House of Houston
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Houston Rockets: Big Changes Are Coming

By James D'Elia

Mar 23, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center. The Jazz won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center. The Jazz won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 4, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) talks with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) talks with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /

Fans have turned on the players, especially Dwight Howard, as his decline has many Rockets fans calling for his head.

Here’s an example:

They key players from last season have all been disappointing and Morey will be ruthless in dealing them this off season.

Corey Brewer, Terrence Jones, Jason Terry, Josh Smith and Howard will not be Rockets next season and I can guarantee that. The sad part is they were the future core of this Rockets’ team and were meant to ensure this team was a contender for years to come.

If we were to project a depth chart at the end of this season before off season acquisitions it would look like this:

PG: Patrick Beverley

SG: Harden, K.J. McDaniels

SF:  Trevor Ariza, Sam Dekker

PF:  Donatas Motiejunas, Michael Beasley and Montrezl Harrell

C:  Clint Capela

Here are some reasons why the players listed below will not return next season:

  • Brewer has declined on both sides of the ball and it has gotten to the point where he is almost useless out there on the court. He contributes the occasional three and coast-to-coast from a steal; but, other than that, he is just a passenger on the floor.
  • Howard will opt-out in search of a max contract. He will most likely get it, but there is no way the Rockets can justify giving that sort of money to a declining star on a under-performing team.
  • Smith doesn’t seem to get along with J.B. Bickerstaff. When he was re-acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers, he put up a lot of three point shots, and Bickerstaff was obviously angry about it.  As a result, he has been pushed to the back of the bench since then and I doubt he makes a comeback to this team unless a new coach chooses to resurrect him.
  • Terry seems to be at odds with this group.  He is usually the one to go on the record about the team’s ongoing chemistry issues, coaching problems, etc.   He seems so disheartened about this team’s dismal title hopes that he is unlikely to hang around at the golden age of 38-years-old.
  • Jones. The less said the better.  He may carve out a decent career somewhere else but he suffers from the weirdest injuries ever and definitely won’t be a Rocket next year.

Also I doubt the team will exercise Andrew Goudelock‘s team option as he seems to just be a contingency plan in case Terry burns out from all the extra minutes.

Next: CLICK HERE: What Three Things The Rockets Need To Rebuild?

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