The Rockets set a franchise record for most wins in a season with 65 victories last year. The team didn’t take home a coveted NBA championship but GM Daryl Morey believes no matter what pinnacles a franchise reaches, there’s always room to improve.
“When you’re trying to win a title, there’s always fine-tuning, you can always get better,” Morey said (via Mark Berman of Fox 26 on Twitter).
Morey hinted that he wouldn’t hesitate to make a major move should a worthwhile opportunity present itself. “We have all of our draft picks going forward. If something presents itself that allows us to make a trade to improve the team we’re not going to hesitate to do that,” Morey explained.
Houston lost Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in free agency, though they were able to add Carmelo Anthony and Michael Carter-Williams.
The team also traded away Ryan Anderson, bringing in a former top-10 pick in Marquese Chriss. Chriss, who plateaued during his sophomore campaign with the Suns, is far from a finished product. However, the Rockets should be able to provide him with a better situation to develop, as he’ll be playing alongside established All-Stars and veterans as opposed to a team full of young talent and past-their-prime players.
Should Chriss improve, Morey will have another top trade asset in his arsenal and Houston could be in a position to add a real piece on the trade market.
Chriss, who is owed $3.2MM this season and has a team option on his deal for the 2019/20 season, can be dealt by the team right away, just not in a deal that aggregates his salary with another player. Those restrictions are removed two months after a trade, meaning when the calendar turns to November, Morey can attach Chriss to other players in a trade that brings back a larger salary.
There haven’t been any reports of Chriss being a trade candidate this season, though as we’ve seen with Morey, the wheels are always turning. It’s hard not to see the path that improves Chriss’ trade value early in the season and puts the Rockets in a place where they can yet again be major players on the trade market.
How bout a trade for a versatile wing like Bazemore or Batum? Knight and another salary and a pick for either one would work.
58 to 60 wins if they stay healthy. Anthony makes them a bit worse.
Eric Todd Piatkowski will and up on the rockets with their remaining postion to make a move! He can space the floor and is a underrated solid defender in the thunder dan marjele mode and he’s not that old younger then nene and same dob as Chris Paul
Chriss will be probably be moved at some point.
Houston had their day last year, this year the Lakers will be the team to face off with GSW.
I hope for your sake you aren’t serious. The Lakers are a lottery team and the rockets are number 2 in the West. Sad.
The Lakers are nothing beyond LeBron and he alone isn’t enough to get you to the conference finals.
I know this is the western conference but he did carry worse bums to the Eastern Finals.
Hardly bums. Not elite but not bums.
What planet have you been on the last 12 years?
They should make a move for a point guard who isn’t injury prone.
The last championship point guard the Rockets had was Kenny Smith. And he’s my age.