Houston Sports Update November, 19 2020

Houston Rockets

The Rockets are the talk of the NBA right now with the news of their two superstars demanding a trade. Fan pages around the league have had a field day with this however I believe this is a blessing in disguise. It’s time for the Rockets to hit the reset button. Since 2015 Houston has been a serious contender for the title and have made moves in the offseason to win now. For the most part these moves have had minor repercussions, being that Houston did give up some first rounders during the years but have stayed contenders and the picks given up never amounted to anything spectacular. However, the last trade including Russell Westbrook, in my opinion was not only an unnecessary but a costly trade. Houston gave away Chris Paul, their ’24&’26 first round picks as well as a two other swap picks in the future. This is crucial because what’s happening now. As I predicted this team was bound to restart with or without James Harden and the restart is going to be very difficult without the two first round picks they gave away in 2019. By 2024 barring Houston finds a trade partner for Harden those picks are going to be extremely valuable. As I said earlier these latest rumors could be a blessing in disguise for the following reasons.

Picks

Houston now has the biggest trade pieces for picks in the NBA stars including Robert Covington, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook can all be traded for first round picks. This is exactly what should be in the mind of Houston’s front office. However, this is assuming that they understand it’s time to restart in Houston.

Cap Space

This is next subpart is tagging along with the idea that Houston trades their assets for picks. Either way though it seems like Harden and Westbrook are on their way out and with Westbrooks $38.5 M and Hardens $38.2 M, a combined $76 M Houston is going to have a good amount of cap space for our future firsts that we receive.

Houston Texans

For the Texans it has been a season to forget. An underperforming 2-7 record. Constant reminders of the poor Deandre Hopkins trade. No picks this year to reward their awful season. This is just listing a few but there is no way of sugar coating it, the Texans are in a tough spot right now. Unlike the Rockets or the NBA in general you can’t just trade your biggest superstars for first round picks as they are far more valued in the NBA. Also if they took this approach there would be severe public disapproval. Because, unlike the Rockets the Texans are not missing young talent, instead many believed at the start of the season the Texans were a secondary away from being serious contenders. As much as I love to play the role of a GM and try to resolve these conflicts it’s a very difficult situation. Personally I would begin with shopping a couple guys from our strong reciver core. This may mean we would have to lose Will Fuller but I believe there is countless teams that are hungry for a speedy number one or two receiver who would be willing to give up a second round pick at the least. Secondly I would remain very passive during the offseason in terms of handing out super contracts. I believe we should outbid teams on the secondary glue players such as Deandre Baker and Clayton Geathers. But save our cap space and be patient for the future. There is still prospects on our team who I believe have yet to come out of their shells like Ross Blacklock, Dylan Cole, and Jonathan Greenard. I strongly doubt Houston is heading towards a total rebuild but with patience and smart trades we could be looking at a maximum two seasons before we’re back in contention.

Houston Astros

During October MLB fans around the world gathered around their TV sets waiting on the Astros to get eliminated from the playoffs. Putting my biased aside the Astros did not shock me by being one game away from the World Series, however their bullpen did. Facing a 22nd batting average team in the Tampa Bay Rays, Houston had a good chance with their below average bullpen, and regardless on the fact that they couldn’t pull it off the Astros have to be optimistic based on what they saw in game five, six, and seven. The Astros don’t have too much money to play with right now but I think they should still go for a starting pitcher and maybe some cheap relivers. Lastly I believe the most important objective for them is to lock Correa in for a while. He showed a side of him that we hadn’t seen to this point of his career, not only production wise but also leadership wise. Knowing our backs were against the wall he came out and produced and you also saw him constantly in the ears of his teammates reminding them the series was not over. Overall the Astros are in a good spot. Be smart, pay your studs, and continue building chemistry.