Houston Rockets
Grade: B-
If you had asked me before the offseason, I would've predicted the Houston Rockets to be one of the most aggressive teams to make a win-now move. However, it's almost as if the opposite happened. The only significant addition the Rockets made this summer was drafting Reed Sheppard in the 2024 NBA Draft. Aside from that move, it's been all crickets for the Rockets. Houston could be patiently waiting for another big move to come to fruition but it's looking more and more like they're going to head into the season with roughly the same roster from last season.
Even though that may not be a huge issue considering they did take a big step forward this past season, winning 19 more games than the previous year, it's hard to envision this roster competing in the deep Western Conference.
Maybe the Rockets will get enough internal development that they could take another small step forward and compete for a spot in the Play-In Tournament. at this point, that looks like their ceiling heading into the new year.