Ranking Every Player the Houston Rockets Acquired This Summer

What a time to be alive.

Last summer, that is. If you’re a Houston Rockets fan, the offseason leading up to the 2023-24 season was a whirlwind. The Rockets had money to spend — and they blew it. No team spent more in free agency.

This summer, it’s a different story. The Rockets didn’t have much wiggle room. The money had already been spent. So the Rockets made more modest acquisitions.

That’s not to say they didn’t do anything. The Rockets spent the summer injecting new, young talent into their roster. Here, we take a look at their top acquisitions.

Here’s our ranking of the three new players the Rockets added to their roster this summer.

Any claim that a player could have been selected higher in the draft seems specious. OK… so why didn’t they?

In Dante’s case, injuries could be to blame. In 2020, Dante tore his ACL. He’s been struggling with his stamina ever since. The Rockets should pay attention to those issues.

On the other hand, Dante averaged 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.7 steals per game for the Oregon Ducks in 2023-24. At the NBA level, he has the potential to be a solid basket protector capable of finishing pick-and-rolls with ease on offense.

Dare we say it? Without those injury issues, Dante could have been a first-round talent in the 2024 draft. The Rockets did well to get him on a two-way deal:

Even though he is our last classified acquisition of the summer.