The Houston Rockets are playing to the level that many people thought they would this NBA season. They are currently in last place in the Western Conference with a record of 9-21, which isn’t too shocking considering that Eric Gordon is the only player in their rotation with more than three years of experience in the NBA.
This season is once again all about development for the Rockets, as they want to see progress from their young core. Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun, and Jabari Smith Jr. make up what the franchise hopes is their foundation for years to come. All have shown signs thus far this season and should only improve as they gain more experience.
Eventually, the Rockets will be in the market for established veterans to help push their rebuild to the next stage. Usually, being competitive during the regular season is a required step, but could Houston skip that and become buyers in free agency as soon as 2023?
During a recent episode of “Howdy Partners,” a podcast hosted by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon with guest Kirk Goldberry, also of ESPN, they discussed the future of the teams currently rebuilding in the Western Conference.
The Rockets are one of those teams, and unlike the other franchises rebuilding, they are a destination for free agents. Is there a chance that James Harden could return to them as a free agent? MacMahon touched on it in the podcast:
“They’ve got like, $60 million, potentially, in cap space this summer. This is not Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, or San Antonio. This is Houston, a potentially desirable market for free agents.
“It will be fascinating to see how free agency plays out. You know how the league works. There’s already been a lot of gossip and dot-connecting, ‘Hey, if things don’t work out in Philly, keep an eye out on James Harden back to Houston.’
I think ‘keep an eye out on that’ is certainly fair. First, let’s see how things work out in Philadelphia, where they’re starting to play really good basketball. Also, does that make sense from a Rockets perspective?”
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When a team has that amount of cap space, they will be players in free agency whether it is signing veterans or absorbing contracts that other teams don’t want in salary dumps along with draft compensation. However, the bigger deal to be made is that Harden is far from the team’s current timeline.
It is hard to imagine Harden, who wants to compete for titles, going back to the Rockets. Even with him on the roster, Houston would be multiple moves away from truly contending in the Western Conference.
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While people are saying to keep an eye on Harden back to Houston, it just isn’t a move that makes much sense for either party.
