The Houston Rockets made the biggest blunder of the offseason when they traded point guard Jeremy Lin to the Los Angeles Lakers for futile cap space clearing purposes.
The Rockets came into the summer with an intention to add another star, forming a formidable triumvirate alongside All-Star shooting guard James Harden and center Dwight Howard.
With big names such as Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony all up for grabs, general manager Daryl Morey made several moves to give his team the financial flexibility to go after these players.
Unfortunately for the Rockets, they made a strong pitch to bring over Anthony to Texas but the All-Star small forward chose to stay with the New York Knicks. As for Bosh, Houston was so close in acquiring the versatile big man only to see their bid squashed by Miami Heat's more lucrative offer of roughly $120 million over five years.
The Rockets absorbed a big blow after being rejected by elite stars this offseason. After two successful offseason splashes that produced Harden and Howard, the Rockets enter the new season without their key players that helped them to become a force to be reckoned with as of late.
Morey traded center Omer Asik to the New Orleans Pelicans and then decided not to match the Dallas Mavericks offer sheet for Chandler Parsons. Rockets management insisted they have already replacements for those two players by drafting Clint Capela and acquiring Trevor Ariza. However, they haven't yet filled in the void left by Lin.
Patrick Beverley is no doubt a defensive stud last year, having been selected in the All-Defensive second team. Still, Beverley cannot give the team that instant offense and playmaking skills Lin provided over two seasons in Houston. Despite averaging 12 points and 4 assists per game in a backup role, Lin showed how important he was for the team by igniting their offense off the bench and giving them some versatility as an off-guard player.
Beverley is not capable of that, more so his current backup Isaiah Canaan, who claimed he can assume the role of Lin.
Therefore, it's safe to assume the Rockets will struggle mightily this season because of their lack of depth at the point guard spot. Lin's ability to penetrate and create shots for others are indispensable for the Rockets' run-and-gun game. Without him, the Rockets could be in a big trouble.
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