2016-17 Finish: 38-44

 

Season Highlight:

 

The ending! With only a handful of weeks left in the 2017 season the Rockets were outside of the playoff picture - way outside. This was a story that shows the importance of teams being "mathematically eliminated". They stormed back, made the playoffs as the 8 seed via a three-way tie breaker, and brought the would-be Champion Spurs to the brink of elimination in the first round. GM Vitticus admittedly struggled out of the gate to get the coaching staff and players in the right place - but once he figured out which levers to pull, it was pretty amazing to watch.

 

Season Lowlight:

 

This offseason. Some consideration was given to some of the early weeks of the year, that saw fans calling for the rookie GM's head due to lack of success and lack of changes due to lack of success - but the team got through that. Now they're faced with another set of challenges attempting to rain on the late season optimism. Isaiah Thomas is nursing a nasty injury without a lot of clarity, nobody knows when he'll be back and at what level. Gordon Hayward is reportedly interested in finding his way out of Houston and will occupy all of the resources that could be dedicated to improving the team, just to convince him to come back. It's very possible that we see the Rockets with their 3-headed monster of Thomas, Hayward, and Whiteside this season - but this offseason hasn't made it easy on the Rockets' front office.

 

Best/Worst Trade:

 

Incoming - Cole Aldrich, Dion Waiters, Tim Frazier, and Jonas Jerebko

Outgoing - Enes Kanter, Shabazz Napier, Paul Pierce, and 2nd-Rounder (Hou)

 

Confident in their core, the team only made two trades the entire season - and they were on the same day and part of the same big deal... so I can't really choose a best/worst. Until late in the season, the front office really could have been attacked by fans for lack of activity on the trade front - but with their late season push, their confidence in the Hayward/Whiteside/Thomas trio was restored. If you ignore the noise, this really comes down to Dion Waiters for Enes Kanter. It's hard to find two more polarizing talents... they both have amazingly good moments and also some embarrassing ones. Personally, I'm taking Kanter over Waiters due to Waiters' new contract size and that despite Kanter's shortcomings, he at least provides a consistent product. That said - it's hard to pay big money to a center when you already have another star player at that position, and Waiters brings a more needed skillset on this Rockets team. And after this trade, they really got going with Waiters around - so it's hard to question the result.

 

Best FA Signing:

 

It's only been a year since Spudspace's surprising switch from Houston to Minnesota after free agency day. He seemed to execute the plan he was after - being able to bring back Whiteside and Afflalo and bringing in a bit more help in Al Jefferson. Re-upping with Whiteside was easily the biggest move in this whole thing, it's easy to forget that some saw it as in doubt not too much over a year ago.

 

Worst FA Signing:

 

Arron Afflalo was the other big resigning from last year. Bringing him back was very much in question, to the point that he initially declined to resign with the Rockets and Spudspace went out and won him back on the open market. When it happened, this was really seen as bringing back the last big piece of their starting lineup - a versatile guard with no major weaknesses. However, 2016/2017 was a rough year for Afflalo - he fell off more than you usually see a healthy player, scoring cutting in half (16 to 8ppg), losing his starting role, and falling out of the core of the team. Luckily for the Rockets, the second year of his contract was not guaranteed and they'll be able to let him walk this offseason with no long-term damage done.

 

Star:

 

Gordon Hayward - Hayward, like the Rockets, started off a bit cold but got it going late. He lead the team in two very important things - points/game and games played. He was also amongst their leaders in rebounds and assists. This was a tough choice, as any of their 3 key players make a strong case for this award - but Hayward had the best all-around year.

 

Surprise:

Not a player - but possibility even more surprising than their late season comeback, the first 75% of the season was potentially even more surprising. This team has a great wing, a great big, and a great point guard. In the early season, they even had Enes Kanter as well. Kanter and Whiteside, in a year where rebounding bigs with a bit of scoring touch were completely dominant should have been plenty to keep them in the playoff picture all season long. It will never be known what internal issues were causing problems, but it was good to see them move past them.

 

Goat:

Arron Afflalo - This is why he was their worst free agent signing. The Rockets were heading into the season and really just needed Afflalo to be good enough at starting shooting guard to provide decent defense and space the floor a bit as the fifth option. He failed badly enough that they went out and traded Kanter for Waiters in order to fill almost the exact same role.

 

Draft Report Card:

 

Incomplete - Spudspace loved to deal picks for impact players - and I believe this first rounder went into the deal to bring in Whiteside. They also traded their second rounder in their one trade this year.

 

Looking to the Future:

 

I think it still looks pretty bright. Personally, I'm guessing that Thomas will make a full recovery and still be a 2nd tier point guard for at least a couple more years. I'm also betting that Gordon and Dion are both back with the Rockets when the dust settles - keeping their very solid core together. The problem for them has been, and continues to be, that after their top 4, it drops off pretty badly. They can help this along by bringing Dion off of the bench, but then they're starting a couple of guys that maybe shouldn't even be in the rotation on a contending team. They may need to diversify a bit by flipping one of their core for multiple players, because they don't have the money to bring in much outside help in free agency. They do have their own pick in 2018 in addition to a potentially valuable Wizards pick. Things are looking pretty good in Houston, but these next few months are where we see if Vitticus has the chops to run a top-flight organization.

 

Upcoming Free Agents:

 

Gordon Hayward - It's hard to envision the Rockets allowing Hayward to even sniff other teams - but he's an unrestricted free agent and seems hell bent on doing so. I have no doubt that they'll put every ounce of energy into bringing him back, regardless of cost or impact. Their future really hinges upon this more than anything else this upcoming season - including Isaiah's health.

 

DeAndre Liggins - Liggins may not even find his way back into the league. He started for Houston, but it was more due to circumstance than skill. He may have to look to another league to find a job instead of another team.

 

Dion Waiters - Waiters enjoyed his time with the Rockets and may have actually found a home. There's no way Vitticus committed to that trade without an idea of bringing him back for the long term - Waiters is a Rocket and will stick.

 

Dante Cunningham - Bringing Cunningham, an underrated signing last season, back would actually be pretty big for Houston. Nobody needs depth at the forward spots more than Houston and it looks like Dante understands that - and may even cut them a pretty solid hometown discount to stick around.

 

Jonas Jerebko - I assume they saw something in him when they traded for him this season and it seems like they need depth. It seems like it would be a decent fit, but it looks like he'll look around a bit before making a decision.

 

Quinn Cook - He'll just look for whatever opportunity he can find - that most likely won't be on the Rockets, as point guard is their deepest position.

 

Arron Afflalo - Just cut your losses and be done with him. He may cling on with a contending team to be a bench role player, but he's soured enough on his bad year in Houston that he'll prefer to find that elsewhere.

 

Daniel Ochefu - Looks to be back in order to round out the bench. Not much reason not to keep him around - he's young and has a bit of potential.