3 The contract expires, the Rockets intend to retain 6+5 towers + 3rd guard, Shepard still has potential to tap

After a successful season, the Rockets completely took the initiative in the trading market. Durant and the Rockets had trade rumors before, but judging from the current situation, Stone had no reason to take the initiative to contact veteran superstars. After several seasons of reconstruction, it only accumulated a group of young talents, and held the No. 10 pick from the Suns, and the initiative was in his own hands. Even if there are no deals during the offseason, the Rockets still have the initiative, and the primary goal is to leave players whose contract expires.

Veteran Jeff Green, Gauta Adams and third guard Holiday Jr. are about to become free agents, and Green is difficult to get a contract extension. He averaged less than 2 minutes per game this season's playoffs, which has not helped the team much. The Rockets are full of talents on the front line, and young players have grown up, so they don’t need his passport. Adams, the Rockets' important substitute defensive player, traded him as an injured player, and Stone was once questioned.

Adams is 32 years old this year, not a veteran, and has good recovery after being injured. In his seven games with the Warriors, he averaged 5.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, including 3.3 rebounds in the frontcourt. He is a standard blue-collar center, and his role is even greater than that of some starters. Uduka has used the double tower combination of Adams + Shin Kyung many times this season, and the effect is beyond expectations. The inside has height, defense and rebounds, which activates Shin Kyung's offensive misalignment advantage in the fourth position.

According to Rockets reporter Kelly Iko, the Rockets want to renew their contract with Adams, but face competition. Many playoff-level teams want to sign him. From serious injury to rebirth, Adams has become a hot commodity. The Rockets don’t have many advantages. If they keep people at high salaries, they are not worth it. If they don’t keep inside, the defense will decline. The reporter also said that if the Rockets are not staying in Adams, the Rockets are interested in the Bucks' Big Lopez, the team has a clear goal and a blue-collar center should be equipped with a inside line.

In addition, the Rockets also intend to keep Holiday Jr. He is a good choice for the third team. He averaged 5.5 points per game last season and had a three-point shooting percentage of up to 39.8%. With this ability to shoot outside, he is competitive in the Rockets, and playing the role of the Raiders is worth a contract extension. The Rockets have three players in the No. 1 position and are in different situations, and Van Vleet is also expected to stay in the team. Shepard's rookie season is a failure, but the Rockets seem to have not given up on him and still have potential to tap.

According to reporter Kelly Iko, Shepard is expected to play a bigger role in the Rockets next season. After all, it is a Tanhua show, and the Rockets will not give up training him. First, he has no trading value at the moment. Second, Shepard's template was Curry in the draft, which was considered to be very high. If his three-pointer can be obtained as expected, it can solve the team's shooting problem. This offseason, the Rockets have many players and draft picks that can be traded, and they are also valuable, but it does not mean that they will start rashly.