With two elite young prospects in Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. leading a young roster and significant future draft capital, the Houston Rockets have drawn rave reviews for the early stages of their rebuild.
But it’s also worth noting that Houston’s salary cap management has them positioned for similarly strong success in free agency, too.
This offseason, the Rockets traded veteran center Christian Wood without accepting any long-term money in the deal, and they bought out veteran guard John Wall — who was entering the final year of his contract — rather than accepting a trade that would likely have multi-year matching salaries. General manager Rafael Stone appears similarly reluctant to accept longer-term salaries in a trade for Eric Gordon.
