In acquiring James Harden and Dwight Howard the past two summers, the Houston Rockets have proven to be one of the more aggressive teams during the NBA off-season. Led by the Harden/Howard duo, Houston became a high-octane offensive squad but still couldn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs. As a result, expect the usually not gun shy general manager Daryl Morey to once again look to make a major splash this off-season.
Houston Rockets (54-28 last year)
2014-15 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Dwight Howard/Omer Asik
PF: Terrence Jones/Donatas Motiejunas
SF: *Chandler Parsons/Francisco Garcia/Robert Covington
SG: James Harden/^Troy Daniels
PG: Patrick Beverley/Jeremy Lin/Isaiah Canaan
NBA Free Agents:
*F-Chandler Parsons (RFA)
^SG-Troy Daniels (TO)
SF-Jordan Hamilton (UFA)
F-Omri Casspi (UFA)
2014-15 Team Salary: approximately $70.6 million
Team Needs:
1. Make Another Big Move:
Houston is going to be linked to some of the big name available players this off-season including Carmelo Anthony. However, the Rockets are well over the salary cap so general manager, Daryl Morey must do some wheeling and dealing since free agency isn’t an option at this point.
Both Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin are scheduled to make $14.9 million this season on the final years of their contract so expect those names to be actively dangled this summer. Because of his size and ability to rebound the basketball; Asik will be easier deal since NBA teams are always in need of size.
2. Re-sign Parsons:
Chandler Parsons is a restricted free agent so the Rockets have the right to match any contract offer he signs this off-season. He is obviously a vital piece to Houston’s success and bringing him back should be a priority regardless of the price. Where things could get interesting is if the Rockets try to use Parsons as sign-and-trade bait if they feel they can land a bigger name like ‘Melo.
3. Bench Depth:
During Houston’s playoff series, McHale only went eight deep so the team needs to add some depth all across the board. Troy Daniels provided a spark with his three-point shooting but the Houston Rockets need to find another offensive weapon to bring off the bench. If Asik or Lin are dealt, Morey must plug in the holes at center and point guard as well.
OTHER NBA OFF-SEASON TEAM NEEDS PAGES:
ATLANTA HAWKS
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.