The Houston Rockets had the benefit of being able to start their offseason earlier than most teams, as they neither qualified for the 2023 NBA playoffs or even the Play-In Tournament.
That allowed them to begin their offseason duties as soon as the 2022-2023 regular season closed, and, to their credit, they wasted no time.
Not even a month after their last regular season game, the Rockets have already fired their former head coach in Stephen Silas and named his replacement in Ime Udoka.
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Udoka, who led his previous team in the Boston Celtics to the Finals in 2022, has been a highly controversial hiring, as he was only dismissed from Boston due to his off-court behavior involving an extramarital affair with a subordinate.
While the hiring hasn’t been universally acclaimed, the critiques aren’t due to his production as a basketball coach, and he should be a significantly better play-caller than Silas.
Since his announcement, Udoka has made it clear through the media that he has big changes in mind for the Rockets, including within their roster. Among some of his most notable comments were his plans to bring in a defensive-minded big man to help hold down their back line.
That bodes well for Rockets big man Alperen Sengun, who has long needed a foil to his brilliant offensive game to help him stay on the court without bleeding points inside.
Stephen Silas former Rockets coach
It didn’t take long for Udoka’s hiring to be usurped as the headlining news coming out of Houston, however, as BleacherReport’s Jake Fischer recently reported that the Rockets will be looking to land some significant talent this offseason and that they’d be willing to include 2021 second-overall pick Jalen Green in a deal in order to do so.
While Jalen Green hasn’t dominated the way his fellow top draftees such as Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley have, he’s clearly shown his top-tier scoring talent in this league.
Still only 21 years old, Green’s ceiling still doesn’t have a cap on it considering both his knack for putting the ball in the hoop that he’s already established and the upper-echelon athleticism that should allow him to grow on both ends of the court.
It would obviously take a major target for Green to be included in any trade discussions, and this is a signal that Houston has some big plans in mind. It’s clear that they hope to bring James Harden back, so Jalen Green could be a significant trade chip to help bring in another superstar alongside him.
y'all ready? 🤘 pic.twitter.com/TSEZBtCVyL
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 26, 2023
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