Reassessing Rockets roster after flurry of moves
Friday and Saturday night marked quite the memorable 48-plus hour stretch for Rockets' general manager Rafael Stone, who made a series of decisions over the weekend that could determine his fate with the franchise in the coming years.
Stone made his first major free-agent investment as Houston's lead decision maker Friday evening. Houston signed former Toronto point guard Fred VanVleet to a three-year, $130 million deal, tabbing the 2021 All-Star and 2019 champion as the organization's leading man in the first year of Ime Udoka's tenure. The Rockets got on the board so to speak in free agency with the VanVleet addition on Friday night. Saturday brought a dizzying flurry of moves as Houston reshapes its roster.
The Rockets' transaction tally thus far as of Sunday? Stone enters the weekend's final day with three free-agent signings, one player acquired through sign-and-trade, and four members of the 2022-23 Rockets now off the roster via trade. So, who exactly now sits on Houston's roster following Stone's rapid maneuvering early Saturday night? This handy list below should help:
Incoming Veterans
Fred VanVleet
Dillon Brooks
Jock Landale
Jeff Green
Failing to land Brook Lopez is likely a bit of a gut punch to Udoka in particular, who could have used Lopez's All-Defense ability as a steadying anchor on the back line. Still, the Rockets secured two of their top three targets in VanVleet and Dillon Brooks—even at the inflated contract of $80 million over four years—then added a useful complement to Alperen Şengün in former Phoenix center Jock Landale. Will Jeff Green see the floor much in 2023-24? I'm not so sure. I am sure that Green is one of the most celebrated veterans in the sport, one near-universally respected by his peers. Just ask members of the 2022-23 Nuggets, the once-promising 2019-20 Rockets or any of Green's other nine franchises across 15 seasons.
Incoming Rookies
Amen Thompson
Cam Whitmore
We won't spill too much ink here given what we've previously posted on Thompson and Whitmore. I expect Thompson to still get a pretty healthy minutes share as a rookie despite VanVleet's arrival. As for Whitmore, he remains an intriguing scoring talent, though one who may spend some time in the G League this season.
Outgoing players
KJ Martin
TyTy Washington
Usman Garuba
Josh Christopher
Here comes the hard part for the Rockets, who frankly had to ship out the above quartet for little value yesterday as they looked to clear salary cap space for Brooks, Landale and Green. Martin emerged as a useful rotation player with supreme athleticism and some shooting upside in recent years, and the Rockets spent non-lottery first-round picks on the Washington, Garuba, Christopher trio. I'm not so sold on Christopher's NBA future, though with Washington and Garuba, they should be able to carve out some semblance of a rotation role in the coming years.
The Martin trade—in which he heads to the Clippers in exchange for two second-round picks—remains the most puzzling part of Houston's summer spending spree. Is Martin and a subsequent contract extension likely around or under $10 million annually less appealing than paying Brooks a whopping $80 million over four years? I'm not so sure. But for the Rockets, losing the four former rotation pieces is the price of doing business in the hopes of remaking the roster. Houston's full-blown youth movement is over. We'll see if Udoka's squad is better for it next season.
Rotation options as of Sunday
Fred VanVleet
Jalen Green
Dillon Brooks
Jabari Smith Jr.
Alperen Şengün
Amen Thompson
Kevin Porter Jr.
Tari Eason
Jock Landale
Cam Whitmore
Jae'Sean Tate
Jeff Green
That is one crowded group. The starting five of VanVleet, Green, Brooks, Smith and Şengün feels pretty set in stone, and I feel confident in minutes being allocated for Thompson, Eason (one of the league's more underrated young wings) and Porter (whose shooting ability will be desperately needed with this squad as currently constituted). I'm even a touch bullish on Landale's ability as a low-minutes big, though as Udoka noted at a introductory press conference, no spot in the rotation is guaranteed.
The three years of the Stephen Silas era featured rosters ill-equipped to compete in the Western Conference. Udoka will receive a much-improved group in 2023-24, one that mixes both rising young talent and some smattering of proven pieces. Stone delivered in his promise to remake the roster. Whether the Rockets can turn this group into a playoff competitor is now the burning question entering Udoka's first season.
Source: Chron
