Of course the Houston Rockets are looking to improve their roster

The Houston Rockets took over the headlines when it was reported that the team was looking to improve their roster by any means necessary. That shouldn’t be a surprise, though, like it seemed to be initially.

The Houston Rockets are looking to find a way to get past the Warriors, the team that has troubled them throughout the entirety of the James Harden era. The most recent loss to them in six games proved to be the fourth series defeat since the Conference Finals in 2015.

The losses piling up is a huge reason why Tilman Ferttita and Daryl Morey will continue to look to improve the roster this offseason. Last year, most of the focus was retaining a similar team that was so close to beating the Warriors before the injury to Chris Paul. With CP3 continuing to age and become less effective, though, it’s time to find some guys that can make more of an impact.

That’s why the report that everyone is available in trades shouldn’t have been particularly surprising. It isn’t something we generally hear in the offseason from Houston, but it is something that Morey has proven is a thing each summer. If the Rockets can improve in any way, they will.

Morey, in an interview, confirmed this way of thinking:

Doesn't sound like the Rockets leaked that Woj report per Morey. "I picked on (Woj) after he checked with me afterwards. I don't understand how it was news because we're always going to try to do trades to upgrade the roster. I prefer that stuff not get out but it is what it is." https://t.co/qbuwyhftK0

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) May 30, 2019

Of course the Rockets are going to try to improve. That’s the point of the offseason!

How they can look to improve

The Rockets are pretty squeezed for cap space with all the large contracts on the roster. The most reasonable way to improve without trading some of those guys would be with the Mid-Level Exception (MLE). Houston will look to get a productive veteran to be a rotational piece that is playable in the postseason.

The team will also be willing to trade for bigger pieces to get better like the Woj report originally said. Chris Paul would be a tough contract to trade while still getting a high-level player back, but Clint Capela is someone that could likely get a decent haul back. If the Rockets can get multiple good role players/picks back for him, I could see them dealing Clint and looking to sign someone like De’Andre Jordan with the MLE. That’s all pure speculation on my part, though.

Daryl Morey: “I’m hoping with the mid level (exception) to get a very high quality rotation player that will help us attack Golden State and others next year. If there’s a trade out there that helps us, great, we’ll do that as well.” #Rockets

— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) May 30, 2019

The Rockets have quite the offseason ahead of them as they look to take home a championship next year. Be sure to stay tuned for the latest updates!