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[ESPN] Future Power Rankings - Rockets #3

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by J.R., May 30, 2013.

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J.R. Member

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Future Power Rankings

The Future Power Rankings are ESPN Insider's projection of the on-court success expected for each team in the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Each of the NBA's 30 teams received an overall Future Power Rating of 0 to 1,200, based on how well we expect each team to perform in the three seasons after this season.

To determine the Future Power Rating, we rated each team in five categories (see table at right).

HOW FUTURE POWER RATING IS DETERMINED

PLAYERS (0 to 600 points): Current players and their potential for the future, factoring in expected departures

MANAGEMENT (0 to 200 points): Quality and stability of front office, ownership, coaching

MONEY (0 to 200 points): Projected salary-cap situation; ability and willingness to exceed cap and pay luxury tax

MARKET (0 to 100 points): Appeal to future acquisitions based on team quality, franchise reputation, city's desirability as a destination, market size, taxes, business and entertainment opportunities, arena quality, fans

DRAFT (0 to 100 points): Future draft picks; draft positioning

CATEGORY RANKINGS: See how each team ranked in each category
Consider this a convenient way to see the direction in which your favorite team is headed.
Click to expand...

As you can see, we determined that the most important category is a team's current roster and the future potential of those players -- that category accounts for 50 percent of each team's overall Future Power Rating.

At the same time, we looked at many other factors, such as management, ownership, coaching, a team's spending habits, its cap situation, the reputation of the city and the franchise and what kind of draft picks we expect the team to have in the future.

To rank the 30 teams, we asked ESPN Insider analysts Chad Ford, Amin Elhassan, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton to rate each team in each category. We also asked our ESPN Forecast panel to rate each team in the Players, Management and Market categories.

3. Houston Rockets | Future Power Rating: 795
PLAYERS 398 (7th)
MANAGEMENT 137 (6th)
MONEY 148 (4th)
MARKET 64 (9th)
DRAFT 49 (17th)

Whether the Thunder are considered losers or not, there is no question the Rockets won the James Harden trade by parlaying a handful of stray assets into the superstar GM Daryl Morey had long coveted. With Harden establishing himself as one of the league's top shooting guards, Houston returned to the postseason with a full starting five of players age 26 or younger. And Morey's just getting started. Houston can conceivably clear enough space under the salary cap for a max offer this summer, making the Rockets a potential landing spot for Dwight Howard.

If not Howard, then Houston has the flexibility and the assets on hand to make a run at players like LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love as interior counterweights for Harden. With contributors like Chandler Parsons locked up to reasonable long-term contracts, the Rockets won't have to worry about the salary cap for several years. They can promise newcomers a top-10 market, head coach Kevin McHale's player-friendly, up-tempo system and a chance to win big.

Houston also benefits from the front office's ability to find unheralded talent. The Rockets signed both Patrick Beverley and Greg Smith for the minimum and developed them into contributors, making Jeremy Lin and a pile of big men drafted in the first round (Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas and Thomas Robinson) potentially available for trades.

-- Kevin Pelton

(Previous rank: 13)
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#1 J.R., May 30, 2013

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Who are the rest of the top 5, for comparison?

#2 hubeijames, May 30, 2013
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1. Miami
2. OKC
3. Houston
4. San Antonio
5. Golden State
6. Indiana
7. Chicago
8. Cleveland
9. Denver
10. Utah
11. Memphis
12. Los Angeles Clippers
13. Dallas
14. Portland
15. Boston
16. Washington
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Atlanta
19. New Orleans
20. Detroit
21. Brooklyn
22. Orlando
23. Minnesota
24. Philadelphia
25. New York
26. Toronto
27. Milwaukee
28. Sacramento
29. Phoenix
30. Charlotte

#3 J.R., May 30, 2013
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I think Indiana should be higher than gsw

#4 Sydeffect, May 30, 2013
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So Dwight has to decide between #3 and #17?

#5 LikeMike, May 30, 2013
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LikeMike said: ↑

So Dwight has to decide between #3 and #17?
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And 13 and 18 aparently.

#6 smr6, May 30, 2013
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Wizards could be a surprise team in the near future.

#7 J Sizzle, May 30, 2013

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hate it when the same thread gets posting in GARM and Dish. So alas, I'll repost my take...

That's a huge prediction considering it is primarily like a vaporware promise. The whole write-up is more about Morey than the players.

It is predicting Morey to get a top tier FA or a top tier PF in trade to warrant this #3. A top tier FA or a top tier PF are two things the Rockets have never done before since trading for Barkley.

Not to say there isn't always a first time, but that's a helluva prediction and shows disrespect to Indiana, as if we've already landed our second star.

#8 heypartner, May 30, 2013

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Sydeffect said: ↑

I think Indiana should be higher than gsw
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I'd just swap Indy and SA.

#9 FLASH21, May 30, 2013

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heypartner said: ↑

hate it when the same thread gets posting in GARM and Dish. So alas, I'll repost my take...

That's a huge prediction considering it is primarily like a vaporware promise. The whole write-up is more about Morey than the players.

It is predicting Morey to get a top tier FA or a top tier PF in trade to warrant this #3. A top tier FA or a top tier PF are two things the Rockets have never done before since trading for Barkley.

Not to say there isn't always a first time, but that's a helluva prediction and shows disrespect to Indiana, as if we've already landed our second star.
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wasn't stromile swift both?

:grin::grin:

#10 arjun, May 30, 2013
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arjun said: ↑

wasn't stromile swift both?

:grin::grin:
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MoT was better than Swift.

#11 heypartner, May 30, 2013
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How is Dallas at 13? Who do they have that will play a big role on that team in 2-3 years?

#12 Haymitch, May 30, 2013
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Haymitch said: ↑

How is Dallas at 13? Who do they have that will play a big role on that team in 2-3 years?
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Management and Money parameters boost their scores

#13 Fullcourt, May 30, 2013

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GSW future isn't as bright as I used to think it was. For some reason I thought Curry was 21.. not that he's TOO much older, just not as young as I thought. I don't think Klay has as much potential as we think. And their cap situation isn't too great

#14 Pieman2005, May 30, 2013
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13. Dallas Mavericks | Future Power Rating: 637
PLAYERS MANAGEMENT MONEY MARKET DRAFT
216 (24th) 140 (5th) 168 (1st) 68 (8th) 45 (18th)

Last offseason, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban certainly could have splurged on multi-year contracts just as the deep-pocketed Brooklyn Nets did, but instead Cuban chose door No. 2: sign one-year deals and preserve long-term cap space. This was a reasonable, if unpopular, counter to the increasingly restrictive and punitive luxury tax of the new CBA.

Now we'll see if the conservative approach pays off. Judging by the Mavericks' strong ratings in the Management and Money categories (fifth and first, respectively), we trust that Cuban will end up looking smart in the end by clearing the books and positioning Dallas in the thick of free agency talk, including the potential Dwight Howard and Chris Paul sweepstakes this summer.

The Mavericks are an attractive market, stars tend to love playing for Cuban and there's a bona fide star on the roster in Dirk Nowitzki. If the Mavericks strike out this time around, they'll likely swing again in the blockbuster summer of 2014.

The all-or-nothing approach might not win over your typical fan base, which demands a playoff appearance every season, but the Mavericks have bought a little patience by winning the 2011 title. As 2012-13 showed, they can win with one-year stopgaps, but something tells us the Mavericks will be fishing for something much bigger this time around. Put it this way: Don't expect the Mavericks to have a bottom-10 roster for long.

-- Tom Haberstroh

(Previous rank: 6)
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#15 J.R., May 30, 2013
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Charlotte has had so many high draft picks and they have no future. So sad.

#16 tallanvor, May 30, 2013
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Holy ****.

Only behind OKC/MIA. I don't think we can cry about not getting respect from ESPN anymore.

#17 rolyat93, May 30, 2013
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Awesome. Kevin Pelton knows his stuff. Incredibly smart guy. Love seeing these types of articles.

#18 Convictedstupid, May 30, 2013

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edit: nvmd

#19 fallenphoenix, May 30, 2013
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Pieman2005 said: ↑

GSW future isn't as bright as I used to think it was. For some reason I thought Curry was 21.. not that he's TOO much older, just not as young as I thought. I don't think Klay has as much potential as we think. And their cap situation isn't too great
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I don't think there's a more overrated player on the planet than Klay Thompson. The love affair folks have with him blows my mind.

When given major minutes, he became an inefficient chucker. PER of 12.7, dipped to 10.3 in the playoffs. Barely over 40% shooting, TS% of 53, doesn't rebound despite his height, doesn't pass. Guy makes Monta Ellis look like an efficient, well-rounded player by comparison. And it's not as if he was projected to be an elite talent... 11th in a mediocre draft is fairly blah.

Thompson does have deep range (which is "sexy" to watch) and plays alongside a stud in Curry, and I think those factors make people want to believe that it's a great backcourt. In reality, he's a glorified Carlos Delfino. Anyone seeing him as a cornerstone-type player is sorely mistaken.

#20 The Cat, May 30, 2013

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