Houston Rockets Press Conference

[78#]

Hello everyone.

Last season was very unexpected as we almost won the division and made it one game away from the WCFs. The majority of the group are gone, but we still have some key pieces as well as adding on other pieces as well. We also got under the tax which allowed up to get very aggressive in FA.

We didn't have a draft pick so our offseason started at RFA where we offered a lot of players, but ended up re-signing our very own Russell Gomez to a two year contract. He's been very productive off the bench as a Rocket and we feel he can start as well if needed. Happy to have him back.

After RFA, we went into unrestricted free agency trying to complete our starting lineup. We offered 10 players including guys on our team last season and ended up with Draymond Green, Isaiah Thomas with Al Horford and Ty Lawson which is 4/5 of our starting lineup. We were hoping to bring back Boris Hailey and offered him 4 years at 18 million per season, but unfortunately he did not sign in time and it became too late once Big Al decided to sign. We really wanted him back, but we will still be ok moving forward. The rest of FA was filled with veteran mins who should bring quality minutes.

Training camp was ok, but we took some hits with Draymond and Robert Covington while our two young guys in Russell Gomez and Jonathan Treat improved. Surprisingly Big Al was a +1 but we should always expect that from him. He's a true warrior. Lawson and Isaiah didn't lose too much considering their ages.

Our depth chart will look like this:

Center - Big Al Horford will start again for the 13th straight season. We expect him to be All-NBA again. His back-up will be Russell Gomez.

Power forward - Draymond will start at PF, but we may see a lot of Russell Gomez with Draymond moving to SF.

Starting Forward - Robert Covington will start at SF, but we will see Draymond at SF a lot as well

Shooting Guard - We're gonna have IT at SG so he can focus on scoring. Some veteran min bum will be his back-up.

Point Guard - Ty Lawson will start and another veteran min will be his backup.

We will take questions now.

[Wombataholic]

Do you think the Rockets have added enough talent to compete with the Mavs and Pelicans for the Southwest Division?

[78#]

Do you think the Rockets have added enough talent to compete with the Mavs and Pelicans for the Southwest Division?

The talent is there to win the division. We almost won it last season every time a rag tag bunch. Hopefully I can game plan as well as I did last season.


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[NOLa.]

You're going with a very different type of lineup, one that is undersized at the PG, SG and PF spot. Do you feel height will limit your team, or do you not feel the impact is that great?

[Eazy P]

Do you think you have the talent to beat the Spurs this season? Will you win the season series?

[78#]

You're going with a very different type of lineup, one that is undersized at the PG, SG and PF spot. Do you feel height will limit your team, or do you not feel the impact is that great?

We went small most of the season last year until we traded for Covington. Height's always a concern but we just go with the best 5 on the floor regardless of position so hopefully it will work out. We still plan on using Draymond at SF when we bring in Russell Gomez.


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[78#]

Do you think you have the talent to beat the Spurs this season? Will you win the season series?

We have the talent but we will probably lose the season series because we always do.


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[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: How much of a role will Jonathan Treat be seeing this year?

[78#]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: How much of a role will Jonathan Treat be seeing this year?

Not much early on, but we may change it up and give him a chance later in the year. We do like his upside, but he's not quite ready yet. Hopefully soon.

[RPF]

Mitch Landrieu, nola.com: How do you respond to the critics that say your preseason is fools gold?

[78#]

Mitch Landrieu, nola.com: How do you respond to the critics that say your preseason is fools gold?

I tend to agree with them. I'm not certain on my depth chart. Hopefully I can figure it out soon.


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