I think this was 100% true at the beginning of the FA period. It is no longer true and we are sinking fast unfortunately
That'll cost too much $$$ Tilman is in financial trouble and cost cutting is the name of the game at TC
I'm starting to think nobody wants to come here, or at least we're just not a very attractive destination. I know Rivers resigned but still, the fact that we couldn't get literally nothing done i don't know...
Counterpoint: would the Rockets be a better position now if they had never pulled the trigger on the Chris Paul trade? I think they would. Sometimes inaction is the better move.
wouldnt every player that weve wanted thats just now been signed somewhere else put us in hard cap territory?
They could have used the Non Taxpayer MLE and go hard cap, it's not like it's not been a possibility. Morey just decided to go other route. We'll see how it ends, but odds are against him right now.
Yes, they could have used the $9.2 MLE and been hard capped but it's apparent to me(and I could be wrong later) they don't want to be hard capped. #flexibility And I'm OK with being flexible but if you were only going to use the $5.7M MLE, why did you rush & sign Danuel House with it?
Rockets hired Brain Gaine!!! Now it all makes sense, as to why they haven't done anything all off-season.
Why would they be in a better position? We would have gotten easily bounced by GS (or possibly Utah) two years ago. We get easily bounced again this past year. Two years of not coming close to sniffing the playoffs or believing we are a real contender so that we can have enough cap space to sign a player who we still wouldn't be able to sign because he prefers Miami? So then we get to use the cap space overpaying for role players that are past their prime?
Simmer down, children. If anything can be learned from the past decade, it's that continuity counts in the NBA. Outside of the Boston Celtics Ubuntu year in 2008, no core of a budding champion was completely rearranged the year before that team won it all. The closest you can get is the Raptors upgrading from DeRozan to Kawhi and then winning, but that Lowry Siakam Ibaka Van Vleet Anunoby core had been there for a while beforehand. Ditto with the Warriors franchise before them; Curry Klay and Draymond were around for years before they broke through the ice. The Kawhi Spurs were a battle-tested dynasty. The Lebron Cavs and Heat could not win in their first years together. All these things take time. If you can say the Rockets front office screwed up, it was by not keeping their damn mouths shut. Aside from that, however, they have done well with their moves in my book. If we aren't adding anyone, the question you have to ask is, who out there can demonstrably upgrade us from the current rotation? Take your anti-Capela blinders off: in the 2018 WCF he was a damn ASSET against the Warriors. One bad series from 2019 does not change that. He is 25yrs old and the one remaining huge source of upside we have on this team. The Harden-Paul-Capela-Gordon-PJ-House-Rivers 7 man rotation remains formidable. Whoever you sign has to supplant one of those guys. All this remaining free agency criticism is just bickering over scraps. Jamychal Green vs Trey Lyles vs Rondae Hollis-Jefferson vs Garrett Temple...these guys are on the level of Shumpert. Who is to say that Gary Clark can't eventually get to that same level, or better? The NBA is a total free for all this year. The Rockets just need to forget about all the noise, focus on the offseason, develop the young guys they currently have, and then come back with the attitude that they need to bring it every night like they did in 2018. If they do they should by all rights attain the 1 seed in the West.
“We had multiple deals lined up but another team pulled out”, or “our goal is to be the best team in April not July”.
why in the world is losing in the early rounds be in a better position. harden by himself loss to the likes of a kawhi less spurs. that isn't putting the rockets in better position. that post makes no sense. its like people haven't been watching for years how low the ceiling was for harden + those limited players
From the horse's mouth (Feigen) The Rockets chose not to use a non-tax mid-level to avoid being hard-capped, which would limit their ability to make other moves. Q: Why are the Rockets so hesitant to sign players with their exceptions and vet minimum contracts? Guys (like) Anthony Tolliver, Javale McGee, Ed Davis have all been had for bargain prices while Houston seemingly sits on its hands A: All three received contracts much larger than the mid-level exception money the Rockets have left after using a chunk of it to keep Danuel House Jr. or minimum contracts. The Rockets could have used the larger, non-tax midlevel and had more to spend, but that would have hard-capped them. They probably are better off maintaining the flexibility that would have cost them. Q: The Rockets have a lot of holes at the backup SF/PF/C spot (needing length, athleticism and shooting in particular). A lot of vet minimum guys have signed with other teams. Why aren't the Rockets signing guys to build depth that is needed for a long season? — Chris A: First, I agree with points one, two and three. I think the Rockets' lack of frontcourt depth is a real issue. It is also July 8. While free agents were signed much more rapidly than usual, the Rockets have time to deal. They will have to build the roster through trades and the buyout market — assuming that they agree with us that more depth is needed. Iguodala is a possibility. Oubre, however, is a restricted free agent and the Rockets don't have the kind of exception money available to make the Suns think twice about matching. Q: Will Sergio Llull ever see the light of the NBA stage? — Aaron A: It's possible he might give the NBA a try late in his career. The Rockets' problem remains that they don't have a role significant enough for him to merit making the kind of offer that would entice him to leave a situation where he is happy and successful. I might have thought that by now they would have traded his rights to a team that has a greater need and could offer a larger contract than makes sense for the Rockets. Q: What happened with Deyonta Davis and how come he's not on the summer league roster? A: The Rockets picked him up on waivers, but primarily as a trade piece. He likely will be released before his contract becomes guaranteed.
