Building blocks
Patrick Beverly PG |
James Harden SG |
Clint Capela PF |
Draft picks
Chinanu Onuaku PF
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Zhou Qi C
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Draft board
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The Rockets are coming off a very disappointing season where they squeaked into the playoffs and were quickly eliminated by the Warriors. Dwight Howard is opting out and will likely sign elsewhere and questions have been raised about James Harden. The Rockets could look to blow up their roster or they could try and lure a top free agent to pair with Harden. They have a lot of young athletic assets, but many of them play similar positions. Both Terrence Jones and Donatas Montiejunas will be restricted free agents and will receive nice offers. The Rockets nearly traded Montiejunas to the Pistons and essentially benched Jones late in the season, so I doubt they'd match any crazy offers. The Rockets need some more help at the PG, C, and backup SG positions as Dwight is gone, Beverly is injury prone, and K.J. McDaniels doesn't provide much.
(Updated 7/16/16) The Rockets used the draft to add some much needed depth at the PF and C positions (Dwight signed with Atlanta). Chinanu Onuaku has an NBA ready body and will come in and get rebounds, defend the paint, and set good screens. Any points Onuaku gives the rockets is a bonus as he is not much of a scoring threat. Chinese big man Zhou Qi was a great pickup at the 43rd pick. He is more of a project who defently needs to put on weight, but at 7'2" he is very long and skilled. I doubt either rookie has much of an impact this season, but they're good players to have for the future. Draft Grade: B/B+ Team needs
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Estimated Cap Space
$41,227,809.00 UFA Dwight Howard C (player option), Josh Smith PF, and Jason Terry PG RFA Terrance Jones SF/PF and Donatas Montiejunas C |