The Houston Rockets set a franchise record for wins this season, are a lock to have the MVP on their ranks (James Harden), have a strong Coach of the Year candidate, and set all sort of offensive related records, but still fell short of the Finals once again.
Mike D’Antoni has put together an incredible squad, and even though they built this roster to get past the Golden State Warriors, it just wasn’t enough without a healthy Chris Paul against the inspired Dubs.
Golden State has been the team to beat for years now and the Rockets came as close as anyone has been, so rather than just throw it all away and start over, they should already be planning ahead to the future to try and beat them next year.
Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said that they must sign Chris Paul and they want to keep Clint Capela.
Today, we’re going to let you know about the top 5 moves they should do during the summer.
5. Trade Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson had a great year the past season but constant injuries forced Houston’s hand to play without him for most of this year and truth to be told, he wasn’t needed for most of the season.
The Rockets still owe Anderson over 20 million dollars and moving that kind of deal is going to be quite tricky, but they need to clear a lot of cap space in order to be able to resign Capela and Paul.
4. Sign A Backup Point Guard
The Rockets were forced to play without Chris Paul for a major stretch of the season and even though James Harden thrived once again as a playmaker, this team lacks a guy capable of running the 2nd unit’s offense when Paul needs a breather.
Also, Gordon has been a much more effective player off the ball than as a creator, so they should try and pursue Tony Parker or Isaiah Thomas, who will both crave the possibility of a shot at a Championship.
The best case for the Rockets will be if Tony Parker wants to sign a veteran minimum this summer.
Of course, Isaiah Thomas is the option only if LeBron James decides to sign elsewhere because they didn’t fit well on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
3. Match Capela’s Contract
Clint Capela is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, meaning that he’s free to negotiate with other teams but that the Rockets have the right to match any offer he gets and have the priority to sign him.
So, considering the Suns are set to make a huge push for the young stud, they’re likely to be forced to overpay a bit for his services, but he’s been the team’s defensive anchor and has made great strides in the offensive end as well.
2. Resign Chris Paul
Losing Chris Paul for games 6 and 7 was a tremendous blow for the Houston Rockets, and they were one of the most dominant teams in the league when CP3, Harden and Capela shared the floor, so keeping him beyond this season has to be a major priority.
Paul struggled with injuries all season long and will likely have to settle for a major pay cut even if the team clears space by trading Ryan Anderson because the primary target for the Houston Rockets will be LeBron James.
According to Marc Stein, Chris Paul has already begun recruiting LeBron James to Houston.
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1. Sign LeBron James
If the Rockets trade Anderson, they’re likely to have around 43 million dollars to spend this season, but that won’t be enough to keep Capela and Paul and also sign LeBron, so Eric Gordon or PJ Tucker could be traded this summer if the Rockets sign LeBron James.
According to SB Nation, LeBron James to the Rockets would be complicated and they have 4 ways to sign the best player in the league.
In order to land James, the most likely scenario would be to do a sign and trade scenario, providing the King with a huge shot to beat the Warriors and take back the Rockets to their former glory days.
