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Houston Rockets: Team’s directive during the off season can still win a title

By Brian K. Patterson

OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 17: PJ Tucker #4, Chris Paul #3 and team owner Tilman Fertitta of the Houston Rockets celebrate after defeating the Golden State Warriors 122-121 in their NBA game at ORACLE Arena on October 17, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 17: PJ Tucker #4, Chris Paul #3 and team owner Tilman Fertitta of the Houston Rockets celebrate after defeating the Golden State Warriors 122-121 in their NBA game at ORACLE Arena on October 17, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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The Houston Rockets approach to the off season was prudent enough to still be able to win a title. Who disagrees with that? Let’s take a look and talk.

The Houston Rockets have about a week to go before the start of training camp and on the backs of all our minds is if this team is primed to compete for an NBA championship and did they do enough in the off season to uphold that mantra?

With all things considered, I’d have to say that the answer to that question is yes.  Sure, they weren’t able to sign LeBron James but was he interested in being a member of the Houston Rockets anyway?

Absolutely not — he was dead-set in joining the Los Angeles Lakers from the get-go as I think he’s already thinking about shaping his career after basketball.  With the City of Angels being the entertainment mecca of the world, there’s no question that he wants to enhance his brand.  Why not do that while playing out the last few seasons of his storied career with the Lakers, one of the most-respected franchises of all time?

But that’s just water under the bridge.  Nonetheless, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post, who has written quite a few sharp pieces on the Houston Rockets as of late, feels that the team is skimping on costs and it could cost them a title.

He feels that with the team not re-signing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute as well as signing James Ennis, Michael Carter-Williams and Carmelo Anthony to veteran’s minimum deals is like some kind of cheat code to avoid paying the luxury tax.

He also criticizes the Ryan Anderson trade — which is mind-boggling within itself — because although they freed themselves from his albatross-like contract, they had to jettison De’Anthony Melton, their second-rounder from this year’s draft.

Melton had a fine Summer League and his stock was continuing to rise among the eyes of many general managers in the Association.  But they did actually think that he was up on the block?  You never know with Daryl Morey and he shipped him out quicker than a blink of an eye just to unload his salary.

The Houston Rockets have saved $23.3 million this season with the trades and the non-signings but I don’t think it affects the overall quality of the product.  The team signed guard Chris Paul to a four-year, $160 million max deal to ensure that the anchor of the offense is solidified.  Quite honestly, as long as we have capable guards that can keep the pace of this offense frenetic, this team can and will be successful moving forward.

There are some question marks with Ennis but I think he could be a solid replacement for Ariza

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along with P.J. Tucker still in the fold.  In my opinion, I believe Ariza is starting his decline in being a top-shelf defender and his streaky-shooting in this past postseason is not enough to warrant giving him $15 million for one season.  By the way, his defensive rating fell from 104.3 in 2016-17 to 107.1 this past season.

The Rockets knew the ship was sinking and let him walk.  And with Mbah a Moute, I’m going to go with the old adage of “your best ability is your availability” and his was quite infrequent last season when he needed him the most.  Sure, injuries happen but his level of health was quite concerning to me and he was worth not re-signing either.

The teams that these guys signed with — the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers — can afford to throw money at these guys and can absorb the costs if things don’t work out.  Although their outlook is promising, nobody can expect the aforementioned to be competing for anything other than trying to qualify for the playoffs as a ultimate goal.

All in all, this team will be fine, they’ll still continue to turn heads and will definitely challenge the Golden State Warriors for the title.  Lest we not forget our acquisitions in Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss.  If we can keep Knight healthy and if Chriss can be developed into reliable big man like Clint Capela, we’ll all be laughing about Bontemps’ notion come next June.

Keith Jones still has the right stuff with his training abilities, Mike D’Antoni and the rest of the coaching staff as well as Rio Grande Valley Vipers head coach Matt Brase will work in concert to ensure the moving parts on this team are running intertwined without a hitch.

Next. Three reasons why James Harden will repeat as MVP. dark

I implore you all to keep an eye on those Western Conference standings, you’ll see the Rockets right at the top.

We’ll see.

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