The Houston Rockets and GM Daryl Morey finished up the 2011-12 NBA season on a low note after missing the playoffs for the third straight year. They decided to go all-in on changing their fortunes by making an attempt to acquire Dwight Howard. Instead, they may have screwed up on a monumental level.
The question of whether or not the Houston Rockets are having one of the worst summers in NBA history comes down to what happens with Dwight Howard. He remains with the Orlando Magic but new trade talk seems to pop up everyday.
What's Happened So Far
As of right now, the Rockets have completed a couple of moves in an effort to build some assets. They drafted Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones.
They've parted ways with Kyle Lowry, Marcus Camby, Samuel Dalembert, Goran Dragic and Chase Budinger via trades and Luis Scola via amnesty.
In return, the Rockets acquired Gary Forbes, Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, Jon Brockman and Shaun Livingston. They also received a first-round pick and two second-round picks in those deals.
Their big splash so far has been their acquisition of Jeremy Lin after the New York Knicks chose not to match the Rockets' offer of $25 million over three years.
They are waiting to hear if the Chicago Bulls are going to match the offer sheet of three years at $25 million for Omer Asik.
Ed Zurga/Getty Images
So what's next? Let's take a look at the different scenarios surrounding Howard and how it will affect the Rockets.
Best-Case Scenario
The best scenario that can happen is that the Rockets persuade the Magic to part with Dwight Howard for a combination of picks and young players so that the team can build around Howard and Lin.
Ideally, the Rockets would be a surprise team in the Western Conference and Howard would be interested in signing a long-term extension with the team.
The Bulls would match for Asik and Donatas Motiejunas would turn into a great change of pace from Howard.Â
Surely the Rockets would have to take back some bad contracts in the deal but they would be able to use Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson as starters in the interim.
Worst-Case Scenario
The worst thing for the Rockets isn't that different from the best thing with one major caveat. Dwight Howard announces that he plans on signing long-term after the season is over and changes his mind, leaving the Rockets with no assets and no star.
The Rockets Summer Has Been...
The Rockets Summer Has Been...
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Terrific! I still believe Dwight's on the way!
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Decent. Lots of young players to be excited about.
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Not good. Potential too often leads to disappointment.
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Horrible. Screwed for years.
Not only would the Rockets have nothing in the present in the form of draft picks but their future would be bleak as well because they would still be stuck with terrible contracts and no flexibility.
Lin would be a lone wolf and while he'd probably fit the role, he'd be unhappy losing so much and would want out as well. Motiejunas would start to look and perform too much like Darko Milicic.
Most Likely Scenario
In all likelihood, the Rockets are going to have to build around Lin and hope that the young players that they've acquired grow into solid NBA players.
They do have a very young squad with a lot of potential and there are definitely some growing pains on the way but there would also be reason for hope.
There's a lot of fanfare surrounding Lamb, White, Jones and Motiejunas. If Asik can step in and produce for a full game the way he's used to producing off the bench, the Rockets will be a team that will still be one major piece away from contending.
So are the Rockets really having one of the worst summers in NBA history? Let's just say if they don't get Howard, they might be looking for a new GM soon.
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