Three months after laying out five priorities for Houston, it’s time to revisit the list and see how Rafael Stone actually addressed them.
Three months ago, I laid out five priorities for the Houston Rockets after their first-round playoff exit. The goal was fairly simple: take advantage of the Kevin Durant window without getting reckless enough to shorten it.
Now that Houston’s offseason has mostly taken shape, I’m ready to check my work.
My first priority was protecting future financial flexibility, and Rafael Stone appears to have shared that concern. The Rockets added Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanović without unloading a collection of premium draft assets or committing themselves to another massive long-term contract.
Houston also made the much more important investment in Tari Eason, retaining the 25-year-old on a five-year, $81 million deal. Keeping Eason around while making targeted veteran additions is about as close as Stone could get to balancing the present with the future.
I also wanted the Rockets to continue developing Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith Jr. This one gets an incomplete for now.
Smith remains firmly embedded in Houston’s plans after signing his five-year extension last summer. Sheppard’s situation is more complicated. Adding Smart, Bogdanović and No. 31 pick Bruce Thornton creates an awfully crowded backcourt, and meaningful minutes will have to be earned.
My third priority was retaining the right veteran depth. The front office took that idea in a slightly different direction.
Josh Okogie departed for Utah, while Dorian Finney-Smith was sent to Charlotte. Rather than relying entirely on last season’s supporting cast, Stone used the available roster space to bring in Smart and Bogdanović. I’ll give myself partial credit here because the philosophy was right, even if the names changed.
Then we get to the point guard situation.
I questioned whether Fred VanVleet represented Houston’s long-term answer at the position. VanVleet remains under contract after exercising his player option, but the Rockets clearly wanted additional options. Smart’s another experienced ballhandler, Thornton gives Houston a developmental guard, and Sheppard stays part of the equation.
So, did they solve the long-term point guard question? I’m not ready to give myself that one yet. But they certainly acknowledged it.
Finally, I begged Houston to add more reliable shooting after watching the offense struggle against the Lakers. Enter Bogdanović.
His 34.7-percent shooting from deep last season doesn’t exactly scream automatic, but his career résumé gives Houston another legitimate perimeter threat. The Rockets also added renowned shooting coach Chip Engelland, which suggests improving the offense extended beyond one roster move.
Looking back, I feel pretty good about the original list. Houston attacked most of the same weaknesses I identified in May, even when Stone found solutions I didn’t anticipate. Whether those solutions were the right ones will be decided once this roster actually takes the floor.
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