The futures of Stephen Silas and Kevin Porter Jr. are just some of the questions the Rockets have with training camp starting in just a few days and the preseason tipping off next weekend.
Will a commitment be made to Stephen Silas?
The Rockets head coach signed a four-year deal when he took the Rockets job, but the final year is a team option, so this his last guaranteed season on his contract. The Rockets can pick up his option or they can allow him to go into this season as a lame duck. For the sake of stability, it isn't the worst idea to pick up Silas' option now and eliminate all questions about his future, at least for the next few months. With a team this young, it would be wise to get rid of as many potential distractions as possible. All it costs is money If the team picks up Silas' option now and then decides to move on from him before next season, and Tilman Fertitta has plenty of that, so who cares.
Silas checks every box you want from a head coach in today's NBA. He's bright, prepared, a wonderful communicator, and he has a vision for how he wants to run a team. He has finished with the league's worst record in his first two seasons as Rockets head coach, but much of that was out of his control. His roster was blown up in year one, and he was handed an absurdly young and flawed roster in year two. Fertitta and Rafael Stone expect the team to be better this season, but that doesn't mean a drastic win improvement, so what has to happen during the season for Silas' option to be picked up, if it doesn't happen now?
Will a commitment be made to Kevin Porter Jr?
The Rockets had three players up for an extension this offseason. Jae'Sean Tate got his, but Christian Wood was traded to Dallas. That leaves Porter, the 22-year old taken with the 30th pick of the 2019 draft. Only five players from Porter's class have signed extensions, with Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and Darius Garland signing for the max, while R.J. Barrett signed a four-year deal that could be worth up to $120 million and Keldon Johnson signed a four-year, $74 million contract. More players will be added to that list before the October 17 deadline, but I'd be surprised if Porter is one of them.
Giving Porter an extension now will unnecessarily cut into the $70 million the Rockets could have in cap space next summer. Porter will be a restricted free agent when his contract expires have the season, so Houston will have the right to match any offer he gets, and that right only carries a paltry $5 million cap hold.
The other reason to wait on giving Porter an extension is that you aren't bidding against anyone now and you may not be bidding against anyone 10 months from now. Porter has a poor reputation around the league, which is why he fell to the last pick of the first round in the first place, and it's why the Rockets were able to get him for literally nothing just 18 months later. "We wouldn't want anything to do with him," a Western Conference executive told SportsRadio 610 at Summer League. The Rockets love Porter the player and they love Porter the person. To his credit, Porter has worked hard to improve himself both on and off the floor, but I think the Rockets will need to see more consistency from him before they are willing to make a major investment.
Could a young guy be on the move?
The Rockets have drafted Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba, Josh Christopher, Jabari Smith Jr, Tari Eason, and TyTy Washington in the first round during the last two drafts. That's seven guys to go with Jae'Sean Tate, K.J. Martin, Kevin Porter Jr, and Daishen Nix, so 11 guys with less than three years of NBA experience. There just aren't minutes to go around, even if you send a couple of players to the G League. One way to lessen the log jam would be to move a player or two for a future asset. Martin would seem most likely to go. At the ripe old age of 21, he's older than most of the other 10 and already asked for a trade before the draft, but the Rockets really like him and won't be willing to just give him away. Stephen Silas has a lot of mouths to feed without a lot of food to give out. Managing this will be a challenge.
How much longer will Eric Gordon remain with the team?
One way to the Rockets can clear minutes for others would be by trading Gordon, and It felt like his time with the Rockets was coming to a close on draft day when there seemed to be real momentum on a reunion with James Harden and Daryl Morey in Philadelphia, but the Sixers opted to trade for De'Anthony Melton instead and Gordon remains with the Rockets.
Gordon, 33, is the longest tenured Rocket by a mile. He could've been moved before last February's deadline, but Rafael Stone didn't get an offer worth taking because the team valued his presence on the roster. "Can't put an amount of how much I wanted him to stay," Kevin Porter Jr. said hours after the deadline. "It would have been hard on me and the team if the trade did happen."
The Rockets needed Gordon at that point last season. They went just 1-24 in games he missed, losing the first 17 games by an average of 17 points. They were competitive when he was on the floor and one team executive noted Gordon was almost always involved whenever something positive happened with one of their young, developing players. However, that changed when Gordon was held out the final eight games of the season.
First off, they actually won a game, winning in Portland by 17, and even though they lost their last seven, the Rockets showed great progress. Three of those losses were by one possession, and two more were single digit losses, showing they no longer needed the Gordon crutch. Now, with more young talent on the roster, and more young talent that needs to play, clearing out that spot may be what is best for the organization moving forward.
