NBA: Are the Houston Rockets the losers of the Offseason?

The Houston Rockets held their biggest free agent in the Free Agency, Chris Paul, but had to draw two excellent defenders in Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute. And there is still no end in sight for Clint Capela. And what do the Rockets want with Carmelo Anthony?

It’s been a good month since the Houston Rockets almost kicked the super team out of the Bay Area from the throne. Golden State staggered and staggered in the Western Conference Finals, even without Chris Paul the Rockets were leading two-digit in games 6 and 7, only they couldn’t make it across the finish line.

There remained the feeling of a missed opportunity, which may even have been unique. The 27 triples in a row in game 7 will probably be remembered for a long time to come. The poster boy was Trevor Ariza, who missed all 12 litters, but at least defensively defended himself against Kevin Durant.

The Rockets will now have to look for another KD-Stopper. Just 40 minutes after the Free Agency started, Shams Charania of Yahoo! spors reported that Ariza had joined the young, up-and-coming Phoenix Suns – $15 million for a year that the Rockets did not want to pay the 33-year-old wingman.

“Phoenix was the most aggressive team,” Ariza explained his decision at the Arizona show. “You have shown the greatest interest. You want to be appreciated, it’s completely human.” Estimated in Ariza terms means “paid” and is completely legitimate for a player whose career autumn is just around the corner, even though it is said that he won’t play for another ring.

“It hurts that we lost Trevor,” Mike D’Antoni confessed to ESPN. “We can’t replace him, but we’ll figure something out.” Houston would have liked to have kept Ariza, but if the forward had been kept busy, the luxury tax bill would have been even fatter than it will be anyway. At the moment, the Rockets are just under 6 million.

That this is the case was in principle clear last summer when Houston became the Warriors’ biggest opponent overnight with the trade for Chris Paul. The playmaker took his option and only became a free agent in 2018. In return, it was already then agreed under the table that CP3 would then receive its maximum contract.

Things changed a little in Texas, though. The long-time owner Leslie Alexander sold the franchise to the local billionaire Tilman Fertitta and there was doubt whether he was actually prepared to pay huge sums of luxury tax. In the end Paul got his Max contract on time, even if only over four instead of the full five years.

“We knew that we would have to pay the luxury tax,” explained the owner on the sidelines of the Summer League. “If you want to play for a championship, you need a lot of luck not to be in the luxury tax range. So this wasn’t a discussion for us.”

For Ariza or Luc Mbah a Moute, however, the wallet did not seem to be open. Mbah a Moute decided to go with the Clippers after a few days of waiting, as Houston probably only offered the veteran minimum (2.4 million) and not the mini midlevel exception (5.3). The Cameroonian even explained once again how much he would like to continue playing in Houston.

“Trevor and Mbah a Moute played a major role in our success last year,” said GM Daryl Morey. “It is our job to put together a new team for the coming year and we are confident. “We need our best team starting April 15th.”

But it doesn’t hurt to have a strong team ready at the start of the season. With Ariza and Mbah a Moute the Rockets lost their two best wing defenders and thus what distinguished Houston. A top 6 defense that was based on a lot of switching and seemed to be tailored to the two defensive all-rounders.

Now there is a big gap, even though P.J. Tucker was another guarantor of this defense in the long run and Gerald Green (1 year, 2.4 million) was kept favorably. But otherwise? For a long time Michael Carter-Williams was the only free agent from outside. Last season he played 4.6 points and 2.2 assists per game in Charlotte and has a career triple average of 25 percent.

On the first (and probably also on the second) look this is no reinforcement. MCW is also a great guard, not a wingman the Rockets are so desperately looking for. But the market has dried up. Restricted free agents like Rodney Hood lack cap flexibility and the good free agents have already brought their flocks to dry.

It remains the notorious residual ramp from which Houston now used James Ennis (formerly Memphis). Trevon Graham (Charlotte), Nick Young (Golden State) or James Nunnally (Fenerbahce) were associated with the Rockets. This is all solid 3 and D guys (Swaggy P excluded at times) who have never been able to prove this in the NBA playoffs. After all, they should be available for a narrow thaler.

Page 1: Leaving Ariza and Mbah a Moute ache – CP3 gets Max

Page 2: What happens to Capela? How would Melo fit?