Houston, We (Still) Have Some Problems

Coming off of a truly embarrassing season that saw head coach Stephen Silas completely lose his young locker room while his Houston Rockets squad plummeted to yet another abysmal finish at 22-60, Houston finally has a sense of optimism sweeping through its fanbase after a flashy offseason.

The Rockets hired former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka to take the reins of their young roster, bringing more of a no-nonsense approach to Houston than his predecessor. I loved Udoka’s hiring in a vacuum, especially with some of the maturity concerns that surrounded Houston’s young core last season, but with some time separated from Udoka’s arrival, I still have a few concerns.

The biggest concern I have is how well this team is going to receive Udoka’s coaching style. In Boston, he was somebody that told it like it is. If Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown was having a bad night, he’d let them know in game and comment about it in a press conference. If the Celtics came out with little energy or emotion, he would pose the question, “Will you stop playing like assholes?” No seriously, he actually did that.

After some growing pains, the Celtics rallied around their first-year coach en route to a Finals appearance. The question is, will Houston’s young stars do the same? We saw examples of some of the team’s younger guys not being receptive to Silas’ coaching, and I don’t think that will fly under Udoka.

Now on to the team’s additions on the court.

The Rockets absolutely killed the draft with the selections of Amen Thompson (4th overall) and Cam Whitmore (20th overall). Seriously, I have no notes on the direction Houston went here, securing quite possibly the steal of the draft in Whitmore and an instant contributor in Thompson.

Moving into free agency and the trade market, I’m a little unsure of what the strategy was outside of “we have cap space, let’s burn some money.”

I’m not a huge Fred VanVleet guy, especially for the maximum, but I understand the rationale in signing him. He’s a veteran presence that can provide a calming presence for an offense that tended to get wound up or sped up last season. Though, VanVleet is coming off one of the most inefficient seasons of his career, in which he averaged 19.3 points per game on an effective field goal percentage of 48.6 percent, his lowest total since his rookie season.

Now, I don’t believe VanVleet will fit in as the top scoring option — that spot is reserved for Jalen Green — and that actually makes me feel better about this signing. I think having VanVleet open the floor up for Green with his expanding passing ability — he averaged a career-best 7.2 assists to just 2.0 turnovers last season — will allow Houston’s offense to run a little smoother. For the most part, though, I don’t love VanVleet on the 9-figure contract that brought him in on.

So…I don’t hate the addition of Dillon Brooks, I’m just not sure about the contract. Brooks gives the Rockets an elite-level perimeter defender, as well as an “alpha dog” presence in the locker room. Now, obviously, there are some issues with Brooks, especially with his limited offensive game and poor shot selection, to go along with his eccentric personality, but I actually think the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to Brooks.

However, a four-year, $80 million contract for Brooks is quite an overpay for a player of his caliber. We’ll see if he lives up to the billing, but it will certainly be an uphill climb.

I have similar feelings regarding the addition of Jock Landale, in that I really like what he brings to the floor for the Rockets, but $32 million across four seasons gives me some pause.

I love the addition of Jeff Green on a one-year deal for this team, and it’s really only signing that I have no issues with. He is the perfect veteran presence that this team needs, and coming off a championship run with the Nuggets, he can provide those young guys with valuable lessons that they can use on and off the court. He can still hoop too.

One final note, I absolutely hate the Kenyon Martin Jr. trade. In a vacuum, it makes sense. Houston cleared up a logjam at the forward spots, but Martin was coming off a really promising season in which he averaged a career-best 12.7 points while shooting 56.9 percent from the field. He’s a versatile offensive presence that was showed strides on the glass and in his playmaking abilities last season. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to continue to grow with the Los Angeles Clippers, while the Rockets netted a pair of second-round picks in the process.

All-in-all, I believe Houston took a baby step in the right direction with this offseason, especially through its coaching hire and draft selections, though the Rockets’ penchant to hand out high-value contracts could potentially come back to bite them in the ass. Only time will tell.