The Houston Rockets have had a chaotic summer. Fans of the team should be thankful for all the pandemonium.
All chaos is not created equally. Some teams had tumultuous summers. That's not the Rockets. Yes, they were busy - busy making moves that would solidify their 2025-26 title chances.
Bleacher Report has recognized the value of that chaos. They just published an article ranking the most chaotic offseasons in the NBA. The Rockets came in fifth:
But their chaos doesn't feel like the disorder that has plagued the teams ahead of them.
Rockets made some of the NBA's best moves this summer
Those teams are the Pelicans, Bucks, Suns, and Clippers. Let's break them down individually.
The Pelicans signed Herb Jones to a team-friendly deal. That was sensible, but it's hard to fathom the rest of their decisions.
New Orleans fired David Griffin. They traded an unprotected 2026 first-round pick in a much deeper draft to acquire Derek Queen. He's an intriguing prospect, but questions about his defense put him behind plenty of the players New Orleans could have picked next summer. They also acquired Jordan Poole:
Enough said.
The Bucks also made some smart moves this summer. Even waiving-and-stretching Damian Lillard was defensible - but only as a necessary evil. Milwaukee may be glad to save some cap space, but it's a disappointing end to a brief marriage with a star player.
The Suns? If you read SpaceCityScoop, you know about the Suns. Perhaps a Jalen Green / Devin Booker backcourt will shock the world, but Rockets fans won't be counting on it.
Finally, there's the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard's contractual controversies are complicated. Without delving too deep, anyone could agree that no team wants to be involved in a sordid controversy during the summer.
Those were the other most chaotic teams in the league. Then, there's the Rockets. They made as many moves as anyone:
It's just hard to find fault with most of them.
Rockets are in a unique position
Sure, the Rockets could use another ball-handler. They may be a touch light on scoring.
They still substantially improved a team that was already the second seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets also managed to make major moves without impeding their future flexibility - they could make more moves throughout the year if they wanted. Sure, flipping Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks for Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Clint Capela made for a chaotic summer:
But it's not the type of chaos anyone is complaining about.