superstar in a trade. It’s just why not why doesn’t every team just do it? I don’t know. [Music] [Music] Before we start talking about how the Rockets rebuilt after Harden, please give the video a like, subscribe to the channel, and hit the notification bell so you never miss out on any new videos. So, by the start of the 2020s, the Rockets were losing their spot as a contender. After making the conference finals in 2018 and pushing the Warriors to seven games, the Rockets regressed in 2019. They went out in the second round once again to the Warriors, of course. So, after that, they decided to move Chris Paul and a bunch of picks to OKC to bring in Russell Westbrook. I mean, there was some optimism he could reinvent the Rockets. He’s younger than Chris Paul. Was only a few years removed from winning MVP. But the Rockets again, they regress in 2020. They had that extreme small ball lineup where you’re playing 65 PJ Tucker at center. That would ultimately fail and the Rockets would fall in the second round in five games to the Lakers. So the following off season, both Harden and Westbrook actually wanted out of Houston. It seems like Russ mainly wanted out because Harden wanted out and this is kind of brutal for Russ. The Rockets apparently viewed his trade request as a blessing in disguise. It’s brutal, but it was 100% accurate. Yeah, it’s 100% accurate. Yeah. I mean, the Rockets organization, they thought Harden wasn’t actually that unhappy in Houston. He just wanted to play for a contender. And like in the years since, I mean, remember when he was in Philly and we were hearing the rumors that, oh, he might go back to Houston. And I think he just loves the city, loved living there and everything. So, I don’t know if he actually wanted to leave, but he also wanted to play for a contender. So, the Rockets plan was foolproof. They decided to trade Russ to the Wizards for 30-year-old John Wall coming off an Achilles tear. I mean, to be fair, the Rockets, they did also get a future first from the Wizards trade. And they used that in an important trade that we’ll talk about a little later. And they also brought in Boogie, you know, bring back that Kentucky connection, you know, Jean Wall and and Boogie cuz it was so great in like, you know, 20 what, 9, 10 when they were in college at Kentucky, something like that. So, you know, surely 11 years later, it’ll be perfect. On top of that, Mike Danton informed the Rockets in September that he would not return as head coach. So, they bring in How often does that happen? Not very often. Coach is like, “You know what, guys? I’m good. I I’ll step away.” And they would bring in Steven Silus to replace him. And Daryl my also stepped down as GM in October. So, everyone was just popping off the sinking ship. I mean, for a while, my kind of was viewed by some as like a basketball genius with the analytical philosophy. you know, three-pointers, layups, and he did influence the modern NBA to the way it is today. But as mentioned, when you’re playing PJ Tucker at center, like you jumped the shark. Yeah, you you lost the plot. You went too far with that. And God, he has torpedoed his reputation with his I’m shocked he’s still in charge of the Sixers, honestly. So, not surprising these changes did nothing to improve Harden’s situation with the team. He then very famously might have deployed the fat suit. I mean, some people just say, you know, bad camera angles and whatnot. I will say like the second he got to Brooklyn, he was looking mysteriously like slim and muscular. So weird how that happened. Yeah, exactly. You know, his last game in Houston that that belly was looking a little bit big. So I I don’t know if he actually did the fat suit or not, but it was a bad look. In return for Harden though, the Rockets did get back Victor Odipo, Dante Exom, Rodian’s Carutes, four first round picks, and four first round pick swaps. Now, luckily enough for Rockets fans, their front office was actually smart enough to put protections on the picks they sent to Oklahoma City. Something the Brooklyn Nets just didn’t think to do. It’s not like that burned them once already. No, they’ve never done that before. So, they were in this weird position where the Rockets didn’t have complete control over their own picks, but had complete control of another franchise’s draft picks. That’s become more common in the modern NBA with all these crazy trades. I was going to say it was weird back then. And nowadays it’s it’s getting significantly less weird. Yeah. Anyways though, after sending out Harden and Russ, the Rockets were just absolutely terrible. They go 17 and 55 and still the shortened 2021 season, the worst record in the league. Their third worst season in franchise history, but like we just said, at least they had protections on these picks. So they keep their pick in the 2021 NBA draft. That ends up being the second pick. and they take Jaylen Green from the G-League Ignite. On top of that, the Rockets also traded two heavily protected firsts to OKC for the 16th pick and they use that pick to take Senon. One of those first was the Wizards pick. They got in the Russ trade. So, you know, kind of turned Russ in a way into Senon. You know, not one for one, but in a roundabout way, sure. Yeah, exactly. So, you can say what you want about Jaylen Green. Not the most efficient player. Definitely not the most consistent player either. And there were better players available. I mean, Evan Moble and Scotty Barnes went the very next two picks, but to get Senon and Jaylen Green in one draft to kick off your rebuild, not half bad. Yeah, but in 22, the Rockets were still quite terrible. They would go 20 and 62 on the season. Again, worst record in the league. Jaylen Green had a pretty solid rookie year though, 17 and a half points per game. Finished fourth in rookie of the year voting. Specifically had a very strong end to the season. and Senoon showed flashes as well, averaging almost 10 points per game off the bench. The Rockets did also have, you know, some young pieces like Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr. at the time. Christian Wood is now out of the league and Kevin Porter Jr. is just doing whatever for the Bucks. So, you know, at the time they looked promising though. In the 22 draft though, the Rockets got the third pick. And we talked recently in our video about how the Thunder built their title team, but this draft had like three really good prospects seemingly. It was Paulo out of Duke, Chad out of Gonzaga, Jabari Smith Jr. out of Auburn. At the third pick, they picked up Javari Smith. I was like super high on him coming out of college. You could say maybe he’s been a bit of a disappointment in the league so far. I mean, he’s still a guy who can play good defense. He can catch and shoot, and he’s still only 22, so he’s got plenty of time. But, I don’t know. When he came out, I was thinking like, “Oh, this is the next Carmelo Anthony or something like that, baby.” Yeah, I do remember that. I mean, leading up to the draft, like right before he was seen as the first overall pick, and then Paulo quickly rose. So, a lot of people were super high on him. And like you said, he’s still got a ton of time, can be a very good player. But with the 17th pick, a pick they had from the Nets, they also took Tar Een. A great pick here. Tar Een has improved each season. He’s become a really good defender. So again, credit to the Rockets front office. You get two good rotation players out of one draft. And then in free agency, the Rockets would wave John Wall. And they traded Christian Wood to Dallas back when he had some value. And in return, they got Wendel Moore, the 26 pick, Boon, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, and Maris Chris. None of those guys really panned out, but again, like we said, neither did Christian Wood. So, at least for Houston, you’re starting to build your young core. You got some nice young pieces, but once again, going to the next season, weren’t really supposed to be good. And once again, the Rockets, you know, they just sucked. I mean, they did improve a little bit. They weren’t the worst team in the league. You better improve if you won 20 games the year before. Yeah, they were just tied for the second worst. So, technically making an improvement there. And I remember this season we got the report that Steven Silas had broke down in tears during a game because he felt like he couldn’t connect with the team. Now, to be clear, Brian Woodhorse did have to issue a correction. The report was false. It is worth noting, you got to feel for Silus. He lost his father during the middle of the season and only missed one game. So, you really had to feel for him. But I just remember seeing that report, seeing how bad the Rockets were, and I was just like, what the is going on? I mean, he’s not going to, but I hope Steven Silas gets another chance at being a coach in the NBA. I mean, talk about just getting a bad hand like right off the bat. But yeah, I mean, it was just so weird seeing the Rockets be this bad. I mean, they had a couple seasons in the early 2010s before Harden got there where they like just barely missed the playoffs, but this is like the first time since we had been watching that they had just been outright. And it was it was weird. Here it is. Something like we had never seen as fans before. You know, they still had a core that was developing a little bit. Jaylen Green upped his scoring to about 22 points per game. Kevin Porter Jr. averaged 19 a game at just age 22. Senoon made a big jump in his second year, became their full-time starting center, averaged 15 points, nine boards, and four assists per game. On top of that, you get solid rookie campaigns from Jabari Smith and Tar Een. So, there’s a good foundation. It just the house still hadn’t been built yet. Yeah. That off season though, the Rockets decide not to pick up Steven Silus’s fourth year option. effectively firing him. Again, you really got to feel for him. Just a tough situation. But you’re also not going to keep your job when you go 59 and 177. I mean, among coaches that have coached a minimum of 150 games, that’s a second worst winning percentage of all time. And the only guy worse is Brian Wyers, and he also had a situation because he was the inaugural coach of the Vancouver Grizzlies. A team so bad that they lasted what, like five seasons before they had to move. Yeah. Yeah. to replace Silas. Though, the Rockets brought in Eime Udoka. Udoka obviously had proven to be a fantastic coach and wouldn’t have been available if it wasn’t for, we’ll just call it, I guess, the incident with the Celtics, whatever it ended up being. Like, I’m still not exactly sure what what the whole story was here, but, you know, he was available. The Rockets snatched him up. They also got the fourth pick in the 2023 draft, which they would use to select Aman Thompson. A fantastic pick. If you did a reddraft, he probably goes number two. He’s become one of the best defenders in the league. He’s developing his offensive game. They also drafted Cam Whitmore with the 20th overall pick. Going into the draft, some people thought he could be a lottery player, but he ended up falling due to concerns about his knees and some subpar draft workouts. But besides getting Thompson, this was kind of a controversial offseason. Maybe not controversial is the wrong word, but divisive offseason, let’s say, because they they made some moves, made some big moves. They’ve been absolutely terrible for three straight seasons. They had a nice foundation of young guys, so they’re like, “Okay, we need to bring in bring in some vets, right? We want to start winning some games.” Well, first off, they completed a signing trade to bring in Dylan Brooks on a 4-year, $80 million deal. Now, that contract doesn’t sound terrible in hindsight, but remember Brooks’s reputation at the time, like he had been dog against the Lakers. He was trying trying to trash talk LeBron, got ejected from a couple of games. Eventually, the Grizzlies said he wouldn’t be brought back under any circumstances. I remember thinking that offseason like he’ll be lucky to get like one year at like the mid-level exception. That’s what I thought he was looking at. And then this dropped and I was like, “The are the Rockets thinking like what?” Yeah, it did work out. Insane contract at the time to give out though. That’s what I thought. Yeah. But at the time that was kind of the sentiment. And then you also bring in Fred Van Vleet on a three-year $130 million deal. Again, Van Vleet’s a solid player. He’s a champion. But like $43 million a year on average, something like that. So they’d end up being pretty good moves in hindsight. And a big reason they brought these guys in was kind of that, you know, AAOU team, how they were painted at the time. They needed veterans to, you know, improve the situation in the locker room. So you have these veterans, you bring in EM Udoka, who’s a really good players coach, could really connect with players. And on top of that, you bring in guys like Jeff Green, Reggie Bullock, and Aaron Holiday, and also Jock Land. So you had some more experience, some better leadership in the locker room. But based off of how the previous season went, even bringing these guys in, they weren’t supposed to be good in 2024. And coming out the gate, they lost their first three games. I mean, they got blown out in Orlando during the season opener, followed that up with an overtime loss to San Antonio, and then two days later lost their home opener to Golden State by double digits. So, not the start you want, but they followed that up with a six-game winning streak out of nowhere. Jaylen Green had some good games during that stretch and Senon started the year just playing great in what would end up being his breakout season. So around January, the Rockets were actually floating right around 500. They were in the mix for the playin spot, but they had a tough February. They went just three and N during the month. They lost Tari E for the last four months of the season after he had surgery on his leg. Van Vet also missed some time. Despite that though, they had an incredible March, 13-2 in the month. They became the hottest team in the league. Jaylen Green especially was balling out during this stretch. Rockets were shooting the ball well. They were playing great defense. And they did most of this without Senun who was out with a severely sprained ankle and a bone bruise in his knee. And in late March, they were within just one game of the Warriors for the final playing spot. And then they threw it. They lost five in a row. So, you know, they came so close and they just gave it away. Yeah, it was a blessing in disguise. You know, you finished 41 and 41, so you’re still in the lottery. Even despite missing the playins, still a fantastic season. You improved by 19 wins from the previous year. Jaylen Green a great finish to the season. Sangun overall has a breakout year. And then other young guys like Jabaris Smith Jr., Taran, Amen Thompson, they looked pretty good. The veterans helped change the culture and it was a blessing in disguise because in the 2024 draft lottery, you end up getting the third pick. Specifically, not just to move up all that much, but the pick was protected top four. So, if it was five or above, they were going to lose it. And they end up taking Reed Shepard out of Kentucky. He really didn’t get much playtime his first season, so it’s really tough to judge like how well this pick is going to age. But if he pans out, if he develops, he’s a perfect fit for this team because they need shooting. He was a really good shooter in college and he can kind of take Vanble Vleet’s place once he starts to decline. And on top of that, the Rockets made an interesting trade with Brooklyn. They sent back Brooklyn’s first in 2025 and 2026. And in return, they got the right to swap with the Suns in 2025, the Suns 2027 first. This one’s a bit confusing. Two of the most favorable picks in 2029 between the Suns, the Mavs, and their own picks. Stupid. It is. Shouldn’t be allowed. That’s the NBA these days. And finally, we have to mention they gave extensions to both Jaylen Green and Senon. But notably, they gave Jaylen Green a three-year extension while Senon gets the full 5-year max. That brings us to this past season. Going into the year, still not much was expected from this Rockets team. Like, they put the NBA on notice last year that they were improving. They were a young team on the rise. But the West is also, just like it seemingly is every year, jam-packed with good teams. Like, I think most people were expecting them to be like a high lottery team. Maybe they could sneak into the playin, but not a playoff team, right? But as we all know, the Rockets would completely exceed expectations. They got off to a 10-4 start and really never looked back. Senon built off what he did last year, made his first all-star team. Jaylen Green averaged 21 a night. Amond Thompson broke out in a huge way in his second season, averaging 14 points a night and making all defensive first team. The Rockets had seven players averaged 12 points or more. And after battling teams like the Grizzlies, Nuggets, and Lakers, the Rockets were able to secure the second seed in the Western Conference, finishing the year with a 52 and 30 record. They got the Warriors in round one. It was a chance to get revenge on the Warriors after all the times. They beat Houston in the 2010s. Well, they lost game one, so you know, bad start there. They also dropped games three and four back in the Bay. So, they’re down three games to one. Credit to them though. They win game five. Shocked the world by winning game six on the road in Golden State. And then you get done in by a 33-point just outburst from Buddy Heield in game seven. Like there’s only so much you can do at that point, right? So extremely tough for the Rockets and their fans. You lose to the Warriors once again, but still a great season and a lot to be optimistic about for their future. The big weakness for them though was the halfcourt offense. it was the shooting. Like they’re fantastic defensive team. They’re great in transition. They’re great on the offensive glass, but once it became a half court game, they just didn’t have enough iso scores, guys that can create offense in the half court. So to fix that, they acquire Kevin Durant from the Suns in exchange for Jaylen Green, Dylan Brooks, the 10th pick in the 2025 draft, and five second round picks. I mean, on paper, it seems like a perfect fit. Kevin Durant, you know, he’s getting up there in age. She’s going to be 37 by the time the next year starts. Honestly, it’s hilarious that now getting up there in age is 37. Back when we’ve started watching the NBA is like, “Oh, getting up there in age was like 33 or 34. Now it’s 37.” Especially, yeah, with these stars from the 2010s, like it feels like they’ll never retire. And you know, Katie, he is the ISO scoreer. Even if he’s old, he is the shooter. I’m a little bit cautious because there’s a couple times Katie has joined teams since leaving the Warriors you before. Yeah. I felt like this is going to be the team Katie’s going to win his title on his own. And for one reason or another, it just hasn’t happened. So, I’m going to remain cautious, but on paper, this is the perfect fit for the Rockets. Yeah. And besides bringing KD in, I mean, you also bring back Clint Capella, so it’s going to be very nostalgic seeing him in a Rockets uniform again. And also, like, he’s your backup center. That was pretty solid right there. That ain’t bad. They also still have Steven Adams, so they are going to be stout on the front lines. You also bring in Dorian Finny Smith. probably one of the most underrated moves of the NBA offseason. Josh Aogi they brought in. They resigned Jeff Green, Aaron Holidayiday, Jan Tate, and Fred Van Vleet. So, you know, pretty solid supporting cast. It’s not like what Durant had to deal with when he was in Phoenix where it was him, Booker, and nobody else. They still got a solid supporting cast around him. So, recapping all this, like immediately after Harden left, you know, rough times like you lose your superstar, you’re generally not going to be good for a couple years. And honestly, might have been the worst like period in franchise history because the Rockets historically have been a pretty successful franchise. But I mean, they hit on their draft picks, they hired the right coach, and they made a big move to bring in a superstar. It’s just it’s that easy, right? Why don’t teams just do it? The Blazers were working on it. Oh, we’re a year or two away. Yeah. Once we trade for Giannis or whatever the star is, then we’ll be set. Everything else is going to plan. But this is how you rebuild the modern NBA. You get some picks sending out your aging star. Have some couple years where you’re get some good draft picks and then you make your big trade. So, not picking the Rockets first. OKC, they’re still the favorites, but not many teams in the West right now. I’d pick over them. So, what do you guys think? Are you picking the Rockets to win the title next season? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoyed the video, please consider giving a like. And hey, while you’re here, check out our other content as well. And don’t forget to subscribe. Synthetic sports.

At the start of the 2021 season the Houston Rockets sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets in a 4 team deal that netted them back Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, three first-round draft picks, and four first-round pick swaps. Immediately after this move Houston became the worst team in the league, but almost 5 years later they’ve rebuilt a contender with the addition of Kevin Durant.

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