Rockets stood pat at the deadline. Did GM Rafael Stone miss opportunities to address key weaknesses and boost playoff hopes?
At this time of the year, it can be hard to keep track of what players are on each roster. Contracts are constantly getting tossed around from team to team, making it an exciting, but confusing week in every season.
For better or worse, Rockets fans won’t have to learn any new players, or say goodbye to any current players this time around.
GM, Rafael Stone didn’t pull the trigger on any moves before the trade deadline yesterday. That came as a shock to many, myself included.
With Fred VanVleet missing this season, the lack of point guard depth has been apparent since game one. After Steven Adams went down, a 6’11” hole was left in the rotation as well. There were expectations to fill at least one of those holes.
It’s understandable to not trade any core pieces, but after seeing how little the Knicks gave up to get Jose Alvarado, it is a little disappointing. Houston could’ve offered a similar deal to land Alvarado, per Roundtable.
The 76ers were looking to shed salary, ultimately trading two players away without taking any money back. It’s hard to imagine Philadelphia wouldn’t accept an offer for Andre Drummond, had Houston made the call.
After no trades were made, the buyout market and other free agents are still viable options until March 1st. I'd hope there's plans to still make improvements to the roster, but if no signing is made, it feels safe to expect another first round exit.
Perhaps that's something the front office is okay with, though, as Rafael Stone said, "maybe it's just not our year," when discussing the trade deadline with media. Not the level of optimism Rockets fans wanted to hear, but it's the reality we're in.