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With free agency set to kick off in literally a few hours, we at RedNationHoops.com decided to do something fun and compile our predictions for possible starting and bench units for the 2016-17 Houston Rockets (idea courtesy of our own Taylor Pate).
No restrictions were placed on this so you were allowed to be as realistic or as far-fetched as you wanted to be. Enjoy.
The Starters:
Salman Ali:
PG: Patrick Beverley
SG: James Harden
SF: Nic Batum
PF: Jared Dudley
C: Clint Capela
Taylor Pate:
PG: Patrick Beverley
SG: James Harden
SF: Trevor Ariza
PF: Donatas Motiejunas
C: Al Horford
Jorge Flores:
PG: Patrick Beverley
SG: James Harden
SF: Trevor Ariza
PF: Donatas Motiejunas
C: Clint Capela
Paul "Harden's Intellect":
PG: Jeremy Lin
SG: James Harden
SF: Chandler parsons
PF: Trevor Ariza
C: Clint Capela
The Bench:
PG: Jeremy Lin
SG: KJ McDaniels
SF: Trevor Ariza
PF: Donatas Motiejunas
C: Joakim Noah
PG: Jeremy Lin
SG: Eric Gordon
SF: Jared Dudley
PF: Beasley
C: Clint Capela
PG: Jeremy Lin
SG: Jason Terry
SF: Kent Bazemore
PF: Michael Beasley
C: Montrezl Harrel
PG: Patrick Beverley
SG: K.J. McDaniels
SF: Corey Brewer
PF: Montrezl Harrell
C: Donatas Motiejunas
What's your rationale?
I believe this is going to be a set-up offseason for the Rockets. The Rockets have an opportunity to retool their roster, become a fun, good team again, and stay flexible enough to go big fish hunting next summer where there are more lucrative high-end free agents (incliding Kevin Durant should he choose to resign in OKC on a 1+1 deal). The Rockets can sign good, high IQ free agents like Batum and Dudley that fit D'Antoni's system this summer and become really attractive next summer. Daryl Morey has always been about maintaining flexibility and I don't think this is any different.
I think the Rockets have shown that they're scared to hand over the reigns to Capela as the starting center. I'm not sure the Rockets can land Horford, but they at least have a meeting with him July 1st. There aren't a lot of guys to love in this class, but if the Rockets are unable to grab Horford, look for them to add several mid-tier guys to buff out the roster. Bottom line, the Rockets need players suited to D'Antoni's system.
Now that Dwight Howard has opted out of his contract, the Rockets will have a ton of space under the 2016-2017 salary cap – enough room to land a superstar (or even two, provided some cap gymnastics take place). Most other teams will have room too, so it might not be the blockbuster summer Rockets fans are hoping for.
Daryl Morey will want to add playmakers and role players that can take some of the load off of James Harden’s shoulders. Bringing back Jeremy Lin makes a lot of sense for Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo offense, and he’s used to effectively coming off the bench and running the offense. Kent Bazemore is another good choice for this offense, but he’s also a lengthy defender and a proven chemistry guy (something the Rockets sorely need).
It won’t be easy to land the likes of Kevin Durant, Al Horford, or Mike Conley, and this roster definitely isn’t the sexiest one imaginable. However, it might be the most realistic.
Even after that ugly divorce, Parsons and Lin are probably the most realistic gets. Both players would thrive in D'Antoni's system and would add legit playmaking all around. It's hard to say whether Beverley or Lin would start in this hypothetical, but for the sake of this article, I put Lin as the starting PG.
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