Last week, before Jeremy Lin conquered Earth and forced us all to reevaluate the reality in which we live, ESPN.com’s NBA Insiders John Hollinger and Chad Ford posted their Future Power Rankings—a “projection of the on-court success expected for each team in the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.”
As a fan of this league in its broad entirety, lists like this always interest me. Anybody can make a prediction lacking evidence and merit; it’s boring and easy. But this list—with its well researched information broken down into several key categories—is an absolute must read. After glancing at the top and bottom five teams, gauging who was deemed the future’s haves and have-nots, I set out for the middle, in search of the Rockets.
From an optimist’s point of view, Houston’s plight is also their great fortune. Year in and year out, the team is a well-layered group of guys who compete on a nightly basis. It’s fair to say they aren’t elite, but they’re not top heavy either. The playoffs seem to always be on the horizon, and as someone who buys into the organization that’s certainly enough to keep you relatively satisfied.
If you’re looking at this team through a prism made from the glass of “real life”, then you must be a frustrated individual. With the type of franchise altering injuries only Portland’s faithful can truly relate to, in recent times the Rockets have been too proud to entertain a blue chip lottery pick and too inept to win the whole thing. The strategic course they set out on in their attempt to acquire one of the 10 best basketball players alive has been a curvy one. Just when you think their bus is about to roll off the edge, a seemingly minor one-year Sam Dalembert signing or unexpected All-Star caliber surge of someone like Kyle Lowry steadies the wheel and sets it upright.
Where they stand right now can be viewed from many different angles. Hopeful, hopeless, exciting, tedious. The fact is, when we’re talking about the never ending variable that is a professional basketball player, nothing is a sure thing because everything is predicated on the abilities and health of a mere mortal. Nobody knows what’s going to happen this year, or the next, or the one after that.
For those who don’t have an Insider account, the Rockets were slotted in 10th place; a bit higher than I thought they’d be, sandwiched between San Antonio and Boston—two participants in six of the past 13 NBA Finals. Think about that for a second. In a league with seven superstars playing for six teams (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, and Derrick Rose), the All-Star-less Rockets are projected to have a brighter immediate future than 2/3 of the league. That’s good news.
Their management team gives them an intellectual advantage over some and is reputed by basketball’s community as being both aggressive and intelligent (Hollinger/Ford ranked them 8th under the category of “Management”). The city of Houston—the nation’s fourth largest; home to the second most Fortune 500 companies in the country, and featuring more citizens per-capita who’ve memorized We Can’t Be Stopped than any other place in the world—is viewed as the 9th most appealing market for possible free agents. If you’re a fan looking ahead, both of these are wonderful factors to have in your back pocket. But ultimately, management and market mean very little unless you have the means to properly deploy the former and capitalize on the latter. The means which I speak of, of course, is money. Without it nothing is possible and all is for naught. The smartest GM can do nothing without it, and a gigantic market (Los Angeles pre its Lob Angeles days) doesn’t necessarily translate to courting the most prized free agents.
When in the business of purchasing valued commodities which are constantly threatening wear and tear, with the ever-looming possibility to permanently break down at any moment, the more safety net funds you have to spend, the better. According to Hollinger and Ford, in the field known as “Money” (projected salary-cap situation; ability and willingness to exceed cap and pay luxury tax) only the New Jersey Nets rank higher.
To have an unabashed willingness to flex your financial muscles is something that lasts far longer than a superstar’s prime, and its importance can’t be overstated.
In a most subtle form, here’s a recent example. June 23, 2011. Draft night. The Rockets select Chandler Parsons with the 38th overall selection and then immediately package him to Minnesota for the likes of Jonny Flynn, Donatas Motiejunas, and a second round pick. Before the night’s over, Morey gets on the phone with Kahn and says, “You know what, we actually like this Parsons kid. How about I offer you this sack of money with a specially embroidered dollar sign on the front and we call it a day?”
The end result is Houston essentially buying one of their starters from another team. Not a bad luxury to have.
If you’re reading this as a fan of the Houston Rockets, then I assume you’re aware of their recent television deal with Comcast. The Rockets will be going in on an 80% ownership share with MLB’s Houston Astros, and starting next season all games will be shown on Comcast SportsNet Houston. While I wasn’t able to find any specific financial figures, Regional Sport Networks are reputed to be one of the most profitable earners for professional sports organizations in the county, and the implications of the deal are expected to be glorious if you like the Rockets and/or increased revenue.
Also, if you’re a casual fan of the NBA then you’re probably aware of the league’s recent decision to have Houston host All-Star weekend in 2013. For just a moment imagine you’re an investor trying to convince a few wealthy colleagues to get behind an idea you foresee as one that could make you all quite a bit of money. Now imagine you’re able to pitch the idea in your home, on your terms, with all capable resources of persuasion at your fingertips. This is what hosting All-Star weekend can be like for the entertaining organization. It is THE weekend of good times for NBA workers. A time when small yet memorable seeds of joy can be planted in the back of player’s brain. It’s an opportunity to sell the city and community as a favorable destination in the immediate future.
While the Rockets fight night in and night out—with a cast of characters who’re easy to root for, emphasize with, and relate to—it’s a great feeling to know that in the ever changing landscape that is professional basketball, Houston has set themselves up to be major players for the foreseeable time ahead. Superstars be damned, the Rockets have placed themselves in a situation of serious envy.
