Running It Back: 2025-26 Houston Rockets Season Preview

[KW]

Following a roller coaster of a 2024-25 season that included long stretches of losing basketball, multiple trades, a long winning streak, and then a blown 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs, the Rockets had some decisions to make. Despite some talk about trading Dragan Bender and Elie Okobo, the decision was made fairly early to run it back with the same core.

ROSTER MOVES:
- Traded Josh Okogie
+ Draft 2nd round rookies Oshae Brissett, Rayshaun Hammonds
+ Signed Jahii Carson, Ryan Boatright, Keita Bates-Diop to vet mins
- Lost UFAs Shane Larkin, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donte Grantham, Patrick McCaw
+ Re-signed RFA Malik Monk to near-max 5-year $71.7M contract
+ Re-signed UFA Kemba Walker to 2-year $15M contract
+ Re-signed RFA Damyean Dotson to 5-year $16.7M contract

The Rockets expected to lose some depth, but after a late adjustment to the league's max salary rules, the Rockets were able to retain 3 of the 4 key FAs on fair contracts, losing Shane Larkin to Charlotte, but replacing him with ball handling wizard Ryan Boatright and shooter Jahii Carson.

Monk was signed about a million per year below the max, Dotson locked in a five year deal where he gets paid $3.33M every year, and the graybeard Kemba Walker cashed in for two more years at about $7.5M per.



GUARDS:

Malik Monk enters his fifth season with a heavier wallet and heavier expectations than ever. After two consecutive years of embarrassing playoff performances in close-out games, Monk is out for blood. A point of emphasis for the team is to find ways to be less reliant on his hot-and-cold outside shot.

Kemba Walker understands his days as a CSL starting level player are limited. At 35, he no longer has the burst and the handles to play full time PG, but can still defend the position and shoot the rock. His minutes will be kept down after 2 of his last 3 seasons have been cut short with injury, but will have his moments to shine.

Elie Okobo is entering his third season after a rocky second year in and out of the rotation. As a combo guard scorer, he is determined to prove he belongs and should get plenty of opportunities. He will definitely have the opportunities to score off the bench and prove he's one of the more well-rounded scorers out there.

Ryan Boatright is likely the only true PG on the team. While his minutes may be sparse to start the season, he will certainly get the opportunity to compete for key rotation minutes based on his handles and scoring efficiency, and to prove that his D-League stats of 21 points, 9 assists on 56% shooting last season can translate.

Jahii Carson had a pretty solid season for Dallas last year as a shooter, hitting 127 threes on 44% shooting (60 TS%). He is unlikely to be more than a situational rotation piece, but his shooting off the bench will be much appreciated.



WINGS:

Victor Oladipo was a game-changer on the defensive side of the ball, forcing over three turnovers a game following the trade from Cleveland. He had a tough time with his shot though, and may need to change up his shot selection to be more efficient this year.

Damyean Dotson is a team favorite in the mold of Roy Devyn Marble from past Rockets contenders- he shot very well in his minutes last season (a hair under 50% from deep) and defends well.

Keita Bates-Diop is a prospect fairly similar to Dotson, with a solid outside shot and good defense. While not as well developed, he will likely see minutes and fill that 3&D role as well.

Oshae Brissett, a rookie with tantalizing defensive potential, will get some run. A good teammate that looks to defer offensive touches to other more talented players (read: all of them), Brissett's presence on the floor could be more than shows up on his line of the box score.



FORWARDS:

Dragan Bender enters his sixth year in the CSL and fifth as Rockets swiss army knife. Last season was all over the place for him- he started the year monopolizing the ball and putting up great numbers but finished the year with underwhelming stats, upset with a lack of touches. He will play a variety of roles for the Rockets this season attempting to find that middle ground.

Justise Winslow and the Rockets organization believe he is the best defensive player in the CSL, and proved it with a terrific season. Dubbed the Giant Killer due to his tendency to lock down opposing bigs, Winslow's weakness has always been scoring efficiency. He improved as the season went on, to a career best FG% of 46.9 (50.2 TS%), but he should continue that improvement.



BIGS:

Karl-Anthony Towns is the cornerstone of the frontcourt once again. Efforts to extend his range past the three point line have been made over the last couple years, and he is set to exercise his scoring prowess from all three levels this season.

Chris Boucher was brought over from Cleveland in the Oladipo trade last season, and made such a huge impact with his rim protection while Towns was out with an injury that it was thought he was a better fit for the starting five. Boucher's lack of rebounding and offensive production ultimately prevailed, but he figures to be one of the game's most interesting bench bigs.

Doral Moore just dunks and dunks. Boucher's emergence likely pushes him out of the rotation, but as an efficient producer of offense, his number will certainly be called from time to time.

Rayshaun Hammonds, a rebounding specialist rookie who is incredibly specialized and a non-factor in other areas will definitely be called upon at times during the season, but it may largely be a development season for him.

[TheTwoWallaces]

son of a bitch stole my team

but actually, so strange seeing Oladipo, Winslow, and Okobo all together in Houston. They were my best 3 players 2 seasons ago. Key difference is that I didn't have Malik Monk & KAT -- so this team is miles above that one.

I'm excited to see how your bench guys work out. A lot of them seem like bench fodder to my untrained eye, but you have a role for each of them in your system. Another 50 win season should be in store for the Rockets

[Dennis]

Imo the team didn’t improve but also didn’t get worse. So the question is if last year was an exception or if it was the rockets true ceiling. I would still trade some player for better fit around monk. Like bender just doesn’t fit.

[KW]

son of a bitch stole my team

but actually, so strange seeing Oladipo, Winslow, and Okobo all together in Houston. They were my best 3 players 2 seasons ago. Key difference is that I didn't have Malik Monk & KAT -- so this team is miles above that one.

I'm excited to see how your bench guys work out. A lot of them seem like bench fodder to my untrained eye, but you have a role for each of them in your system. Another 50 win season should be in store for the Rockets

haha we've swapped a few guys- of your Pacers, I drafted (or traded for on draft day) Porter, Mika, Patton, Payton, and Murray

Imo the team didn’t improve but also didn’t get worse. So the question is if last year was an exception or if it was the rockets true ceiling. I would still trade some player for better fit around monk. Like bender just doesn’t fit.

I agree the team isn't better or worse than last year. It's a matter of me finding the best uses of everyone.

Re: Bender: I think his skillset is a perfect fit, just need to get his touches sorted out. He took too many early in the year, too few late in the year, I think I know what needs to be done to balance it out.

[Ramcus]

I think it's going to be a pretty bog-standard year for the Rockets, with 4th seed expectations and an easy 1st Round victory. That being said, we all saw what happened last season, with the Rockets throwing a 3-1 lead to the eventual finalists San Antonio Spurs. They've got to find a way to distribute touches better, and not rely as heavily on Monk's streaky shooting.

That being said, I like the squad this season. It's pretty much the same, with minor 9th/10th man differences. You guys always drop a few games to experiments during the season, so I wouldn't worry too much about positioning. It'll be mostly about keeping the core 7-8 players healthy for the playoffs.

[Marcos_Beck]

You know I’ve been out for a season yet this Houston team looks exactly like it was, but a little bit worse in terms of defense in the first unit as Kemba regressed a lot in that area already.

It’s still a very very talented team, but idk. I’ll be honest like I always am, this is one of the most talented teams in the league, they have two fantastic offensive options in Monk and Towns, the perfect inside-out scoring punch, they have talent with Okobo, Winslow, Bender, I’m a fan of Dotson with his 3&D prowess, and there are two solid veterans in Kemba and Dipo. Still, I don’t like the way this team is built, there are too many scorers, no true PG, Bender has no role in that team (I mean he’s a point forward who I don’t see as a clear fit at SF, too big to play on the wings).. They have zero rebounding outside of Towns and the fit is awkward overall.

They have the raw talent to win 50+ every year, but advancing past some playoff matchups would be really hard for this team.

I know Biz likes the roster though and probably won’t make any move to shake things up, and I’m good with that, after all it’s a very talented group.

[hardenwithnod]

This is still one of the most talented roster in the league today, and with a year of experiment in the new engine under your belt, I expect this team to be a serious threat this year.

[cb4raptorscb4]

Looks about the same as last year, but you guys were on fire the second half of last season with the defensive mindset so that could propel you higher.

Monk is one of my worst nightmares. This might be the year where he finally attempts over 1000 3s.

[Flaming Homer]

This roster really puzzles me. I always think it is one of the most talented around the block and then they play for stretches like exactly that, just to disappear for another stretch and drop games left and right. I liked your moves to get more D on this team, that was a thing I thought was missing before. Right now it is about finding stability. KAT should be in his prime years and also Monk is getting more experienced, maybe that will help this year.

[blackice]

Probably a top 5 team league wide in terms of talent and once HOU figures out the right fit it'll be tough to stop. Monk continues to impress and the surrounding cast is pretty much perfect in terms of what you want around Monk/KAT. Should be an interesting season, I feel like this team has the lowest floor and highest ceiling of the major teams.