Houston Rockets: Options for offseason after disappointing end

The Houston Rockets have a big offseason ahead of them after a disappointing end of the season against the Warriors yet again. What changes will be made?

The Houston Rockets have been eliminated by the Golden State Warriors. Let me know if you’ve heard that one before. They lost last night despite the Warriors being without their best player, Kevin Durant.

It was a disappointing finish to the roller coaster of a season, but one that was well-deserved for the Rockets who were just out-hustled in the four losses to the likely champions. They had every opportunity in the world to make this the year that they beat Golden State, but it just didn’t happen.

Now, we are in for a very interesting offseason. Both Harden and Tilman Fertitta were pretty vocal about changes happening, so let’s look at some options for the summer.

More star power?

Each offseason, the Rockets are always involved in talks for more stars to join the team. It will be very tough this time around with the salary cap situation, but Daryl Morey and Co. can definitely figure it out.

Some names that may be available all seem unrealistic, but anything is possible. It seemed unrealistic that the Rockets would get Chris Paul a couple of years ago, but they pulled off a crazy trade for him.

James Harden seems to know what needs to change. It’ll be interesting to see if his plan comes to fruition throughout the summer:

Asked how the Rockets need to do to get over the Warriors hump, James Harden said, "I know what we need to do. I know exactly what we need to do. We’ll figure it out this summer." Did not elaborate. Asked again, said he did not "want to tale about it."

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) May 11, 2019

The two main trade pieces the Rockets have are Clint Capela and an expiring contract of Eric Gordon. They also haven’t been afraid to throw around first-rounders like they are nothing, as they offered four of them for Jimmy Butler this season.

Coaching change?

A lot of people on the internet that I’ve seen have thrown out the idea of firing Coach D’Antoni and bringing in a new voice to help the franchise. He just hasn’t been able to get passed the hump of the Warriors (but who has?).

I personally am opposed to this idea. MDA, though he certainly has his coaching flaws, still is probably better than any option out there right now on the coaching market. He knows the team and its players and is a former Coach of the Year winner in Houston. He will need to learn to make some adjustments, but he deserves another season with the Rockets.

Deeper team

The problem year in and year out is that the Rockets and their depth are eventually exposed in the postseason, forcing the main rotation to play heavy minutes. Gerald Green, one of my favorite players, was unplayable last night but still got fourth-quarter minutes.

Danuel House wasn’t quite ready for the spotlight. It will be interesting to see if the Rockets are able to bring him back on a cheaper deal due to his postseason flaws.

For sure, though, the Rockets have to find a way to get better on the glass. They were a horrible rebounding team this year and it was ugly in the playoffs. They must find a way to get a deeper team, but that starts with getting guys that can actually rebound.

Those are just a couple of early thoughts for options for the offseason. It should be an interesting one, and we’ll be here all summer to discuss it with you guys.