Houston Rockets 2014-2015 Press Conference
Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 9:09 am
Hello everyone. This is my 25th season as the Rockets GM/Head Coach (Quiet applause). Once again we have a new owner this season as Jeramy Watson sold the team to Bob Collins. This will be our 3rd owner since 2010 when Lowell Ramos sold the team to Watson who wanted more of a win now approach. Though we made it to the playoffs in 4 out of the 5 seasons with Watson, we never got out of the first round. We're hoping for more success with our new owner who is much younger and willing to be more patient to build a consistent winner.
Last season started out slow, but we finally hit our grove after the Marcus Banks trade at the deadline. We won 5 out of first 7 games after that trade and jumped to the 6th seed with the 4th and 5th seed not too far behind before we suffered a major blow with Al Horford breaking his leg and missing the rest of the season. After the injury we finished 9-14 the rest of the way end the season with a 41-41 record and 7th seed in the West. Unfortunately we ran into a very good Nuggets team and lost the series in 5 games.
This offseason started off with the draft. With our first pick, we selected SG Sean Kilpatrick from Cincy who shows great potential as a scorer when it comes to attacking the paint, shooting from the perimeter, and getting to the free throw line. We feel he can be a dynamic score for a long time if he reaches his potential.
In restricted FA, we managed to re-sign Lance Stephenson with a 3 year, $21 million contract. We had really liked Lance before the contract and now we really like him more after his training camp where he had a +61 across the board. He has the chance to become the elite wing scorer we have lacked for a long time.
In unrestricted FA, we signed key veterans to help establish quality depth with guys like Luis Scola, Chase Buddinger, C.J. Watson, Raymond Felton, and Corey Brewer. Buddinger had a good training camp as well increasing his potential to be a quality scorer heading into his prime.
Our two deep lineup looks like this:
C - Al Horford will start. We're hoping he can bounce back from his leg injury to continue to be one of the best centers in the league with his scoring, rebounding, defense, and all-around game. Scola will be his backup.
PF - Brandon Bass will be our starter in his last season as a Rocket; We need his scoring and rebounding to continue from last season. Scola will be the backup as well.
SF - Ronnie Brewer will be starting in his last season as a Rocket and maybe in the league. He's been a key player in his 9 seasons here as a premier athletic defender allowing him to be a three time all-League defender. Chase Buddinger will be his backup.
SG - Stephenson will be starter. We hope his scoring can supplement Horford and Ty Lawson. C.J. Watson will be his backup.
PG - Our max guy Ty Lawson. We think he will improve again this season with his scoring, play-making, and defense. Raymond Felton will be the backup
Depth Chart
C - Horford, Scola, Biyombo
PF - Bass, Scola, Biyombo, Mirotic
SF - Ronnie Brewer, Buddinger, Corey Brewer, Mirotic
SG - Stephenson, C.J. Watson, Buddinger, Sean Kilpatrick, Corey Brewer
PG - Lawson, Raymond Felton, C.J. Watson
Thank you.
Last season started out slow, but we finally hit our grove after the Marcus Banks trade at the deadline. We won 5 out of first 7 games after that trade and jumped to the 6th seed with the 4th and 5th seed not too far behind before we suffered a major blow with Al Horford breaking his leg and missing the rest of the season. After the injury we finished 9-14 the rest of the way end the season with a 41-41 record and 7th seed in the West. Unfortunately we ran into a very good Nuggets team and lost the series in 5 games.
This offseason started off with the draft. With our first pick, we selected SG Sean Kilpatrick from Cincy who shows great potential as a scorer when it comes to attacking the paint, shooting from the perimeter, and getting to the free throw line. We feel he can be a dynamic score for a long time if he reaches his potential.
In restricted FA, we managed to re-sign Lance Stephenson with a 3 year, $21 million contract. We had really liked Lance before the contract and now we really like him more after his training camp where he had a +61 across the board. He has the chance to become the elite wing scorer we have lacked for a long time.
In unrestricted FA, we signed key veterans to help establish quality depth with guys like Luis Scola, Chase Buddinger, C.J. Watson, Raymond Felton, and Corey Brewer. Buddinger had a good training camp as well increasing his potential to be a quality scorer heading into his prime.
Our two deep lineup looks like this:
C - Al Horford will start. We're hoping he can bounce back from his leg injury to continue to be one of the best centers in the league with his scoring, rebounding, defense, and all-around game. Scola will be his backup.
PF - Brandon Bass will be our starter in his last season as a Rocket; We need his scoring and rebounding to continue from last season. Scola will be the backup as well.
SF - Ronnie Brewer will be starting in his last season as a Rocket and maybe in the league. He's been a key player in his 9 seasons here as a premier athletic defender allowing him to be a three time all-League defender. Chase Buddinger will be his backup.
SG - Stephenson will be starter. We hope his scoring can supplement Horford and Ty Lawson. C.J. Watson will be his backup.
PG - Our max guy Ty Lawson. We think he will improve again this season with his scoring, play-making, and defense. Raymond Felton will be the backup
Depth Chart
C - Horford, Scola, Biyombo
PF - Bass, Scola, Biyombo, Mirotic
SF - Ronnie Brewer, Buddinger, Corey Brewer, Mirotic
SG - Stephenson, C.J. Watson, Buddinger, Sean Kilpatrick, Corey Brewer
PG - Lawson, Raymond Felton, C.J. Watson
Thank you.