Oct 2, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone smiles before the preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Houston Rockets Earn Great Offseason Grade

Originally posted on Houston Rockets on SI
By Alec Elijah | Last updated Jul 28, 2025 11:22 PM ET

The Houston Rockets may have had the best offseason by any NBA team this summer, adding players like Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela to their loaded young roster. Houston also found a way to extend Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr., not to mention the team kept veteran big man Steven Adams from testing free agency by re-signing the center, keeping a key piece for the Rockets.

Plenty of insiders and writers believe that the moves general manager Rafael Stone has made for Houston this summer have put them in the driver's seat to contend for an NBA championship in the near future.

In ESPN’s offseason grades article, the Rockets received an A

“No one did more to improve its chances” at winning a championship than Houston did, per @kpelton, and landed Kevin Durant “without sacrificing depth”

Houston was one of only two teams to get an A, so can’t complain pic.twitter.com/bcotVdhSco
— SleeperRockets (@SleeperRockets) July 28, 2025

ESPN writer Kevin Pelton would chime in on the Rockets' success this summer, awarding Houston with one of the two A grades on his NBA offseason grades.

"No team did more to improve its chances at the 2026 title than the Rockets, who added two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant without sacrificing depth in the process. Give Houston credit for pouncing at a reasonable trade for Durant, then using a team-friendly contract for Fred VanVleet (two years, $50 million) to access the non-taxpayer midlevel exception. That allowed the Rockets to add proven 3-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith to help replace departed Dillon Brooks," said Pelton.

The only other team to earn an A grade from Pelton was the Atlanta Hawks, with the Denver Nuggets not far off with an A- grade themselves.

After signing Josh Okogie, the Rockets remain under the first apron by $1.2 million, per @BobbyMarks42

With how little money is left, it’s unlikely Houston will use it to sign a 15th player to the roster pic.twitter.com/v06cT3H8z9
— SleeperRockets (@SleeperRockets) July 22, 2025

With all these moves that the Rockets made this offseason, fans certainly expect the team to make a deeper playoff run than their 2024-25 season. As Kevin Durant and Houston gear up to do battle in a star-studded Western Conference this season, it will be interesting to see if their historic offseason will create championship or bust goals among the fan base.

Houston is likely done making main roster moves for the remained of the offseason. Anything else to follow is essentially for the Rockets' G League team.

This article first appeared on Houston Rockets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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