S63: Rockets Taking Off Press Conference

[78#]

Hello everyone. Glad to have you all here. It's been a long time since I've done one of these. But I'm glad to be able to do one now. I've run the Rockets since the inception of the league. I've been a bit distance for awhile now, but I'm fully back. And I'm excited to be able to continue as the Rockets GM. The franchise has been through some tough times, mostly due to my absence and mismanagement, but things are finally looking better. Not a whole lot happened this offseason due to being in the luxury tax, but there are things I want to talk about.

First, I'm excited to have some of these contracts coming of the books. It will help us manage our salary cap and finances much better. Despite some dirty reporting, the Rockets are not in massive debt and we should be able to pay it off soon.

We were excited to draft Jaylen Forbes in the first round from Syracuse. We think he can be a bigger point guard in the future with his potential to handle the rock, attack the basket, and defend the perimeter.

We didn't submit any bids in free agency. But we really had a good TC. Sion James our rookie phenom from last season had a massive jump and is definitely the most talented draft pick we've had since Shaquille O'Neal. We're massively excited to watch him grow. We also saw growth from Jaylen Forbes and think he and Sion can be a strong foundation for the future.

We did sign some veteran players post preseason and think we can see him production from them.

Ok we will be taking questions now.

[MexicanMamba]

Obviously some poor money management caused major issues for the franchise in recent years. What steps will you be taking with this renewed energy to ensure that you don't fall into those same traps?

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[78#]

Obviously some poor money management caused major issues for the franchise in recent years. What steps will you be taking with this renewed energy to ensure that you don't fall into those same traps?

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First thing is to get a better handle on the market and also not sign big contracts just for the sake of spending cap space. Also we need to see where the team is at before going on a spending spree. Keeping is flexible will be very important until the time is right.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: If you had been able to do free agency, what kind of player would you have looked to grab with the MLE to help your team with this season's goals?

[78#]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: If you had been able to do free agency, what kind of player would you have looked to grab with the MLE to help your team with this season's goals?

Probably would have tried to get a PG or a center, but most likely a PG to help run the offense.

[pennpanther1]

It is great to have some old timers here. What led you back to the league? What are your goals for the team?

[Eazy P]

Congrats on Sion's TC bump. What went into him improving his game. A new Training Staff?

[PaulyP]

Welcome back, what are your overall thoughts on the state of the league in terms of how competitive it is and the current talent level of the players themselves as compared to the past?

[greepleairport]

Great to see you back @78# (wow, don't think I can tag you). FYI - you can still answer these and ask a couple questions from pressers posted Monday for full presser points. Just get them in by Sim 2. Best of luck in your rebuild!