Earlier this week, CBS released their post trade deadline NBA front office rankings. To nobody’s surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder came in at first, but what was surprising to me is that only one other team (Boston Celtics) ranked above the Houston Rockets, which means that they’re the second-highest-ranked front office in the Western Conference, surpassing the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Houston was placed behind OKC because of Oklahoma’s near flawless roster
construction. From acquirng Shai Gilgeous Alexander in the Paul George deal to selecting rotation players such as AJ Mitchell with 38th pick, to acquiring Isiah Hartnstein on a frontloaded contract to allow them more flexibility when their core becomes due for extensions to even curating their own head coach in the G Leauge, its safe to say OKC is putting on a front office masterclass, which makes sense when you factor in OKC’s near flawless roster building.
Houston was also placed below Boston, but this is likely giving the Celtics front office a lot of credit for how they have revamped their team in the wake of the Jayson Tatum injury. “Last May, the Celtics were staring down a half-billion-dollar payroll with their historic repeater tax bill factored in. They’ve since managed to not only get below the second apron, but duck the luxury tax entirely without giving away a single first-round pick to do it.”
CBS ended up ranking Houston ahead of San Antonio, which is surprising considering their draft history in recent memory. However, author Sam Quin admitted to not factoring in draft lottery luck in prior rankings, and stated that “But we can’t ignore the reality that the foundation of their success right now hinged on the lottery. If they win a championship in the near future, that will be the single biggest reason why. If Houston wins a championship in the near future, it will have less to do with luck.” Additonally, Houston passing on Stephon Castle for Reed Sheppard is starting to make more sense, as Reed is having an excellent Sophomore season.
Houston returns from the All-Star break to play the Hornets in Charlotte at 6:00 p.m. Central, and you can catch the game on SPCHN or NBA League Pass. As always,be sure to check back here at the Dreamshake for pre- and post-game coverage.
