Yeah the thing is the demise was set in motion with the original Westbrook trade. The current reality was inevitable. They team was critically low on assets leading into this season, and they did a decent job (B/B+ I guess) on restocking the cupboard, though it really depends on where the picks land. A bunch of late first rounders are only good if they can be packaged for a better pick or a legitimate star-potential player -- and lately it seems teams have gotten wise to knowing that mid-to-low first rounders are unsavory, hence the increase in lottery protection since Billy King ruined the Nets. The disappointing thing about yesterday's trade was it felt like the return should have been better, same with the Harden trade. That the Rockets couldn't get another first rounder (not a swap, a no-strings-attached or lightly-protected first round pick) is a disappointment. And there's already lingering disappointment, magnified by the "what if?" rumors of the hypothetical Sixers trade or acquiring Oladipo in the first place. The risk was Oladipo would play at an all-star level and the team would be playing more "even" team ball post-Harden. Obviously that was an epic fail, and everyone is to blame (Oladipo, Wall, Wood getting injured, Silas unable to connect with the players or inadequate schemes/preparation, Fertitta's potential meddling, and Stone's talent evaluation and roster construction). Realistically where is the team today with LeVert and Allen? Marginally better? Sure they could have traded either or both for additional assets, but that's not a certainty, just as Porter would have been an unlikely acquisition. The "silver lining" in all of this is the team sucked so bad they're in great position for a top pick -- but it's a major risk for it to pan out. In the end, all is well and good and the team and fanbase can move on if: The Rockets land a top pick Porter pans out into somewhat of a star Wood continues to develop And even if the Rockets lose their pick AND Porter stinks, wellp at least they have Wood as a great trade piece (he would certainly need to be traded for a better chance at a roster reset and top lottery pick). I guess this year's draft lottery will help to determine whether the rebuild will be 2-3 years or 4-5 years.
we could have done bit better but all in all we have a future that is still developing we just dont need to out game ourselves. Jarret Allen and Levert could have been here especially allen that was and prove to be a costly mistake unless of course Allen has some kind of career ending injury
Yeah I guess Allen could fairly be considered a miss. I see it slightly more as a wash (if Porter pans out). If Houston "missed" on Allen then Cleveland "missed" on Porter. Further if Allen expects to get a big contract, potentially one larger than Wood's, how would that play out? This is of course ignoring the rumblings that Allen will deserve a large contract and whether or not Fertitta & Co. would want to pay it.
