The Rockets Are No Longer Hedging Their Bets

The Houston Rockets are at the final phase of a multi-year rebuild that involved several years at the bottom of the Western Conference. Now, they are in win-now mode, hoping the addition of Kevin Durant will help the Rockets reach the Conference Finals for the first time since 2018, and the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995. 

Part of Houston's strategy to reach this point was through the draft, picking up several young, talented players to fill out the roster. As the years have gone on, the Rockets parted with young players through trades and releases, most recently trading Jalen Green to the Phoenix Suns to acquire their new superstar. 

The Rockets now have less flexibility to move on from certain players or contracts. They have shown a high level of commitment to the remaining young players like Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr.

It's reasonable to believe the Rockets will extend a similar commitment to Amen Thompson and Tari Eason as they've developed into significant players for Houston. Dorian Finney-Smith, Steven Adams, and Fred VanVleet have multi-year contract commitments that express the Rockets' belief in their ability to compete for a championship for the next several seasons.

Houston believes it has the necessary pieces to win a championship: a certified bucket-getter who can create his own shot, a distributor who can take care of the ball, elite defenders, and a deep roster of big men who can have varied skills.

Adams and Clint Capela provide quality big-man depth for the Rockets, as Houston committed to bringing in more veterans to help the young players take the next step and get further into the postseason than last season's first-round exit.

This level of commitment hasn't been seen throughout the rebuild. Green's contract was structured in a way to make it easier to include in a trade package for a player of Durant's caliber. The Rockets would have given him a much larger annual fee if they believed he could become a player capable of leading a team in the postseason.

Now, the Rockets have a player capable of doing so, and they're looking to take advantage by going all-in to win the franchise's third championship.