The Rockets are trying to answer a question they already watched another team get wrong.
Houston brought in Marcus Smart this offseason to fill the kind of void Dillon Brooks left behind after being traded last summer: the loud voice, the edge on defense, the player who can set the tone for everyone else. The problem is that Memphis already tried the same fix in 2023, signing Smart in the same summer Brooks walked out the door for the Rockets.
That experiment went badly. The Grizzlies lost 24 games from the previous season and missed the playoffs entirely.
Brooks gave Houston more than box-score numbers. During his time with the team, he brought the kind of veteran presence that helped push the Rockets’ defense to absurd heights.
That impact showed up in the way the group played, not just in the stats. The Suns saw something similar last season when they improved after essentially swapping Kevin Durant for Brooks.
Houston does not sound eager to reverse its Durant move, but the team clearly wishes it had found a way to keep Brooks. Instead, it has settled on Smart, now 32, as its closest approximation.
That comes with obvious risk. Since leaving Boston in 2023, Smart’s play and durability have both trended downward.
He had a bit of a bounceback season for the Lakers last year, but the shooting was still rough. And in the Rockets’ first-round series, he briefly looked like the defender they hoped they were getting.
That said, replacing Brooks means more than hoping Smart can still guard at a high level. It means asking him to be better as a shooter, to help anchor the defense, and to act as a leader who can pull more out of Houston’s younger players. If that works, Amen Thompson could also get back to looking like one of the league’s best defenders.
The reality is that Smart probably no longer has the legs to defend the way Brooks did at his peak. His 2022 Defensive Player of the Year season is already in the rearview mirror. Houston should still have enough young wings to handle plenty of the stops.
What Smart can provide is the toughness and intensity the Rockets surprisingly lacked last season, even though that had been a defining part of their identity since Ime Udoka became head coach. If he can bring that back, Smart at least has a chance to succeed where he did not in Memphis.
In Other News...
Kyrie Irvings Mavericks Future Just Became A Bigger Story
A wave of familiar names is lining up for fall returns after season-long injury absences, and the ripple effect reaches well beyond the individual comebacks. Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and Fred VanVleet are all expected back on the floor, giving the league a chance to reset a number of backcourts after a year defined as much by who was missing as by who was available.
For Houston, the timing matters because the Western Conference picture is about to get crowded again, with Steven Adams also projected to be ready in October if everything stays on track. Around the league, other sidelined stars such as Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic are trending toward readiness too, while a few veteran names are exploring very different next chapters, from Mike DAntonis reported move toward BC Romas board to Isaiah Thomas interest in overseas play and Nikola Mirotics consideration of retirement. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Has One Skill That Could Unlock More For Houston
Kevin Durant has never needed much help creating his own shot, but the conversation around him has long centered on what happens when defenses take that away. For Houston, that matters because the Rockets are trying to maximize every inch of Durants game, and the one area that still leaves room for growth is his passing. Even with his elite scoring and long rsum, his assist and turnover numbers reflect a player whose playmaking has never quite matched the rest of his arsenal.
The idea is not that Durant needs to become a primary table-setter, only that a small step forward could make him even harder to guard when teams load up on him. His trainer has said the work is aimed at helping him handle double teams better as a passer, which hints at how Houston might benefit if that part of his game sharpens up. The bigger question is whether that evolution can show up when the pressure rises, because his limitations there have already surfaced on the sports biggest stage. [Read more 🡒]
Amen Thompson Is Giving Rockets Fans A Bigger Ceiling Debate
Amen Thompson is already the kind of young player who gets people talking about the future of the Rockets, and the conversation around him only got louder after a recent round of praise from Ryan Hollins. The former NBA player pointed to Thompsons coachability, athleticism and defensive impact as the traits that make him such an intriguing piece in Houstons long-term picture, especially for a team still sorting out where its ceiling really lies.
A former No. 4 overall pick, Thompson backed up that buzz last season by averaging 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, production that hinted at a player who can do a little bit of everything. The lingering question is how far he can go once the jump shot catches up to the rest of his game, because if that part develops, the Rockets may end up with a player who changes the whole debate about how high this group can climb. [Read more 🡒]