Despite earlier reports that they weren’t at all even in the running, a recent Y! report listed Houston as one of several hopefuls who could still potentially get a meeting with Durant. And James Harden says he’ll be trying. So who knows at this point? I still think while they didn’t break the top tier of meetings (Golden State and San Antonio), Durant gives the Rockets a chance to make their pitch, just as a token to James Harden. One could argue Durant would let Harden know if his team were completely out of the running, just so that they don’t sit around wasting valuable time.
But as of today, the chances of the pipe dream coming to realization are basically next to none. The events of the past month and change have only weakened the odds. Oklahoma City wasn’t dismantled by San Antonio, as was expected, thus strengthening the appeal of Durant’s current situation. Golden State didn’t go on to win the championship, as was expected, thus slightly dampening the possibility of ring-chasing optics. And on Thursday night, Sam Presti reeled in a haul from Orlando better than any we’ve seen in recent history for a star player. In the moments after, while it was clear the Thunder had massively upgraded its roster, I wondered on Twitter how Durant would perceive the move. It has seemed to have almost always been the case that teammates resent the departure of a long tenured veteran, even if objective observers are in consensus regarding the favorability of the young players acquired. (Camby/Oakley, Jermaine O’Neal/Dale Davis, the list goes on and on). But it has come to light in the time since the deal that Ibaka was unhappy and Durant had no issue with the deal. So there goes that – Durant knows an already-great situation is even better now.
To land Durant, the Rockets would have, and will have to convince him that joining James Harden and Al Horford is preferable to his other options. (It’s been rumored that Horford is one player that Durant would like to play with some day). This, of course, would require convincing Al Horford to sign here as well. They could’ve pointed to Oklahoma City’s lack of flexibility to improve going further, with Ibaka and Waiters slated for free agency. That angle has evaporated with Thursday’s deal for Oladipo, a player who fits perfectly into the Thunder’s ethos and whose skills, alongside Westbrook, will most likely make for an utterly devastating backcourt combination.
I’ve argued in the past that Harden and Durant are simply a natural fit. Unlike Russell Westbrook, James Harden, as a natural playmaker, is the ideal fit with Durant, and Durant possibly is already cognizant of this from their days together. It would be up to Mike D’Antoni, in Houston’s pitch, to hammer this point home, especially if able to add in the passing instincts of Al Horford to the lineup. That trio would present a rare blend of passing, shooting, and playmaking, comparable to any other in the league, guided by Mike D’Antoni, one of only three coaches in the league to have won 60 games multiple times (or whatever that hilariously irrelevant statistic that Les threw out actually was). The Rockets would have to convince Durant that joining San Antonio or Golden State–while neither the defending champions, teams having won recent championships–would tarnish his legacy. Come to Houston and create your own legacy would be the pitch. They would then show him the film of how the Warriors were able to get back into the series, stuffing the paint and allowing Westbrook to go one on one, or doubling Durant while leaving Westbrook open on the perimeter for outside jump-shots. D’Antoni could explain how this could not happen next to Harden. As for the Celtics, they’ll need to find one star to begin with to appear compelling, much less the possibility of teaming up three. “I can’t wait to play with the great young rookies they just drafted,” said no star NBA player ever.
The problem, and what makes Houston’s chances next to none, is that outside of Harden, there is nothing. There is no established supporting cast to point to, no infrastructure, no scheme, not even a culture of winning. Houston’s pitch is entirely theoretical. “Come to Houston to build something great,” essentially. It’s not even clear that D’Antoni is still a winning coach in the NBA.
And that’s what’s so frustrating. If the Rockets even get a meeting, it will be thanks to Durant’s friendship with Harden. Whereas all they had to do this year was seem plausible, maintain credibility. All the Rockets had to do was not be the biggest disappointment in Houston sports history and come off like the most dysfunctional team in the NBA. That was the bar. Had they just won 50 games as they had the past few years, they would probably be right there with the top suitors.
The great irony is that the Rockets, in part, have nothing else to show for their roster, because they’ve punted on opportunities to make incremental improvements to give themselves a chance for opportunities like this. I’ve always supported the big-game hunting, but you see the trickle-down effects. Sometimes it works – they were able to land Dwight Howard; but since then, the strategy has been a detriment, with the climax being the failed pursuits of Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh a few summers ago. To his credit, Daryl Morey has been able to rebound smartly with shrewd bargain acquisitions like Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley. But there’s a reason sometimes why certain guys are bargains, and we saw the culmination of that last season. What if Houston had just brought back Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin, and traded Omer Asik for Courtney Lee and Brandon Bass? What if they had hired an actual coach to instill a culture rather than a cheerleader to perpetuate and enable the bad habits of their best players? Wouldn’t they be better off than where they are right now?
If it quickly becomes clear that Durant is headed elsewhere, I hope Houston doesn’t wait around. And I’m curious to see how things play out, given the stellar crop available next summer. How can they convince next year’s free agents to sign up, if again this year, they don’t improve? And the clock on James Harden’s free agency is ticking as well.