To exchange or not exchange. This is the question for the Houston Rockets As they enter the 2025 off-season, fresh for an impressive race with an plethora of players who have not even been 25 years old.
After a Match 7 defeat For the Golden State Warriors – a loss that the deductible will need time to shake before doing anything drastic – attention is now turning to off -season, as well as primordial assessments.
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Some things are quite clear, like Amen Thompson being at worst the second best player on the team. Others are more difficult, as if Jalen Green is even on the list next season.
The rockets have lost due to a serious lack of offensive creation. Their defense was exceptional, and although it was a huge construction element for the future, they simply need to be able to create something When things slow down, and they can't.
As such, it may seem strange to pivot Green, who after all is a marker, but if you remove his 38 -point explosion in match 2, he was on average 9.1 points for the other six games in the series. It is a appalling production for a player who will win much more than $ 33 million next season and who has no secondary skills.
Of course, part of this could be because he is in pain and plays an too big role for what his talent can manage. If this is the case, the need for a real star n ° 1 becomes all the more pressing.
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Fortunately, Houston knows that they can obtain a reliable production of Thompson and Alperen şengün.
Thompson, who could actually be the most athletic player in the league, has taken a notable step in his offensive evolution this season, and the team hopes that his shooting (which is bad at the moment) is improving to a point where all his offensive game will be unlocked because of this.
ŞENGün is an elite playmaker in the central position, and the large 6 -foot 11 inch man can mark in the post and around. However, like Thompson, şengün is not an elite spacer. We can therefore summarize here that the team has a lot of internal discussions to come, despite its impressive season.
But the organization must not rush. The list is young. It's deep. He is full of potential. Balancing for fences for a Kevin for 37 years and abandoning a major whole in the process would seem terribly panicked.
2024-25 Finish
Save: 52-30, finished second in the western conference. Lost against the Warriors in seven games in the first round.
Presentation of the season
Frankly, it's not a moment. There are many. We have to talk about Thompson again. He and Tari Eason won the Rockets a ton of matches via their absolutely ridiculous double -sense matches of the bench, and Thompson has particularly taken steps each month to reach a level where there is now a legitimate conversation on the fact that he should even be available in commercial negotiations. Averages of 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds may not seem much, but Thompson is one of those players whose impact prevails far on that of his figures. If the Rockets have found their guys in the future, this is certainly considered to be their highest point of the season.
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Players signed for next season
Dillon Brooks
Tari Eason
Green Jalen
Alperen şengün
Reed Sheppard
Jabari Smith Jr.
Amen Thompson
Whitmore cam
Key -free agents
Fred Vanvlet (team option)
Steven Adams (UFA)
Jae'Sean Tate (UFA)
Projected salary
$ 130,262,475 (salary ceiling should be $ 154.6 million)
Recovery points (pre-LOT)
N ° 9
N ° 59
Focus on the project: Shooting, shot and more shot. This team has an urgent need for optimized soil spacing, especially to help Thompson and şengün to reach their full potential. They should not sacrifice the talents of another world for filming if it is available, but more than probably – especially nowadays – Elite Talent has shooting skills.
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Given the team option nearly $ 45 million in Vanvleet, which the organization is likely to pick up, this brings its total salary to nearly $ 175 million. They also add the salary slot to what is likely to be the ninth overall selection, and probably re-signate some of their remaining free agents. In short, the Rockets will find themselves flirting with the fiscal line of $ 187.9 million, if not outright exceed it, which means that we should not expect the complete exception of the intermediate level to be used here. If they exceed the tax, it will be exclusively the tax Mle they have at their disposal.
Needs and objectives
Rockets clearly want two things at the same time. They want to improve, and they do not want to exchange half of the rotation for a player, unless this player is 2012 LeBron James. Their depth has played a big role in their success, and they are obviously aware of this. They have needs, especially in the form of spacing, and they may still need a main scorer. But they are not in a hurry, and it's a good thing. Unless a superstar trade takes advantage of them considerably, they will probably wait for the deadline for trade to see what is shaking.
