If the goal was to reach the second round of the playoffs, it’s still achievable. But if the target was the Western Conference Finals or the NBA Finals, it’s a failure. The biggest regret over these four years is not drafting a superstar prospect. The first year of the rebuild was a big draft year, and the No. 2 pick was the perfect chance to select a cornerstone. The team bet on Jalen Green, but his obvious flaws, consistently frail physique after four years, and lack of competitive fire show he’s not the guy. The steal of the draft, Sengun, lacks athleticism and shooting. He’s got borderline All-Star potential, but without developing a shot, he’s likely capped there. The next three years weren’t much better. In ’22, we picked from the leftovers. Jabari’s poor athleticism and lackluster explosiveness mean he can’t be the core. Eason’s got butterfingers on offense, only eyes the rim, and his defense regressed this season. In ’23, the No. 4 pick was Amen. He’s got heart and great defense, but his ball-handling, passing, and shooting are nowhere near good enough yet. ’24 was even worse—the No. 3 pick barely saw regular-season minutes. In ’25, barring a lottery miracle, the No. 9 pick will likely net a role player at best. So, the next step is trading. VanVleet was the most consistent player in the last few playoff games, but the team’s unlikely to pick up his third-year option. If they can land a superstar like Jokic or Giannis, Amen’s probably the only untouchable asset. Everyone else—Green, Sengun, Jabari, Eason, etc.—could be trade bait. If no superstar is available, trading with the Suns is unlikely. Durant’s too old, and Booker’s too expensive to hit the ceiling we want. Without paying the luxury tax, Tilman is more likely to tinker for a couple more years, trading players for draft picks and continuing to tank. Phoenix’s future picks are more valuable than taking on Durant’s contract.
i also found that this rebuild has been a complete failure. should've had at least 2 wcf appearances by now.
NBA Free Agents PG Fred VanVleet C Steven Adams PG Aaron Holiday PF JaeSean Tate C Myles Turner - Start at Center, Sengun PF SG Quentin Grimes - Replace Dillon Brooks PF Naz Reid SF Dorian Finney Smith - Backup SF Nickeil Alexander-Walker - Backup SG Tim Hardaway Jr. - Backup SG Malik Beasley - Backup
The Rockets haven’t failed anything. This stings, it hurts, but this team is ahead of their own timeline in rebuilding. We may have been a 2 seed, but I don’t think anyone thought we were championship contenders. Most of us would’ve been happy if they’d been a 6 seed, before the season started. - Sengun is already an all-star. He has some flaws and is really a 1A/2, but you can’t say borderline all-star potential when he already is. - Besides Jalen Williams, not sure who we were supposed to pick in 2022. Jabari was it. - Amen is soon to be our best player. Obviously needs to work on his outside shot, but he’s the 2nd best player from his draft. - Reed would have seen more time on a typical team that picks 3rd. The issue is we were pretty good this year, and you don’t typically have a 3rd pick on a contending team. We saw some flashes in his starts and towards the end of the season, but hopefully with an offseason to get stronger and more adjustments to the NBA game, he becomes a factor in 25-26.
PG LaMelo Ball, Reed Sheppard SG Jalen Green, Malik Beasley SF Amen Thompson, Quentin Grimes PF Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason C Myles Turner, Jabari Smith
part 0f the 0nging rebuild is t0 pr0p-up s0me 0f the y0ungins t0 exchange f0r 0verpaid [star vets] fr0m teams wh0 are 0n the luxury tax 0r that highest tax tier and g0ing n0where............ these star vets wud then lead the team t0 higher g0als.... while giving valuable experience t0 the remaining y0ungins deemed by the management as the next [star]s
Bullcrap. They had a great season and took a veteran team to game seven in the playoffs in the first playoffs for our young core. If Golden State had Butler the entire season they would have been seeded much higher. The only bad part of our rebuild was our highest drafted player had an absolutely terrible playoff series save one game.
The Bench is a real problem. They are cheap contracts, less talented players on the bench. 7 players on the bench need to be moved.
Everyone in the world: “The Rockets rebuild was a huge success and they are way ahead of schedule.” Shrek2onDVD (dumbest name in the world): “They failed!!!!”
Well, who should we have picked? Best players are probably Mobley, Franz and Jalen Williams - none of them would really have moved the needle much. Yeah, we could have been better, but in the end it is about having that closer and franchise player - none of them are. Betting on Green made sense, because he had that potential. No one would have taken Jalen Williams over Jabari. So let´s not overreact here...
The main issue was there are no shooters after Jabari Smith. No open driving lane. Sign more shooters for Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun. Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun - All 3 are horrible shooters. Self Improve is necessary also.
I agree we need better shooting. We do have Reed waiting in the wings who should have been given more minutes this year.
Rockets Young Assistants need to move to College. Need Veteran Coaches that know what to teach. Need Veteran Coachesto Teach players the Playbook, Break Down Film of Offense and Defense.
Why Jalen Green won't do anything, Zone Defense. How the Hell can you drive without being double team turnover. Jalen was literally stuck. Having 3 shooters out there with Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun completely changes the offense. Spread the Court, easier to drive for layups or pass to a 3 point shooter. Shame on Ime Udoka not noticing issues with Jalen Green and not playing Aaron Holiday, Reed Sheppard more with Jalen Green.
Jesus Christ dude don’t reproduce. This was the first time for the kids in the playoffs they did ok. Could have been better sure. But they got the taste already wait for next year
I’ve seen this take numerous times. I think it’s ludicrous however, for the sake of entertainment, what superstar prospect would you have drafted instead? In the years you claim we failed, what selection, who would you have chosen that would have this team in a better position?
The West won’t be as weak next year with the newly improved Spurs and the Lakers with the big three(Lebron, Doncic, Durant). Hearing it’s a lock that we’re spending all our capital on retaining FVV for 44.5 mm a year and will have to spend dearly to retain Adams. Welcome to Stone world where we think we have enough and just need the experience. Groundhog day over and over again. Had we made the move for Butler then we’d be the one’s excited to play and beatMinnesota. All it took was Andrew Wiggins??? Their GM won the series and ours lost it with zippo moves at the trade deadline. Not complex and nothing to be proud of as the same thing will occur again next year with no offseason moves.
I agree the coaching could have been better. Reed should have gotten a lot more minutes this season even if it cost us a game or two. His playoff decisions were puzzling at times. He absolutely should have played Holiday more with Jalen struggling so much.
