Houston Rockets: Breaking Down What the Rockets Are Trying to Do

It has been a rather puzzling and eventful offseason for general manager Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets. For a team that is rarely talked about nowadays, the Rockets seem to have been in the most headlines thus far this summer.

Of course, where Houston's name is mainly popping up is in Dwight Howard trade rumors. This is where I am going to get things started.

For some reason, the Rockets have seemed dead set on adding Howard into the mix even though it has already been said that he will not re-sign with the team before he hits the free agent market in 2013.

Before the draft, Houston stockpiled picks, first trading away Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the No. 18 selection and then sending Samuel Dalembert and the No. 14 pick to the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 12 pick and scraps. That gave the Rockets three first-round selections, as they already had the 16th pick.

It looked as if Houston would attempt to put together a package for Howard centered around those draft choices, but the Rockets were not able to get anything done with the Orlando Magic. So, Houston used those picks to select Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones. An incredible haul, indeed.

Then, a week after the draft, Houston dealt disgruntled point guard Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for a future first-round draft selection. Now Lowry wanted out to begin with, so a trade involving him probably would have happened anyway, but the draft pick that the Rockets received was seen as yet another asset that Morey could use to swing a deal for Dwight.

Finally, about a week ago, rumors surfaced of Houston's first concrete offer for the center. The terms of the offer? Get ready for this: Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris and Chandler Parsons plus the draft rights to Lamb, White, and Jones. Apparently, along with Howard, the Rockets would have received some combination of Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, Glen Davis, and Chris Duhon, all bad contracts.

Um, what?

I would really like to take a journey inside Morey's mind to know exactly what he is thinking, because that would be one of the worst trades in the history of trades. You are essentially trading your entire team for Howard and a bunch of guys whom Howard no longer wants to play with.

Taking into account that Howard wants out of Orlando, why in the world would he re-up with Houston when it would basically be a team full of Magic players? You'd be mortgaging your entire future for a year of what one would only assume to be an ornery Dwight. Senseless doesn't even begin to describe what this deal would be for the Rockets. They have a nice nucleus of young players in place, and you're going to give that all up for 82 games of drama? Pointless.

Actually, perhaps the bigger question is, if that rumor is true, then why in the world didn't Orlando accept that proposal?

Anyway, it didn't stop there for Houston.

After trading away Lowry and allowing Goran Dragic to walk and sign with the Phoenix Suns on a four-year, $34 million deal, the Rockets inked Jeremy Lin, he who played 25 games in his first full season this past year and is coming off knee surgery, to a three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet that the New York Knicks declined to match. The kicker? Lin will be earning $14 million of that $25.1 million in the final year of the deal.

Now I am really not sure how I feel about this deal for Houston. On one hand, I think Morey is overpaying an unproven commodity who just saw his season come to an abrupt end because of a knee injury, but on the other side of the coin, Lin will likely make the Rockets a sizable sum of money because of the Asian market. I guess overall, I am leaning toward feeling a bit uncomfortable with Houston giving Lin $14 million in a single season. That could end up hurting the Rockets when the time comes for them to cough up that money for the 23-year-old point guard.

The funny thing is, I love what Houston did in the draft. I think it knocked it out of the park by landing Lamb, White, and Jones, all three of whom I believe will enjoy successful NBA careers. Throw in young players like Parsons, Patterson, and Lin (even though he may be a bit overpaid) to go along with the three rookies, and the Rockets have something rather nice to build upon.

However, this whole Howard fiasco really makes me wonder whether or not Houston actually has a plan. Does Morey understand that his team will be cooked if he lands Dwight and he decides to leave next offseason? Then what? You just have a team full of bad contracts and you just traded away what appeared to be a very nice future.

If I'm Morey, I am standing pat right now. Do not continue to pursue Howard. Fortunately, it looks as if Howard is well on his way to being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers anyway, but just the thought of Morey making one last run at Dwight makes me shudder.

I should also mention that the Rockets signed Omer Asik, he who played only 14.7 minutes per game last season for the Chicago Bulls, to a three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet, and $15 million of that $25.1 million will come in the final year, similar to Lin.

Um, why?

Asik is certainly a very good defensive big man, but paying that much money for a guy who has never played more than 15 minutes per game is just outlandish. I like the acquisition of Asik (assuming the Bulls don't match the offer, and most feel that they won't) in terms of him contributing to the team, but at that price? No.

The Rockets are not going to be a playoff team next year. I think everyone understands that. However, in a couple of years or so, that could all change, provided that their young players live up to their abilities. Morey should just focus on infusing as much young talent into this team as he possibly can. That might mean trading Martin, and he would certainly have some value, if not because he is a solid player but given the fact that his contract expires at the end of this coming season.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Morey has the same plan.

Actually, I'm not sure he has any kind of plan at all.