A lot has changed for Houston over the last three seasons. Shoot, a lot has changed since I last wrote about them, when I made the defense that they could win a championship with “micro-ball”. They were one win away from probably one of the more unthinkable upsets against the Warriors with four All-Stars in the starting lineup, including two who have won MVP. Now, they are more than likely trading their two cornerstone pieces in James Harden and Russell Westbrook. The question is…how did we get here? Where does Houston go if they do decide to move their two former MVP’s?
How We Got Here
Front Office
There are several factors that lead to this. First, former GM Daryl Morey had made some crucial errors in judgment when it came to roster construction.
The lesser of the two poor extensions was extending Clint Capela on a 5 year/$90 million deal. This was problematic because Capela is your typical center who can’t score outside the dunker spot. Adding to the offensive limitations, Capela had what appeared to be good rim protection, but was actually among the worst in FG% allowed in the restricted area. Houston was fooled by his high rebound and block numbers as someone who could defend at the rim.
Next was a more crippling move for the franchise. Handing a 33-year-old Chris Paul, who had been struggling with injuries over the past two seasons, a four-year max contract. While everyone has recency bias about Russell Westbrook, there was a reason why Houston had to give up Paul and four first-round picks for a player with a matching salary who is only three years younger than him.
So, Morey handed roughly $56 million in AAV to two very deficient players. So naturally, one has to get creative when trying to get out of this financial mess. Hence why they moved Paul for Westbrook, essentially trading Capela for Robert Covington, and signing Jeff Green and DeMarre Carroll after they had been bought out.
Ownership
The other reason for how we got here is definitely a lesser-known reason, but arguably a more important reason: Tillman Fertitta. The Houston Rockets owner. Both Mike D’Antoni and Daryl Morey have shared how much they liked working with one another. Westbrook and Harden have known each for since they were kids and were excited that they were teaming up together.
So why do the team’s general manager, head coach, and two All-NBA players–who all have said they like working together–want out? Well, quite frankly, there is no other answer other than the man at the top of the organization. It was leaked that when Russell Westbrook was putting in his request for a trade it was partly because he didn’t want to play for Fertitta. James Harden also allegedly went radio silent in regards to responding to the team’s front office including Fertitta.
Bruised Egos
Lastly, how the supporting cast wanted to put their ego before the team. Essentially everyone who played for Houston was unhappy with their role on offense. While it is understandable that players want a bigger role, there are also those who swallow their pride and do what is best for the team. However, they were in an offense that manufactured open three’s and was still shooting them poorly. One has to believe that they don’t really deserve a bigger role.
It was apparent that this team was merely going through the motions and looked like they didn’t want to be there for the final three games of their series against the Lakers. Clearly, there is a culture problem that needs to be resolved. In that case, maybe a total reconstruction of the roster is warranted.
Where Does Houston Go From Here?
They blow it up. Which is a shame because they could have been something special with their unconventional style of play. However, if your two best players want out, and you just lost your head coach and general manager, there is not much you can do in regards to competing for a championship or even a playoff spot.
Trade Westbrook. Trade Harden. Comb through the rest of the roster and ween out the guys who are hurting the culture of the team.
Conclusion
Since social media is a narrative wasteland, people are only going to look on the surface and say, “See I told you small-ball will never work”. Even though it has, people just don’t pay attention. They’ll also say “see I told you Westbrook and Harden would never work”, even if they did find their stride together it was just the rest of the team that wasn’t pulling their weight because they didn’t like the role they were given.
The truth is, the front office spent a lot of its resources backtracking some terrible decisions they had prior to this off-season. Ownership driving away key pieces to what could have been a championship roster doesn’t help either. Again, it’s a shame that this is how it will probably end for Harden in Houston, as well as Westbrook.