Rockets Owner Tilman Fertitta After Losing to Warriors: 'Our Time Will Come'
Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta guaranteed superstar guard James Harden will eventually lead the team to multiple NBA championships after they were eliminated from the 2019 playoffs by the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals Friday night.
"I know that we're going to rise to the occasion and our time is going to come," Fertitta told reporters. "James is 30 years old [in August]. ... Hakeem [Olajuwon] didn't win his first championship until [31]. I can promise you, we're going to win some championships with James Harden, because we are not going to sit here."
Kevin Durant's calf injury, which forced him to miss Game 6, bolstered the Rockets' opportunity to mount a comeback against the Dubs. They led by five entering the fourth quarter Friday before a Stephen Curry-led offensive barrage pushed Golden State across the finish line.
"They showed why they're the champions," Fertitta said. "We're gonna learn from it, and we're gonna come back next year, and we're gonna kick their ass at some point. I can promise you that."
The Dubs are attempting to win their third consecutive NBA championship and their fourth title in the past five years. They're also staring at an offseason of uncertainty, with Durant, Klay Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins headlining a list of potential free agents that also includes several role players.
Although Fertitta expressed confidence to reporters the front office will "make this team better," he noted dethroning the Warriors goes beyond simply the talent level on the roster.
"I'm a fighter," he said. "That's my culture, and I think the longer that I own this team, they're going to pick up more of my culture. We had [the Warriors]. We should have stepped on their throat the other night and cut their throat. It's not, 'Let's make a few shots and win.' It's step on their throat and let's take it back to Houston and end it in six."
Houston is slated to return its top five players—Harden, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker and Clint Capela—next season. Finding a high-end wing who could bolster the starting lineup and allow Gordon, the 2017 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, to come off the bench again could make a major difference.
The Rockets have made the playoffs seven straight seasons and reached the Western Conference Finals twice in the span. The organization continues to search for its first championship since winning back-to-back titles under Olajuwon in 1994 and 1995.
Fertitta is confident that Harden, the 2018 NBA MVP, will meet or exceed that success from more than two decades ago.
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