Well, … it’s been a while.
Since my last Salary Cap Update, the Houston Rockets re-structured their team (and mortgaged part of their future) for Russell Westbrook and then – after a one-year failed experiment – blew it all up by trading Westbrook, P.J. Tucker and franchise cornerstone James Harden.
What was left was a hodgepodge of veterans and a few intriguing young players that stumbled to the league’s worst record in 2020-21 (17-55). But with a little lottery luck, the Rockets dodged a potentially disastrous pick swap with the Oklahoma City Thunder and landed the #2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.