Houston Rockets: The Rockets’ 5-step rebuild plan to contention

Houston Rockets rebuild step 4: Gear up for a big 2023-24

As mentioned earlier, the Rockets are going to have a boatload of cap space in the summer of 2023 and they need to be ready to have a big 2023-24 season. The Rockets will need to re-sign or extend Wood for that season but even after that, they’ll still have plenty of room to go big game hunting.

The summer of 2023 has the potential to be a star-studded free agency class. Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Jerami Grant, and Myles Turner could all be available, and depending on who exercises player options so too could Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Khris Middleton, Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis, and Fred VanVleet.

It’s unlikely all of these players will be available but if the Rockets are armed with a mountain of draft capital, cap space, and have Christian Wood already in the fold then they could be poised to build their own superteam in one fell swoop.

Even if the Rockets can’t land a superstar they’ll have enough cap space to take on teams’ undesired contracts for draft picks and still go out and land solid veteran players to round out their rotation. There’s a chance that the Rockets could be a title contender in as few as three seasons, it’ll take a little luck but they have all the necessary ingredients to make multiple big moves.

Next: Step 5