The Houston Rockets have one of the most promising rosters in the league right now, but it seems like they don’t want to wait until they’re good enough to compete.
Instead, Ime Udoka and the organization are looking forward to championship contention right away, which means making a big splash in free agency.
A recent report by Marc Stein states that they’ve made it a priority to bring James Harden back to Houston, adding that they’ll pursue Kyrie Irving if their Plan A fails.
With that in mind, Skip Bayless believes that Udoka is trying to send the organization a message, citing that he fully believes he can handle Kyrie — given his history of off-court controversies — and that they need to give him a proven, bonafide star to compete right away.
Report: Rockets interested in Kyrie if they can't land Harden
"Ime Udoka wants a bonafide star. He's saying: 'I can handle Kyrie. Give me Kyrie, I can make it work.'" — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/vrpmR6TTYP
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 12, 2023
Irving is a free agent, so the Rockets could simply offer him a max contract and hope he signs.
Of course, having either him or James Harden wouldn’t be beneficial for Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green, and even some of their other young stars, as they wouldn’t have that much time to develop and would be urged to play for a ring right away.
But the Rockets have been a playoff contender for most of the past decade or so, and they don’t want to sit around and just hope some of their young prospects wind up being a star.
Patience is running out in Houston, so don’t be shocked if they’re tied to even more big names throughout the course of the offseason.
NEXT: NBA Insider Details How The Rockets Could Pursue Kyrie Irving
