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How Rockets blast into free agency has reshaped Houston's roster
Jul 3, 2023, 10:52 am
The Rockets made a flurry of moves in free agency. Photo via: Wiki Commons.
The Rockets went into the 2023 free agency period with money to spend and positions they wished to fill. When you're making the transition from perennial tanker and want to be taken seriously as a playoff contender, you need better players. Whether they're drafted, signed, or traded, acquiring better talent is key. When adding veteran talent to a young team that isn't used to winning, you have to add the right kind of vets. Guys who are used to winning, that'll help change the culture. Guys who work hard and take being a pro seriously.
Out the gate, the Rockets handed out the first max contract of the free agency period, signing Fred Van Vleet to a three-year deal worth $130 million. Some will say they overpaid, but I think they paid close to fair market value for a guy who was a key cog on a title team not long ago. He was third in steals per game last season, and shoots 37% from three for his career. Add that he's a good distributor and constant professional, it's easy to see why they paid him what they did. I said a couple weeks ago that Van Vleet was a stable option whose price would go up if others were interested. They had to throw big money at him to lure him away from the only NBA home he's known.
The Dillon Brooks signing was one I was conflicted about. Sure, he can be a three and D wing, but this team has guys who can play that role. Yes, but they don't have a guy who's proven in that role. The guys they have, haven't grown to this level yet. However, Brooks wasn't welcomed back in Memphis due to his antics this postseason. Poking the bear and dodging the media after games where you performed poorly was enough for them. Include his other goofball tendencies, and it's clear why they moved on. Brooks won't be allowed to get away with things like that under Udoka. That's why I'm warming up to the idea of having him on this team. Come in, be a pro, do your job, and STFU. I'll reserve the nickname I have for him until he messes up.
“WHO?!?” That was my legit reaction to hearing Jock Landale's signing. I looked him up and realized it was the guy I saw play some okay minutes for the Suns. He's not going to stick out in any one category. What he will do is be a solid inside presence on defense. Having him playing inside in tight games down the stretch will prove valuable because he can also hit his free throws since he's a career 77% from the charity stripe. Tough mentality, doesn't need plays called for him, and the Suns actually played him over Deandre Ayton at times.
Jeff Green is a pro's pro. The guy thought his career was over at one point with a heart condition. He took time off, got healthy, and resumed his career. This past season, he was one of the key role-playing vets on a Nuggets team that won the title. Green wore a Seattle Supersonics hat to the parade because that was the team that drafted him out of Georgetown. He's a guy that knows the game and knows what it takes to be an NBA player for over ten years. I'd want a Jeff Green on any team I'm coaching, regardless of the sport.
When Ime Udoka said this, people read all sorts of things into it. One thing is for sure, they stuck with this plan. James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Zion Williamson did not fit this description. Dillon Brooks doesn't fit this description in my opinion, but they obviously feel otherwise. One of the smartest things the team did was getting a team option for Van Vleet's third year. They have to approach free agency with another boat load of cash to spend in two years when Jalen Green and other guys are eligible for rookie extensions. While Jeff Green is an older vet on a one-year deal, the other contracts aren't as outrageous as we might think. Brooks' deal can be moved, so can Landale's. They got better while maintaining flexibility. I may not agree with everything, but I understand why they did what they did. Phase Two, here they come!
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Cam Smith’s reaction to making the Astros Opening Day roster is priceless
Mar 25, 2025, 4:16 pm
It’s go time! While the Astros are not the juggernaut they were over the more than half-decade stretch from 2017 through 2022 that yielded regular seasons with 101, 103, 106, and 107 wins, four American League pennants, and two World Series Champions, as the saying goes, they ain’t dead yet. There is no superpower in the American League West the Astros need to overcome. In fact, the American League as a whole is grossly inferior to the National League. As a result, a fifth Astros’ AL title in this era is not some absurd fantasy, though it is certainly unlikely. But winning the pennant is unlikely for every AL team, so if you’re a fan of the Astros there is nothing wrong with a “Why not us?” mentality. On the other hand, the floor for the 2025 Astros is lower going into a season than it has been in almost a decade. The lineup has numerous question marks, and if the terrific trio atop the Astros’ starting rotation (Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, and Ronel Bronco) runs into injury or performance issues the Astros would have serious problems. That the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners both finish ahead of the Astros is clearly plausible. Play ball!
Astros history lives in these moments
It is simple fact that time marches on, but it is still amazing that the Astros are beginning their second quarter-century of play at what for its first two seasons was called Enron Field, then for the past 23 seasons Minute Maid Park, and now Daikin Park. That’s 25 seasons in the books, at least 26 more to come, with the Astros a few years ago having extended their lease through 2050. In non-specific order, I have twenty easily come-to-mind most spine-tingling moments at the ballpark. If you want 25 for 25 years, I leave five more to you.
Not all spine-tinglers on the home field are generated by the home team. Here are three produced by visiting players. In 2001, Barry Bonds smashed his 70th home run of the season to tie Mark McGwire’s single season Major League record. We know what went into the home run numbers of that era, but it was still jaw-dropping stuff. Bonds would finish the season with 73 homers. Game five of the 2005 National League Championship Series, with the Astros one out from winning their first ever pennant, Albert Pujols launched a Brad Lidge hanging slider that might still be airborne if not for the glass wall above the train tracks. It may be the most instantaneous crowd delirium to utter silence moment ever. It turned a 4-2 Astros’ lead into a crushing 5-4 loss. But, the next game Roy Oswalt pitched the Astros to that pennant in St. Louis. Lastly, the second game of the 2013 season, Rangers’ pitcher Yu Darvish retired the first 26 Astro batters before Marwin Gonzalez smacked a ball through Darvish’s legs up the middle for a base hit. Soooooo close to a perfect game. Only 22 perfect games have been thrown in MLB’s modern era (1900-today).
Now to Astro achievements. Fudging a bit by including Roger Clemens since it’s not for one specific moment. But the Rocket’s starts with the Astros were events. Speaking of Hall of Famers, Craig Biggio’s 3000th hit is an obvious list-maker. Jeff Kent is not a Hall of Famer but he was better in the batter’s box than any second baseman elected after Joe Morgan. Kent won game five of the 2004 NLCS with a bottom of the ninth three-run bomb to end what had been a scoreless game. Alas, the Astros would lose the next two games and the series in St. Louis. The crowd went much wilder over Kent’s homer than over Chris Burke’s series-winning homer over the Atlanta Braves in a 2005 NL Division Series. Burke’s homer came in the 18th inning, so sheer exhaustion held down the decibel level a little. A sleeper for the list occurred earlier in that same game, when Brad Ausmus of all people hit a two-out game-tying homer to get the game into extra innings.
Four no-hitters have been thrown by Union Station. Working backwards: Ronel Blanco last season, Framber Valdez in 2023, a combined job started by Aaron Sanchez in 2019, and the first in 2015 by Mike....yes, Fiers.
And now to the grandest home park moments of this Platinum Era in Astros’ history. Carlos Correa authored two of them, each in a game two of the American League Championship Series. In 2017 he doubled home Jose Altuve with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. That came off of Aroldis Chapman who shall appear once more in this column. In 2019 Correa tied the series at one win apiece with a walk-off homer. Yordan Alvarez also gets a pair of entries. You know, Yordan hit just .192 in the 2022 postseason. But talk about making your hits count. In game one of those playoffs, ALDS vs. Seattle, it was a two-out three-run walk-off blast off of Robbie Ray to give the Astros an 8-7 win. Then in the final game of those playoffs, it was a sixth inning gargantuan three-run launch to dead center turning a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead.
That leaves four moments that are 100 percent non-negotiable entries. While not dramatic (4-0 final score), the payoff warrants inclusion of the Astros winning Game seven of the 2017 ALCS over the Yankees. Similarly, while the moment of victory lacked drama (4-1 final), how could one exclude the Astros winning the World Series on home turf in 2022. Finally, for my money the two most pulsating, goosebump-inducing, viscerally exciting moments at 501 Crawford Street. In one of the most scintillating games ever played in any sport, Alex Bregman’s bottom of the 10th inning single gave the Astros’ their epic 13-12 win over the Dodgers in game five of the 2017 World Series. Then in 2019, Jose Altuve’s game six homer ended the ALCS (I warned you Aroldis).
Here’s to the new season! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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