3 Reasonable expectations for the Houston Rockets' offseason

The NBA Finals are underway. As of this writing, it doesn't look like the Dallas Mavericks will be catching the Houston Rockets in all-time NBA championships.

At least, not yet. Luka Doncic is still young. Even if the Mavericks lose to the Celtics, their future is bright. The Rockets are going to have to play catch-up.

It won't happen all at once. Barring a wildly unexpected turn of events, the Rockets won't build a title hopeful this year. Still, look for them to continue to take baby steps towards title contention.

Here are three reasonable expectations for the Rockets this summer.

1. Houston Rockets will add some young talent

Ordinarily, this would go without saying. The Rockets have the third pick in the upcoming draft. Why wouldn't they add some young talent?

Well, the Rockets are seen as prime candidates to move their pick. The Mikal Bridges rumors persist. How can we be confident they'll add any young players this summer?

For starters, the Rockets also have a second-round pick. If they trade out of the first round entirely, they're still likely to secure a rookie in the second round. The ability to add cost-controlled talent on the backend of their roster is something that Houston is likely to value.

More broadly, trading back feels more likely than trading out. The Rockets may not keep the third pick, but unless the Nets are willing to play ball on Bridges, we suspect they'll move down in the draft in a deal with a team that covets Donovan Clingan. Alternatively, they may just keep this pick.

Either way, we expect them to add some young talent.

2. Houston Rockets will improve their roster

Will they trade the pick? That's the question of the day. No matter the answer, we expect they'll improve the roster with some win-now help.

How? That's a different question. The Rockets could make marginal moves. They could attach the team-friendly contracts of Jock Landale and/or Jae'Sean Tate to some modest draft capital for a marginal upgrade.

Alternatively, the Rockets could make a blockbuster. That blockbuster could include the third overall pick - or not. Either way, they should bring a better team into 2024-25.

They didn't hire Ime Udoka to oversee a long-term rebuild. The Rockets did their tanking. Now, the goal is to continue improving until they're in the mix for a championship.

They'll have to plug a particular hole in their roster first.

3. Houston Rockets will add shooting

It's no secret that the Rockets were one of the poorest shooting teams in the NBA last year. Limited three-point accuracy has been a common theme among the cornerstone players that the Rockets have drafted.

They'll have to inject some floor spacing into their roster ahead of 2024-25. As has been the theme here, we don't know how they'll do it. The simplest solution would be to select Reed Sheppard with the third overall pick.

Yet, that's not the only solution. If the Rockets like someone else in the draft, they'll have options. The team has already been linked to free agents like Malik Beasley and Buddy Hield.

Either way, we should expect the Rockets to bring in a shooter. Otherwise, they won't build a playoff-caliber roster ahead of 2024-25.

We consider that a fair expectation too.