By controlling their own pick in a top-heavy 2023 NBA draft, the Houston Rockets will soon add another talented piece to their young core. They also have up to $60 million in salary cap room this offseason to supplement those prospects with influential veterans.
At the same time, the Rockets own the NBA’s worst record for a third consecutive season, and, arguably, some bad cultural habits have been picked up by the organization and its players during this extended rebuilding process, which began when James Harden forced his way out of town with a trade in January 2021.
Thus, while there are certainly reasons to believe better days are ahead for the franchise, pessimism is understandable.
Count TNT television analyst Kenny Smith, a guard on the Rockets’ 1990s championship teams, in the latter category. In comments to Michael Shapiro of Chron.com, Smith said:
Young doesn’t mean good. Young doesn’t mean promising. Young is just young. I don’t look at them and go, ‘Oh wow that’s a young team that’s promising and the talent is going to succeed.’ Right now, they’re one of the worst teams in professional sports. What is making me say that they’re moving in the right way?
Smith spoke on a TNT conference call with media in advance of the network’s All-Star Game coverage this weekend. Related to the Rockets, he also downplayed statistical bumps in production by second-year prospects Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun.
My high school coach used to have a saying, ‘There’s an 18-point scorer on every team in America. Even on a bad team, someone has to score.
I’ve seen nothing that makes me say, ‘Wow this team is young and they have an opportunity to break through when they get one other player.’ I don’t know who would help. I have no clue.
Briefly chatted with Kenny Smith today ahead of All-Star Weekend. He wasn’t exactly bullish on Houston’s future:
“I don’t look at them and go ‘oh wow, that’s a young team that’s promising and the talent is going to succeed.”
More from Smith ⬇️ @chron:https://t.co/A9zTT4wtwy
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) February 15, 2023
From the perspective of general manager Rafael Stone, some of those answers could come via the 2023 NBA draft lottery and the ensuing free agency period. For example, Shapiro notes that Smith’s TNT colleague, Reggie Miller, said he believes top draft prospect Victor Wembanyama could have a transformational effect similar to what Tim Duncan did with the Spurs in the late 1990s.
But for many around the league, after three seasons of ongoing misery for the franchise, they’ll believe it when they see it.
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