[The Athletic] The Rockets, for better or worse, have embraced their post-Harden reality: rebuilding

About 90 minutes before the Rockets tipped off against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night, Victor Oladipoemerged from the tunnel and walked onto the Toyota Center floor.

It was strange to see the two-time All-Star, given he had just been ruled out for personal reasons. It was also slightly humorous given how prevalent his name had become in trade conversations. But watching him work out, it seemed like nothing was going on with Oladipo.

Rockets lead assistant John Lucas stood by the free-throw line with a ball in his hand as Oladipo went through his normal pregame routine. The pair worked on catch-and-shoot drills around the perimeter for about 15 minutes before retreating to the bench.

There, Oladipo dapped Lucas up before a lengthy embrace. He then walked over, hugged and shook the hands of all the trainers and assistant coaches who were on the floor. It may not have been the physical goodbye just yet — Oladipo would stick around for one more team practice the next day — but it sure looked like an emotional one. He gathered his belongings, took off for the tunnel and was gone.

For Houston, which now sits just 2.5 games ahead of the worst team in the NBA, Thursday’s trade deadline was an important one. Oladipo’s move to Miami was the biggest news of the day, but the Rockets also received calls on Thursday about role players like Danuel House and Sterling Brown. They opted to hold onto them, pleased with how they have performed thus far.

Now the deadline has passed, and Houston can now officially — finally — shift its focus toward its rebuild. It’s often said that the season can be split into two segments — pre and post-All-Star — but in reality, the trade deadline is the unofficial midway point of the year. It’s only after that when the haves and have nots are established. The buyers trend towards playoff pushes while the sellers are destined for the lottery.

But that doesn’t diminish the strange nature and timing of the Oladipo trade, the single most dominant storyline of the past few weeks for a franchise caught between the past, the present and the future.

Why did Houston wait until the last possible moment to accept a middling package of Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a 2022 pick swap for a player they once deemed far more valuable than that? The Twittersphere buzzed in the days leading up to the deadline, indicating Oladipo’s value was a good young player plus draft compensation. Thursday’s deal doesn’t reflect that. But it shows something else.

The Rockets weren’t going to resign Oladipo, at least not at the value he believes he’s worth today. They presented him with an opening extension offer when he initially got to town, and Oladipo respectfully declined. Both sides didn’t discuss financials after that. For 20 games following the James Harden trade, he had played pretty close to the expected level for a player of his caliber coming back from a long-term injury — 21.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists on .407/.320/.783 splits. But the sobering reality is Houston is trending in a direction that just didn’t include Oladipo in their long-term plans.

Somewhere between Houston’s initial valuation of Oladipo on the open market and Thursday’s deadline, the organization must have realized two things. One, his inconsistent play and injury history put a damper on his value. Two, trading him away didn’t necessarily mean getting a like-for-like replacement.

This should not come as a surprise given the franchise’s love for stretch bigs, but Houston likes Olynyk. There’s a reason for some optimism about his positionality, being able to serve as an adequate backup for starting center Christian Wood and also play with him in some lineups.

From DeMarcus Cousins to Justin Patton and most recently D.J. Wilson, first-year head coach Stephen Silas has been searching for the right blend of big men behind Wood. Olynyk’s three-point shooting is down some this season (shooting .317 on nearly 6 attempts per game), but he’s been an effective floor spacer during his stops in Boston and Miami — shooting 40 percent just last season.

In addition to Olynyk, Bradley, the well-traveled 3&D guard, is an interesting piece — but will they keep him past this season? He has a team option for the 2021-22 season, worth around $5.6 million. Smart money says probably not.

Did Houston overplay their hand? Because of what they were looking for, they essentially backed themselves into a corner where only Miami could offer a solution — at least if they wanted to keep the deal simple. Assuming they were looking to keep their cap sheet clean, the Heat represented the perfect blend of interest and contracts to make it work.

But this deal will always be tied to the original James Harden saga, no matter how you slice it. The Rockets choseOladipo. Yes, they were high on his two-way ability, and Silas had envisioned an athletic backcourt of him and Wall. But they could — and should — have landed Ben Simmons, a young star. They also could have swung a deal that included Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen.

 

Even if you don’t go the latter route because of the Wood/Allen clash or don’t want to pay up this summer, Houston’s front office missed out on a core of Wood, Simmons, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jae’Sean Tate. That’s rough. Say you don’t even opt for Simmons and go with door No. 2; you still could have probably flipped Allen and LeVert down the line.

The Rockets took a swing and risk a lot of folks wouldn’t, myself included. They are essentially banking on getting their hands on a top-four pick in the upcoming draft, Miami’s pick being valuable next season, Milwaukee’s being valuable the year after that and Brooklyn’s the year after that. It’s understandable why some people would rather have the bird in the hand than two in the bush.

Rebuilding is a process. It’s like therapy for NBA teams.

The most important step of a rebuild, like with any problem, is acceptance. Trading Harden to Brooklyn was Houston’s acknowledgment of the end of an era. Trading Tucker to Milwaukee was Houston’s acknowledgment of their present circumstances. But trading Oladipo is Houston’s acknowledgment of the future.

Between now and the end of the season, the franchise will have to sort out its roster. Injuries to names like Eric Gordon and David Nwaba prevent Silas from crafting a steady rotation, but bringing in two more players in Olynyk and Bradley might be enough to decide on the futures of Ben McLemore and Dante Exum. The Athletic understands that one or both players could be waived before the end of the season.

Going off league history, one common trait among rebuilding teams is flexibility. The Rockets will have an ample amount of it in the upcoming offseason. An aggressive summer awaits, with Houston having a multitude of avenues to improve its team. As far as draft capital goes, they aren’t as flush with first-round picks as the Oklahoma City Thunder (34 over the next 7 years), but 14 is more than enough. There’s an obvious risk here, with only a 52 percent chance of landing a top-four pick in this year’s talented crop, but it’s a chance they’re willing to take.

With regards to free agency, the Rockets can operate as an over-the-cap team this summer and use their trade exceptions (they still have the Harden exception) as well as the non-taxpayer Mid-Level Exception to upgrade the team. This route allows them to bring in two quality players on around $10 million each. They could also stay under the cap, create additional wiggle room to sign someone making $15 million, and so on.

Houston wants to be in a situation where they can take advantage of opportunities that suddenly present themselves. The most prominent examples of this on the roster already were the signing of Wood and the trade for Porter Jr, two important players who were attainable because of flexibility. The nature of the NBA means you don’t know when exactly others like this will pop up, so it’s best to stay prepared to capitalize when they do.

As we reported earlier in the season, there is a plan for Porter Jr. He isn’t seen as someone the franchise just got lucky with. Converting Porter Jr. from a wing to a point guard has Silas envisioning a backcourt featuring two primary creators in him and Wall. There’s an internal belief that the second-year guard can be a franchise cornerstone for years to come. Now, post-deadline, The Athletic understands that Houston wants Porter Jr. in the starting lineup for the rest of the season. Porter impressed as a starter upon returning from the bubble but struggled to generate the same impact coming off the bench. Keeping Oladipo past the deadline would have only further hindered that development.

The Rockets also have a pair of rookies in Tate and K.J. Martin who have genuine defensive potential at this level. Both have come with their offensive shortcomings (mainly outside shooting confidence), but there’s no denying their versatility on the other end of the floor. Martin, in particular, has been an adept shot-blocker, rebounder and team defender. Tate has been trusted in a high-switching scheme and hasn’t backed down from any challenge. Both have occasionally been deputized as small-ball bigs as well. Offensively, Tate has impressed as a roller, is crafty around the basket and is becoming more willing to take perimeter shots. Martin has the potential to be a gifted cutter and is also a good finisher.

And then there’s Wood, the team’s $41 million do-it-all offseason acquisition. Wednesday’s home loss to the Hornets showed a frustrated Wood trying to establish himself in the offensive flow, but it’s been a work in progress since returning from his ankle injury. Nevertheless, Wood understands how important his presence is and wants that role as a focal point of Silas’ offense. His play this season certainly warrants that.

When you take an extensive look at this organization, both with the young talent they have and the financial avenues to improve, there’s a good reason to follow the script. Houston isn’t in a position like Philadelphia was years ago when they have to hope the stars align to lift them out of basketball’s abyss. Silas is a good candidate to lead the youth movement because of his patience and pragmatism, two qualities Rockets fans should get familiar with in the near future.

“We can grow with those guys,” Silas said of his young players Thursday after practice. “We have some positive things going on, for sure.”

Now, at last, Houston is committing to finding out just how many there truly are.