This has been plaguing me. Right after the season ended reports came out that the Rockets were intending to bring back their stars for one more year and then we'd see. Then the reports of concern started from Harden/Westbrook about the direction of the team. Then Daryl Morey left. At the press conference, Stone and Silas both hammered away about this being a win now situation. Then throughout the FA period the Rockets basically added youth, targeted picks and only pursued a guy like Boogie on a non-guaranteed deal. They didn't really pursue any veterans. Then the report came out that if the Rockets found a trade they liked for Harden they would pivot to a rebuild. That last one really puzzled me. Why? If they trade Harden to Philly (for example) for Simmons+, is that a rebuild scenario? No you aren't as good, but you'd have Wall/Gordon/House/Simmons/Wood plus Boogie on the bench...that isn't a rebuilding team. Then it hit me. Have we missed it all along? Is it possible that Tilman has already made the decision to teardown after this year no matter what? Did Morey have a conversation with Harden about his extension, Harden wanted to know what the long term situation is and Daryl couldn't commit to him that they'd add long term money this offseason and go all in? I am thinking it's plausible that Tilman wants to reboot the roster younger and cheaper and that nothing was going to change that. It makes sense to me. Why did Harden/Westbrook start leaking stories about not being sure the team was committed to being win now?
...but the team is obviously committed to winning now. They had their best off-season in years. Went out of their way to maneuver to have it happen as well.
They added 1 player on a long term deal and he was in his 20s. The Boogie thing is a flyer. Westbrook for Wall and a pick may work out but that's not really a "win now" move as much as it was a swapping one unhappy guy for another and getting a pick out of it. But regardless, I'm not suggesting they are rebuilding this offseason. I suggested they wouldn't commit beyond this year.
I think after the Wood signing they had very little room to maneuver so they can only go for minimum signings. And Harden and Westbrook not committing to the team long term really made it tough for Stone to persuade veteran FA to come here. If they were so determined about rebuilding next year I don’t think they would have taken on Wall’s contract.
FWIW I have been wondering the same thing. If you remember there were some people that follow the Rockets in the media that made the point that Tilman was not going to be paying the last year of the contracts of Harden and Westbrook. I thought that was a little odd, as they didn't posture it as an opinion but as a fact. Then you look at the loss of MDA and Morey and you wonder if the fact a reboot was coming quickly played a part in their decisions to move on. Also don't forget the comment from Fertitta that he soon wants the culture and attitude of the team and organization to reflect him personal culture and attitude. I think the Rockets decision to sign people like Wood was all about flexibility to pivot either direction.
I also don’t believe Tilman is the type of owners that only cares about money. He may be broke but I watched his press conference when he bought the team and from I saw I believe he is a real Rockets fan. He has a passion for basketball. I bet he hates losing too.
Fertitta has long been a Rockets fan and he cares quite a bit about his reputation in Houston......... but he also loves money.
So I finally watched Season 1 of Fargo and have new found respect for your username... lol... psycho! I think the trade of Covington might be an indication of not win now.... I know it became necessary to secure Wood (Got wood!?!), but I think other maneuvers could have been made (but that is from the outside trying to look in)
They'll probably do some Trial by fire, rebuild while still being good because Silas is that good IMO. You contend for the playoffs with Wall, Young star plus pieces, Wood, Cousins and possibly Ego. I do not think they wanted it because why propose the 50 million deal extension then? WB was gone either way, Covington was the most tradable asset at that moment. Plan B was in place.
Did the WB camp really leak that though? He only stated he wanted to play his brand of ball hogging ways.
but trading your two star players sounds like rebuilding to me and letting your star player in Harden punk them into forcing a trade when they can just simply say not this year
Not only is it plausible, it's frankly implausible for it not to be a consideration for a highly leveraged owner with millions of dollars of investment in sitdown large capacity restaurants, hotels, casinos going down the drain with every passing moment to decide "hey tanking and rookie deals are pretty cheap and there's no fans anyway and this current crew hit its peak 2 years ago, so....."
Yup, this is it. This is what's happening. I can't unsee it. Every move in the Tilman era points to this, as do the reactionary moves from people like Morey, MDA, Harden, Westbrook, etc. The sheer speed at which it's all unraveled is what leads me to believe that none of this is an accident. This is Tilman's vision.
Wood is the best free-agent signing we've had since... EG possibly (though I think Wood could already be better with a much higher ceiling). Before that, who knows. Not really sure where this idea is coming from.
Who knows. The fatal flaw was trading WB for John Wall instead of taking back Nick Batum's contract plus a crappy first round pick (if that type of package was available).
If the Rockets were thinking rebuild, they wouldn't have traded Westbrook for Wall but instead gotten more picks and more expiring contracts back. Also why bother signing Cousins if you are thinking you are going to gut the team anyway? And why say you want Kyrie for Harden if you are thinking rebuild? I think most likely Morey realized the owner was too involved and he didn't agree with his philosophy. And Tilman wouldn't spend 2.2B on a team that he was going to gut and rebuild and thus LOWER its value. That makes no business sense. Staying under the LT is one thing, gutting is a whole other.
Rebuild vs Retool. Certainly an interesting debate. As OP pointed out, Woj reported the Rockets plan to *rebuild* after a Harden trade. Does this mean that in a Harden-Philly trade, Simmons is going to a third team? Do we then flip Christian Wood at the deadline after he puts up monster numbers to get even younger + more picks? Or do we just *retool* by pairing Simmons with Wood. That’s still a competitive team that can make the playoffs.
