Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Happy Canada Day to all our readers north of the border.
In today’s SI:AM:
🚀 Rockets’ busy offseason
⭐ LeBron and the Lakers’ future
🏒 Big hockey trade
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Houston’s big push
You don’t get a trophy for winning the offseason, but the Houston Rockets are hoping their busy start to the summer will have them lifting the trophy next June.
The Rockets made the biggest splash of the offseason last week, agreeing to a trade with the Phoenix Suns to acquire Kevin Durant in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft (later used to select Duke big man Khaman Maluach) and five second-round picks.
The trade was a big swing by Houston to try to build on its best season in the post-James Harden era. Its 52 wins last season were second best in the Western Conference and the team’s most since it won 53 games in 2018–19. But if the Rockets wanted to challenge the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the West, they needed to find ways to improve on an already formidable roster.
The Durant trade was the first step toward that goal, and the Rockets made another big move on Monday, reportedly agreeing to terms with one of the top players available on the free agent market, Dorian Finney-Smith.
Finney-Smith, who split last season between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, agreed to a four-year, $53 million deal with the Rockets. He’s a classic three-and-D guy, a 6'7" forward who doesn’t get involved much offensively (he’s averaged 8.3 points per game in his nine-year career) but is capable of knocking down shots when given the opportunity (a career-best .411 three-point percentage last season). Most importantly, he’s a strong defender, which will help soften the blow of trading a top-notch stopper like Brooks to acquire Durant.
The Rockets made another move Monday to improve their defense as well, reportedly agreeing to terms with veteran center Clint Capela on a three-year, $21.5 million contract, bringing him back to Houston after he spent his first six NBA seasons there. It isn’t a blockbuster move, but it’s a key part of the Rockets’ building a deep, well-rounded roster that balances young talent and veteran experience.
The Rockets were the 10th-youngest team in the NBA last season. Though the 23-year-old Green (the team’s leading scorer) has been shipped out, Houston will still rely heavily on young players like Amen Thompson (22), Jabari Smith Jr. (22) and Alperen Şengün (who turns 23 later this month). But the Rockets have also committed to keeping many of their existing veterans, re-signing Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams and Jeff Green. Role players Aaron Holiday and Jae’Sean Tate were also brought back, and coach Ime Udoka signed a contract extension before the Durant trade was agreed to.
The Rockets aren’t doing any kind of dramatic roster makeover. Their three-year run as one of the worst teams in the NBA netted them plenty of assets to jumpstart their rebuild, and now they’re trying to find the right balance between letting the core of a really good team remain intact and pushing their chips to the center of the table to capitalize on their strong foundation. Considering how dominant the Thunder were last season, the Rockets had to do something. Their strong start to the offseason has them looking like a better team than they were before, but have they closed the gap with OKC?
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Chris Mannix examines the significance of LeBron James’s decision to exercise his player option and its implications for his future and the Los Angeles Lakers.
- In other NBA news, the Nuggets and Nets agreed to a trade centered around Michael Porter Jr. and Cam Johnson. Blake Silverman believes it’s a decent deal for both sides.
- Karl Rasmussen graded the big sign-and-trade deal that will send Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner to the Golden Knights.
- Matt Verderame continues SI’s 32 teams in 32 days series with the Rams, who expect to contend for the Super Bowl after acquiring Davante Adams.
- Tom Verducci reveals his 2025 MLB All-Star picks, featuring tough calls at pitcher and shortstop.
- Are the Golden State Valkyries the real deal? Check out Claire Brennan’s latest WNBA power rankings.
- Pat Forde writes that Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt, fueled by his competitive fire, is out to prove last season’s playoff run wasn’t a fluke.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu’s inside-the-park home run. He also hit a grand slam later in the night, becoming the sixth player in MLB history and first since 1958 to accomplish that feat.
4. The Diamondbacks fan who interfered with a home run. Unbelievably, this same fan has been involved in fan interference reviews in four straight seasons.
3. Marcos Leonardo’s extra-time goal for Saudi club Al-Hilal to beat Manchester City in the Club World Cup.
2. Cal Raleigh’s 33rd home run of the season. That’s tied for the third-most homers through the end of June in MLB history.
1. Adolis García’s reaction to his game-tying three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning. (The Orioles ended up scoring four runs in the top of the 11th to beat the Rangers.)
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | How the Rockets Are Building a Contender.