Most NBA teams that part ways with both their head coach and general manager in the same offseason would undergo a full rebuild, but the Houston Rockets apparently aren’t looking to go that route.
The Rockets, to their credit, do have one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history on their roster. James Harden gives the team a chance to contend no matter who’s calling the shots, and he’s obviously not going anywhere anytime soon.
But if you ask Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, neither is a number of other players currently on the team’s roster. The Rockets have major vacancies to fill, as it relates to both head coach and general manager, and yet Fertitta already appears to have made roster-related decisions for them, which is weird.
“You have James Harden and Russell Westbrook and you have almost 90 percent of your salaries tied up in them and Eric Gordon,” Fertitta said during an appearance on CNBC, as transcribed by the Houston Chronicle. “But anytime you have players like Eric, P.J. (Tucker), James and Russell, there’s no reason to blow up your roster.
“This is still our window, the next couple years. James and Russell are in their early 30s. We’re not blowing up anything. We plan on contending. I always said you want to set yourself up to be one of the top four teams in your conference each year and then it takes a little luck to win. You look at every year it always takes a little luck. So, we’re going to set ourselves up to make the moves, to be one of the top teams.”
Good luck hiring a top-tier guy when the owner appears to have already made personnel decisions before free agency has even begun.
