The Houston Rockets finished the season in style. Moving beyond the Portland Trailblazers was huge for the franchise, a success in itself. Then once they lost Yao Ming in Game 2 to the Lakers, no one thought they had a chance, but they still managed to force a game seven. The season is over again for the Rockets and once again their best player in Yao Ming was out. On top of that, his top scorer was also eliminated in Tracy McGrady with knee surgery. One can hope that having those two healthy in addition to what they already have is an improvement, but that’s true.
The first order of business for the Rockets is to come up with a plan to keep Yao healthy. Anything that puts less stress on your feet during the season in hopes of avoiding another breakdown. I propose that they do three things. First, give Yao a week off from all basketball activity after Game 25 and Game 60. This would mean he would miss six or eight games, but the extra two weeks off could be huge on his feet. During free time, he would receive therapy and treatment for his feet. Next, I also offer games 81 and 82. This would mean that I would have a full week off heading into the playoffs. Once again with therapy and treatment. Lastly, it would help to play in all consecutive games. Playing on your back can’t be good for your feet. In the end, Yao would only play between 50 and 55 games in the regular season. That may sound crazy, but the last four seasons Yao has played, in order from most recent to four years ago, 77, 55, 48 and 57 games each season. If you are going to miss those games due to injury and then miss the playoffs, wouldn’t you rather bet with extra time off so you can be available for the playoffs? I think this is a bet the Rockets should make.
The second order of business is Tracy McGrady. McGrady has proven to be a great scorer, but he has a bad reputation for having injuries and not winning in the playoffs. This season it didn’t help his case by being shelved for the playoffs and seeing his team advance. At this point in his tenure with the Rockets, the fans and management are no longer on his side. This is great news for the Rockets for one fact … McGrady is in the final year of his contract. An expiring contract is huge in the commercial world. Nobody wants to retire a multi-year contract unless they think he may be that missing piece. With that said, I can tell you that right now general managers who want to ditch the salary will call Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. The Hornets are trying to give away Tyson Chandler, who could be a good fit here with Yao Ming’s injuries and if the Rockets follow my “Rest Yao” campaign mentioned above. Something like McGrady and Brent Barry for Tyson Chandler, Morris Peterson and Antonio Daniels would work in terms of the salary cap and would be a solid move for the Rockets, since with Daniels expiring, they still save about $ 6 million. However, that’s just one example that I came up with. I’m sure there will be a lot of rumors about McGrady this summer. One more example that might make even more sense would be McGrady and Barry again for Vince Carter and Bobby Simmons, who have a ten million dollar contract expiring. I mean the possibilities here are endless.
The last thing that needs to be addressed is normal pending free agents. This is great news for the Rockets. They have only four free agents and only one really significant one. Ron Artest is a free agent. I think the Rockets would want to bring him back as a backup from the bench who can protect two, three or four and be an offensive threat to the rest of the bench. If the Rockets were to stick with McGrady or two traded for two starters like Vince Carter, he would have to come off the bench anyway. The only thing about keeping Artest is that you have to try to do it for a bargain price. His action isn’t too high due to his antics and horrible shot selection, but he can still play. I would think the Rockets wouldn’t want to give him a raise beyond the $ 7 million he received last year. Look for something around five million. Moving on to the other four free agents, Von Wafer, Brian Cook and Mutombo. Well, Mutombo is done with basketball, so the Rockets just need to get another center to replace him. I think Brian Cook will leave since the Rockets didn’t use him on Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes and starter Luis Scola. That brings us to Von Wafer. He’s a good shooter and a high-energy guy that the Rockets like. I would expect him to land a new contract, but nothing beyond the three million mark. For him, that will be his best contract and a permanent place in the NBA.
The future looks good for the Rockets. Aaron Brooks will only get better and they will also have a draft pick. If they can keep Yao healthy for the playoffs with my “Rest Yao” campaign and turn McGrady into a new starting guard, the Rockets can become a legitimate contender next season. I would wonder how aggressive the Rockets general manager would be this summer, but I have liked what he has done there so far and I think he will continue to do great things.