The Rockets may have dodged a mess by never seriously chasing LeBron James.
On paper, the idea had the usual offseason shine: a legend, a marquee name, and the kind of splash that gets everyone talking. But for Houston, the fit never really lined up. This team is built around a young core, and dropping LeBron James into that mix could have pulled the Rockets in a direction they clearly don’t want to go.
Houston has spent years assembling a group that includes Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason. That kind of rebuild only works if the front office stays patient. Bringing in James, even at this stage of his career, could have pushed the Rockets toward shortcuts and win-now pressure before they were ready.
That risk is not hypothetical. The last time James joined a promising young group, it ended with the Lakers’ young talent getting shipped out.
In the 2019 offseason, James was 33 and had just finished 11 straight seasons in the top four of MVP voting. He landed in Los Angeles alongside Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart.
After a season full of trade chatter around those players, Ball, Hart, and Ingram were all part of the package that brought Anthony Davis to the Lakers.
James is eight years older now, and while he is still an All-Star-level player, he is not the same force he once was. That matters for a team like Houston, because even a player of his stature can change the temperature in a locker room and the urgency in a front office.
It also would have created an awkward overlap with Kevin Durant. The two are among the greatest players ever, but they have also carried the kind of locker room gravity that can shape everything around them. They have been rivals since Durant entered the league in 2007, and while there is obvious respect there, it is fair to wonder whether Durant would have wanted to team up with James at this point.
Then there is Ime Udoka. James and Houston’s head coach have history, including a regular-season exchange that ended with James getting a technical foul and Udoka being ejected.
They have not exactly been close since. Udoka also has a reputation for demanding maximum effort, while James has long been known for managing his regular-season workload more carefully as he has aged.
Put all of that together, and Houston’s lack of real interest makes sense. Even with a 37-year-old Kevin Durant on the roster, Rafael Stone has been clear that he is not interested in making short-sighted moves that could undercut the long-term plan. James might still be one of the greatest players in NBA history, but for these Rockets, he was never the right piece.
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Rockets May Have Finally Found What Amen Thompson Was Missing
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Houston seems intent on helping him get there. The Rockets brought in Chip Engelland, one of the leagues most respected shooting teachers, to work with Thompson, and there is at least some encouraging evidence that improvement is possible after Thompson boosted his free-throw shooting last season. With more playmakers around him and a staff that clearly believes in the long-term payoff, the question in Houston is no longer whether Thompson can impact winning. It is how much more dangerous he becomes if the shot starts to follow. [Read more 🡒]