WILD STUFF
How Houston Rockets are uniquely positioned after crazy NBA trade deadline
Feb 9, 2023, 5:46 pm
What a turn of events! Composite image by Brandon Strange.
The Houston Rockets, like much of the NBA landscape in the past 24 hours, has completely changed its roster makeup as it heads toward the final months of the regular season.
Houston sent long-time veteran Eric Gordon to the Los Angeles Clippers, traded away Garrison Mathews and Bruno Fernando, had a reunion with John Wall, sort of, and then added a plethora of draft picks, including two future second-round picks and an intriguing right to a pick swap using Milwaukee’s first-round draft pick that could be switched out with the Clippers’ first-round draft pick in the 2023 draft.
Above it all, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone is grinning from ear-to-ear following the complete implosion of the Brooklyn Nets over the past week.
First Kyrie Irving went to Dallas and then the Nets sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix, meaning Houston is in prime position to have numerous high first-round picks in 2024, 2025 in a potential swap, 2026, and 2027 in another potential swap.
The Rockets also have the option to swap first-round picks with the Nets this year, but Houston will likely end the season with the higher one when it is all said and done, regardless of the Nets’ close to the season.
Why is this such great news for the Rockets? Because they have plenty of capital to get back to competitiveness again, and quite frankly, relevance.
Houston has used its last two first-round draft picks in Jalen Green and Jabari Smith. Arguably the Rockets’ best player is also a first-round draft pick they got in 2021 in Alperen Şengün. They are in great position to once again finish with a top three pick in this year’s draft, and this season, finishing top two likely means Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson.
While in theory, Houston could hold on to all the draft picks and have a chance to select the top talent in the coming drafts, the reality is that the Rockets just secured a deep budget to rebuild the team.
Outside of Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, Jabari Smith and Jae’Sean Tate, no one on the current Rockets roster is owed more than $6.5 million next season. While Porter is on the books for $15.86 million guaranteed in 2023-24, his contract is more than movable considering he only has guaranteed money for that season, and the Rockets have all the draft picks they can attach to entice a team to take him if needed.
Houston has all the resources it needs to be able to jump at the next time a disgruntled star demands a trade, similar to Donovan Mitchell this past offseason. If the Philadelphia 76ers’ season goes awry, a James Harden reunion could be in the works too, according to a report earlier in the season from Adrian Wojnarowski.
While Harden himself is not enough anymore to move the needle for the Rockets back to contention, Houston’s draft capital can help surround the team with key pieces to quickly turn the landscape around in what could be a team headlined by three top three draft picks.
With players like Khris Middleton, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and Jaylen Brown potentially hitting the free agency market in the next two offseasons as well, having flexibility is key for any team seeking to lure them away, and that is exactly what the Rockets have with the Nets’ implosion.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.