Out with the old star, in with the new
Harden trade paves way to club’s rebuild that leads to Green
For better or worse — and 2021 brought the Rockets plenty of worse — the year will be remembered.
Ultimately, the year could be viewed as the transition from what had been to what the Rockets will become. It was the year an era ended, with the Rockets granting James Harden his wish to be traded, and even sending him to the team of his choice, the Brooklyn Nets.
The deal did more than please the former face of the franchise. The Rockets signaled their thinking by choosing to trade him for as many unprotected draft picks and pick swaps as they could acquire rather than for players that would stick around.
That began the rebuilding, but the struggles throughout the 2021 portion of the 2020-21 season were about much more than no longer having Harden around to carry them.
At first, the Rockets even had success without him. They won seven of eight games in a late January, early February stretch. But center Christian Wood wrecked his right ankle in Memphis. That sent the Rockets spiraling to a 20game losing streak, the longest in franchise history.
Along the way, they careened from injury to injury. They employed an NBA record 30 players. They used 43 starting lineups, the 72-game equivalent of the NBA record. They finished 17-55, marking the third-worse winning percentage (.236) in franchise history.
Amid the crash, there were bright spots. Forward Jae’Sean Tate, who signed as an undrafted free agent after playing in Belgium and Australia, was a firstteam, All-Rookie selection. Wood averaged career bests of 21 points and 9.6 rebounds. Kevin Porter Jr., acquired for a heavily protected second-round pick, demonstrated his potential, averaging 16.6 points and scoring 50 with 11 assists against the Bucks.
After all the misfortune, the Rockets even got lucky. They came out of the draft lottery with the second pick of the draft, an especially important good break considering that if they had fallen out of the top four, the Oklahoma City Thunder would have been able to swap draft positions, a development that would have dropped the Rockets’ pick to 18th.
Instead, they grabbed Jalen Green and made him the face of the rebuilding. They did not stop there, even after going into the draft with three first-round picks. They dealt future picks from the Pistons and Wizards to get the pick used for Turkish center/forward Alperen Sengun, who rapidly became a highlight machine and fan favorite. They drafted forward Usman Garuba and guard Josh Christopher.
With the addition of two-way player Daishen Nix, the Rockets began the 2021-22 season with five teenagers on the roster.
Porter, Green, Sengun and Christopher have each had moments demonstrating their potential, though the Rockets’ 2021 injury luck returned with Porter and Green going out. Garrison Mathews proved to be a find. After struggling through another long losing streak, this time reaching 15 games, the Rockets turned things around, demonstrating a fast-paced, balanced offense they hope will be a winning style in 2022 and beyond.