Alperen Sengun (left) and Jalen Green showed flashes of potential last season. Can they help Houston take the next step in 2023-24?

Key additions

• Coach Ime Udoka, G Amen Thompson (draft), G Cam Whitmore (draft), G Fred VanVleet (free agency),
  F Dillon Brooks (free agency), C Jock Landale (free agency), F Jeff Green (free agency)

Key subtractions

• Coach Stephen Silas, F KJ Martin

Last Season

It was rocky from the beginning for the Rockets, who stumbled out of the gate at 3-14 and never recovered, losing 17 of 18 during another tough stretch. This happens when a team is loaded with young players, shows little respect for the coach, makes a ton of mistakes on the floor, can’t shoot, doesn’t make any significant moves at the trade deadline and essentially positions itself for a high pick in the next Draft.

Speaking of the Draft, the team’s 2022 first-round pick, Jabari Smith Jr., had a hard transition to the NBA. He struggled to make shots (he took far too many 3-pointers) and saw his weaknesses exposed rather quickly and constantly before he showed improvement the final two months of the season.

He had company, though: this team was high-turnover, low-defense and that usually spells trouble. There were flashes from Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun but otherwise the rest of the NBA saw the Rockets as an easy win on the schedule.

Summer summary

To say the Rockets needed a lot of work done this offseason was an understatement. To say they solved all of their problems this offseason might be an overstatement. 

The upcoming season will determine how much of that last statement is true. But there’s no denying how busy the Rockets were in the summer of 2023, mainly because they really didn’t have much choice. Flushed with money to spend and multiple first-round picks, the Rockets rolled up their sleeves and went about the business of distancing themselves from their 2022-23 season.

They stunned the NBA by giving Fred VanVleet a three-year, $130 million deal mainly because they had to — someone the caliber of VanVleet wasn’t signing with the rebuilding Rockets unless they paid him far and away more than anyone else would. Money aside, VanVleet fulfills the No. 1 need: a clever and steady point guard who brings 3-point range (37% for his career, though he struggled last season in Toronto), maturity and a veteran’s presence. 

We're rockin' with the @HoustonRockets today on NBA TV 🚀 pic.twitter.com/EpyiyC4iks

— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 12, 2023

Another pricey addition, and more of a head-scratcher, was getting Dillon Brooks. From an overall standpoint, Brooks seems like a plus because of his toughness and willingness to guard anyone. He’s also coming off a disastrous season in Memphis from a PR standpoint — talking trash against LeBron James in the playoffs and then getting clowned in that series against the Lakers when he didn’t back it up or take accountability for his poor play.

Houston added more leadership to the locker room by bringing back Jeff Green (who won a title with the Denver Nuggets last season) and size upfront with Jock Landale (who played well off the bench with the Phoenix Suns in 2022-23).

But maybe Rafael Stone, the Rockets GM, did his best work through the Draft. Yes, the Rockets are actually getting younger by adding two more picks, but both Thompson and Whitmore are offer promise. Thompson has two-way capabilities and both his ceiling and character are high. Meanwhile, Whitmore was projected as a top-five pick and then dropped all the way to 20 because of medical and/or personality issues. Doesn’t matter to Houston — he was a no-brainer selection and then he confirmed as much by winning MVP in the Summer League.

The task of piecing all of this together falls on Udoka, who replaces Silas and must and should demand discipline from this young group — a twist, since a lack of personal discipline cost Udoka his job in Boston. Anyway, his qualifications as a coach aren’t up for debate, and his credibility in that category will go far within the organization — especially an organization hoping to take the next step.

Up next: Memphis Grizzlies | Previously: New Orleans Pelicans 

> 30 teams in 30 days: Complete schedule

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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