Ime Udoka reportedly passed on big names in Houston’s 2023 free agency

The first two in particular have played a key role in Houston’s rise from 22-60 two seasons ago to 41-41 last season and a current 17-9 mark, which ranks third in the 2024-25 Western Conference. In addition to their abilities as players, all four veterans are also beloved in the locker room and have taken on important leadership and mentoring roles with a relatively young team.

But in 2023, there were some fans and analysts who wanted Houston to think even bigger with their spending. While head coach Ime Udoka and the Rockets did their due diligence on potential stars, including former franchise icon James Harden, they eventually came to the conclusion that a lower tier made more sense with where the Rockets were in their rebuilding plan.

Quoting Udoka, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports:

“My main thing for us was, ‘What’s the best fit for our young guys to continue to grow?'” Udoka said. “But also, out of respect for James, (I told him), ‘You’re at the stage where you want to win and we’re not there yet.’ And it wasn’t just James. I had five, six veterans going to championship-level teams that wanted to come (that summer) and I told them all the same thing.

“They went everywhere else, but they had Golden State, Milwaukee, Phoenix and all these teams (that wanted them) coming. But I told them, ‘We’re not there. Try to win a championship.’ And then it’s just about fit and where we’re at. … Our (young) guys needed reps.”