Rockets Land Promising Offseason Grade Despite Inactivity

Is the grade warranted?

Oct 29, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone watches during practice before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets surprised everyone in 2023-24.

Not only did they top the forecasted win total of 31.5, they crushed it, securing 41 wins. And they pulled off the feat in spite of a litany of injuries to key players.

Internally, they view themselves as just one marquee player away from legitimately contending in the Western Conference, hence the continued interest in top-level players across the league. The franchise was expected to explore trades this offseason, as they sought to bolster their roster.

However, they ultimately stood pat, deciding to instead run it back (minus Reggie Bullock), prompting an offseason grade of a B- from Michael Saenz of Sir Charles in Charge. The reasoning is below:

"If you had asked me before the offseason, I would've predicted the Houston Rockets to be one of the most aggressive teams to make a win-now move. However, it's almost as if the opposite happened. The only significant addition the Rockets made this summer was drafting Reed Sheppard in the 2024 NBA Draft. Aside from that move, it's been all crickets for the Rockets. Houston could be patiently waiting for another big move to come to fruition but it's looking more and more like they're going to head into the season with roughly the same roster from last season.

Even though that may not be a huge issue considering they did take a big step forward this past season, winning 19 more games than the previous year, it's hard to envision this roster competing in the deep Western Conference.

Maybe the Rockets will get enough internal development that they could take another small step forward and compete for a spot in the Play-In Tournament. at this point, that looks like their ceiling heading into the new year."

The Rockets' major acquisition came by way of the draft, as they were essentially gifted Kentucky's Reed Sheppard via the draft lottery. The sharpshooting guard has already drawn comparisons to Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, which would be a major addition if that comparison materializes.

The good thing is that the season is right around the corner, meaning we won't have to wait too long to see if the offseason moves helped the team improve.

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