2011-2012 Finish: 32-34

Season Highlight
For a team that didn’t make the playoffs, Houston sure tried hard to get into the postseason. They started the season 15-8 and led the Western Conference at one point. The highlight of the season would be when they were in the top 5 in power rankings.


Season Lowlight
Going 4-15 at one point in the season really hurt their playoff chances. But the big lowlight for the Rockets was the retirement of Yao Ming. Houston had an elite C when he was healthy, but his body could no longer stand the punishment, so Yao retired and left Houston high and dry. .


Best Trade
Rockets trade Jonas Valanciunas to GS for Channing Frye and two 2nd rounders. Frye became the starter in Houston and was key to disrupting opposing defenses by stretching the court with his outside shooting. He averaged double digits and got over 6 boards a game. This is only the best trade now, but may be the worst in the future, depending on if Jonas pans out in the NBA and Frye’s heart condition.


Worst Trade
Rockets send Shawn Marion, Jonas Jerebko and Eduardo Najera to Phoenix for Jan Vesely, ZaZa Pachulia and Yi Jianlian. Marion led team in rebounds and +/- while contributing around 15 a game before he was traded. Jerebko was 2nd in rebounding on the team. Yi came on and scored 11.8 with over 7 boards per, but the other 2 averaged around 2.5 or less points per contest. If Vesely gets a feel for the pro game, he may blossom in later years, but this was a playoff bound team before that trade.


Other Notable Trades
DJ White for a 2nd rounder – very good trade getting a solid contributor for a 2nd rounder, many of which don’t make it into the NLL
Wesley Johnson and a 1st rounder for Beaubois, Jerebko and a 2nd rounder – Somewhat of a reach here, Beaubois and Jerebko both have potential, but it has been largely unreached. Wes is in same category, but with more athleticism and a 1st rounder to boot, not a good move.

Derek Fisher for skittles(3 GM pts) – Good move getting a serviceable backup for 3 GM pts.
Baron Davis for Maurice Evans and 15 GM pts - This may seem like a bad move on paper, but Davis is injury prone and only played in about 30% of games last year. Evans helps as a SG backup with loss of Wesley and some GM pts to boot.


Best FA Signing
Rashard Lewis – Houston had money to burn and cap to fill. However, the big negative was that Lewis got hurt 4 games into his NLL season and was in suits on the bench the rest of the year. He did average 18.5 in 4 games, which amounts to $184,210 per point over that span.


Worst FA Signing
Every other FA Houston signed. Most didn’t stay on the team long, but the few that did rarely contributed with any consistency.


Star
Rodney Stuckey – Led team in points per, assists and steals. Also rebounded exceptionally well for a PG. Stuckey earned every penny of his salary. He will be the floor general next year, but who will he be leading?


Surprise
Terrence Williams – At the height of the Rockets surprising winning streaks, T Will was the spark. His play off the bench was key. He was 3rd on the team in scoring and often contributed in other stats. He will be sorely missed if they can’t get him back in red and white.


Goat
Rashard Lewis – Expected to be that last piece to take Houston into the playoffs, Lewis only played 4 games and earned his paycheck on the sidelines as the most expensive cheerleader in Rockets history.


Draft Report Card
Khris Middleton – A 6’8 SF with lots of questions. Khris was hurt much of last year and it was a shock he entered the draft. He has some uncommon skill sets for his size, but his inability to stop and shoot and his inconsistency finishing in the lane are early red flags.
Furkan Ademir – Not expected to leave overseas to play in the NBA this season, so who really knows?
Grade: C-


Looking to the Future
Seven players on the returning roster and only 1 is over 29. Some good young prospects and players entering their prime, but having to get 5 more players and 4 potentially need to be starters( Houston fell out of favor with Frye as a starting C, so we expect to see them try to get a starter in FA) is not a good sign. Houston will try to resign a few of their departing players, but they lack any real star power. If the GM can keep getting the most out of his team like last year, they could be in the fight to sneak into the playoffs as the 8th seed, but with a lackluster draft this season and no real sense of continuity for returning players, they will probably be participating in the lottery.

Upcoming Free Agents
Yi Jianlian – He became a fixture as the season progressed for Houston. Resign him and make him your starting PF!
Maurice Evans – Defensive stopper with a decent three ball. He can be a good role player that is affordable for a team that needs to coax a big time player down south.
Jodie Meeks – Houston has already made a qualifying offer to Jodie. If he signs with the Rockets, he will probably be the starting SG. Great outside range and good shooter overall, but a defensive liability
DJ White – undersized workhorse. Houston would be smart to keep him in the fold.
Manny Harris – expendable. Yet to show any sign of greatness and can’t contribute more than the SG higher up this list.
Derek Fisher – Already good with Beaubois and Stuckey, best to let Fish walk.
Terrence Williams – If Twill finds himself on an NBA roster, he has shown he is a potential 6th man of the year in the NLL!
Rashard Lewis – Depending on his contract this year, he could be worth saving a roster spot for. Lewis has never regained form after leaving Orlando, but he has always been an offensive juggernaut.