The Rockets made two marquee veteran signings (Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks) in the first wave of 2023 free agency. Houston entered this window with approximately $66 million in financial room beneath the NBA’s salary cap, most of any team in the league.
That figure was enough to fit in both VanVleet and Brooks, so why did the Rockets send a pair of recent first-round picks (Usman Garuba and TyTy Washington) to Atlanta to clear more space?
It may have had to do with a third veteran target, Brook Lopez, who ultimately spurned the Rockets and returned to Milwaukee. Jonathan Feigen, longtime beat writer for the Houston Chronicle, says it “would be unusual for the Rockets to have locked in the cap-clearing trades absent a commitment from a player.”
The deals to move some of the recent draft picks cleared cap room at a time the Rockets already had plenty. Given the interest in Brook Lopez, the deals could indicate that they were trying to have extra cap room to sign not just VanVleet and Brooks, but for Lopez as well, and had already reached agreements on the trades.
It would be unusual for the Rockets to have locked in the cap-clearing trades absent a commitment from a player, especially considering the ample cap room they had when free agent shopping began.
When Lopez opted to stay in Milwaukee, the Rockets pivoted, using some of that room for depth at center with Jock Landale and Jeff Green.
It’s worth noting that news of Lopez rejecting the Rockets leaked midday Saturday, hours before the announcement of Houston’s cap-clearing trade with the Hawks. Even so, it’s plausible that perhaps general manager Rafael Stone and Houston’s front office decided to honor a commitment that was previously made (while expecting Lopez), even though that expectation ultimately did not play out.
So, did Lopez make a commitment and back out? Is this the 2023 Houston version of Dallas’ 2015 DeAndre Jordan saga? (Although in this case, it should be noted that if there was a commitment, it wasn’t leaked to the media — unlike what happened with Jordan.)
Time will tell as to whether more of the back story emerges.
