Tilman Fertitta Listening to Front Office Has Rockets on the Right Track

Tilman Fertitta spoke recently about listening to his basketball people during the rebuild.

Nov 27, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta walks off the court during the game against the Miami Heat at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta's involvement with the Rockets goes back decades. The Galveston-born businessman has always been a huge sports fan, especially of Houston teams.

So it came as no surprise that in 1993, Tilman Fertitta put in a bid to buy the Rockets after Charlie Thomas, the owner at the time, decided to sell the team to Leslie Alexander for a reported amount of $85 million dollars. Fertitta stated that he was not too far off of the final bid.

When Alexander put the Rockets up for sale in the summer of 2017, Fertitta again put his hat in the ring to purchase them. The second time was a charm, as Fertitta's winning bid came in at $2.2 billion dollars, a professional sports record at the time.

Early on in his ownership of the Rockets, Fertitta was frequently quoted speaking on the team and making different appearances. When the James Harden era came to a screeching halt, Fertitta had a decision to make. He had to decide if he wanted to try to bring in more veterans to replace Harden or go with a full rebuild.

Going into rebuild mode usually means more losses and less interest in your team as they hover around the bottom of the standings. Less interest means less fans at the games which leads to less revenue generated. Instead of Fertitta stepping in and forcing the Rockets' front office to take a certain path, he decided to listen to his basketball people.

I think this is a big part of why the Rockets are on the right track. Not every owner is willing to listen to their basketball people.

Here Tilman talks about if he considered going with more vets earlier in the rebuild and how he listened to Rafael and his son Patrick.

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— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) September 24, 2024

As you heard in the clip, there were times during phase one of the Rockets rebuild when Fertitta considered bringing in more veterans. But instead, he listened to the advice of his General Manager, Rafael Stone, and his son, Patrick Fertitta, who works closely with Stone on daily basketball operations.

Even though the first three seasons of the rebuild saw the team at the bottom of the standings, the Rockets added multiple first-round picks, netting them one of the best young cores in the NBA.

The young talent and additions of players like Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jeff Green and Aaron Holiday helped the Rockets improve by 19 wins last season. Also by not bringing in high dollar veterans during phase one, the Rockets have given themselves more cap flexibility.

Fertitta rewarded Stone this past season with a contract extension. That extension shows that Fertitta believes the Rockets are on the right path and that he made the right decision by letting his front office take the lead the last few seasons.

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