{"id":25338,"date":"2019-09-19T09:45:50","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T13:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=25338"},"modified":"2021-12-20T21:10:02","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T02:10:02","slug":"projecting-the-houston-rockets-roster-and-rotation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2019\/09\/19\/projecting-the-houston-rockets-roster-and-rotation\/","title":{"rendered":"Projecting the Houston Rockets Roster and Rotation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Houston Rockets<\/a> have some decisions to make regarding their roster and rotation ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. While the exact report date for the Rockets is not yet known, they can either report on September 27th or 28th<\/a>, as a result,\u00a0the Rockets are participating in the NBA Japan Global Games. Houston will face the Toronto Raptors<\/a> on October 8th and 10th in Tokyo. The last time the Rockets played in Japan was during the 1992-93 campaign when the Rockets faced the Seattle Supersonics to start the regular season.<\/p>\n

Before the Rockets head overseas, they will host the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association at the Toyota Center on September 30th. Then they travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, for an October 4th game versus the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>. Houston will conclude the preseason against the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> (October 16th) and the Miami Heat<\/a> (October 18th).<\/p>\n

Houston Rockets Roster and Rotation for 2019-20<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Offseason<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Rockets have been one of the most successful teams over the last three seasons under coach Mike D’Antoni<\/strong><\/a>, recording 173 victories and reaching at least the conference semifinals in each of those seasons. Houston won 53 games last year.<\/p>\n

As a result of failing to reach the NBA Finals, and for the Rockets to keep pace with the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> and Los Angeles Clippers, general manager Darryl Morey decided to trade for Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> superstar Russell Westbrook.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Besides the addition of Westbrook, Houston didn’t make any earth-shattering moves. The Rockets re-signed Austin Rivers<\/strong><\/a>, Gerald Green<\/strong><\/a>, and Danuel House<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Houston did lose three players off of their postseason roster.\u00a0 Chris Paul<\/strong><\/a>, of course, is one of those players, not currently with the team as he was part of the Westbrook deal. Kenneth Faried<\/strong><\/a> and Iman Shumpert<\/strong><\/a> are the other two players from the playoff roster that aren’t with the team. Faried and Shumpert are both free agents, but it is highly unlikely either player will return to the team. In fact, Shumpert refused a contract offer by the Rockets recently.<\/p>\n

Houston’s biggest concern heading into training camp is its depth. The Rockets have just 10 players under fully guaranteed contracts following the signing of veteran center Nene<\/strong><\/a>. The 10 fully guaranteed contracts are the lowest amount of any team in the Association<\/a>.\u00a0 While the number of fully guaranteed contracts is not a huge problem, it does indicate that the Rockets are unsure of what the makeup of the team is going to be.<\/p>\n

Preseason Roster<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Houston will have at least 18 players in training camp. The NBA mandates that every team carries a minimum of 14 players. Don’t be surprised if Houston adds a couple more names to the camp roster.<\/p>\n

One such player that the Rockets appear to have an interest in is Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> veteran Andre Iguodala<\/strong><\/a>. However, according to Shams Charania<\/a> of The Athletic, the Grizzlies have no interest in buying out his contract. Therefore, it seems that the Rockets would have to orchestrate a trade, likely costing them future assets.<\/p>\n

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Sources: Memphis wants three-time champion Andre Iguodala to report to training camp and is refusing right now to engage in buyout, which would prevent Iguodala from finishing a Hall of Fame career on his terms because this may be his final NBA season.<\/p>\n

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n