THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Super-young Rockets won’t win a lot this season, but their rebuild has a real plan
Now, this is a rebuild that I can get into.
This is a rebuild with a real plan.
This is a rebuild that already makes sense and could pay off big time in a few years.
The Texans have started their new era with a meh 1-2 record, and their veteran-heavy roster is all over the place while organizational vision has been blurry and conflicting for years.
The Rockets obviously read the Chronicle daily during the last nine months and listened to the echoing advice.
They tore it all down.
They truly went young.
They realized that the only way to get it right in 2023 and 2025 is to invest in themselves and the hardwood power of the NBA’s next generation.
They did what the Rockets hadn’t done in a long, long time — and removed “playoffs” from the organization’s internal 202122 dictionary.
How many games are the new, super-young Rockets going to win this season?
Not a lot.
Guess what?
I don’t care!
And I rarely, if ever, have the pleasure of typing that in this column.
The Rockets are already worth watching, studying and following. As long as they properly develop all their young talent and keep their rebuild ultimately moving forward, it’ll be fun to check the nightly box scores to see who did what this time.
If this team is even close to .500 in early April of 2022, it will officially be one of the NBA’s biggest surprises and turn the Rockets into a Western Conference finals favorite in 2024.
But for the first time in decades — and I mean this in the nicest and most polite way possible — wins don’t matter for the seriously rebuilding Rockets, who are set to hold media day Monday in our city and then go old school with training camp in Galveston.
Jalen Green. Kevin Porter Jr. Josh Christopher. Alperen Sengun.
No absurd James Harden drama.
The lingering John Wall question, already addressed in several key ways.
Bring it on.
Heck, the only problem with these Rockets right now is there are so many new faces and names that finding meaningful playing time could be a consistent challenge for second-year coach Stephen Silas.
Then there’s the fact that second-year forward Jae’Sean Tate is basically a veteran, 25year-old Christian Wood now qualifies as a longtime Rocket and Eric Gordon has become a holdover from ancient times.
Theoretically, it’s just a matter of time until the Rockets trade the 31-year-old Wall and move on from the worst contract in the NBA. He deserves a rotation spot on a playoff contender. The Rockets need every possible on-court minute for all their young names.
If the 32-year-old Gordon makes it through the entire season in local red, his No. 10 jersey should receive a spotlight in the Toyota Center rafters after his sixth season with the Rockets.
Then again, it’s never a bad idea to keep one respected vet — with professional ties to Mike D’Antoni, Daryl Morey, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverley, Clint Capela, Corey Brewer and Nene — on the roster and in the locker room.
Green will be the Rocket to watch. He’s the No. 2 overall pick who felt like a No. 1 selection on draft night in late July. He already has extended experience in the G League. He also appears to be unafraid to back up his dynamic game with contemporary bragging and trash talk, which should also be worth watching as the NBA finally returns to a full 82-game season.
Porter is the highly intriguing 2021-22 question mark. There’s no immediate rush to turn the 21-year-old, who’s entering his third pro season, into an All-NBA guard. It’s all about the long game and nightly maturation for a young scorer who could perfectly pair with Green as these Rockets develop and evolve.
Another huge key for this team: Stay healthy. Almost above everything else, just stay healthy.
Also important: This rebuild needs a cool name. Something with more long-term potential than The Process. Something that captures how unique and new this era of the Rockets already is.
The Startover. Operation Reset. The Young Guns.
I’m open to better suggestions.
The last time that wins didn’t matter for one of Houston’s big three pro sports teams, the rebuilding Astros eventually won a World Series and created a near-annual championship contender.
If the Rockets win another world title in the next five to seven years, Green’s first media day in Houston and training camp with a ridiculously young team in Galveston will eventually be remembered as a defining moment in franchise history.
For these rebuilding Rockets, youth really is king.