"The Houston Rockets have one of the league's most dynamic young cores - led by Alperen Sengun and two-way star Amen Thompson - buoying them to the No. 2 seed in the West last year. However, they lost a rock fight in the first round against Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors. Despite sporting a top-5 defense, the Rockets were a bottom-nine halfcourt offense with the eighth-worst effective field goal percentage and seventh-worst true-shooting percentage. They needed at least one other creator."
"They needed at least one other creator. Good news for them: They acquired one of the best scorers this sport has ever seen in Kevin Durant without having to give up Thompson, Sengun, VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason or Reed Sheppard. They sacrificed two polarizing assets in Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks with the No. 10 overall pick and five second-round picks."
The Rockets retooled their roster by adding Kevin Durant, Clint Capela, Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Okogie, J.D. Davison and Isaiah Crawford while re-signing Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Steven Adams, Jae'Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday and Jeff Green. They traded Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick and five second-round picks as part of the overhaul. Houston finished as the No. 2 seed last year but fell in the first round and relied on a top-5 defense with a weak halfcourt offense. Durant provides elite scoring and creation, Finney-Smith fits defensively, and notable injury risk and remaining tradable assets shape future flexibility.
Read at Hot Hot Hoops - Miami HEAT NBA Blog
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