The Houston Rockets didn’t have a lot of financial wiggle room when the beginning of free agency started. They wanted to go out and make a big splash by trading for All-Star wing Jimmy Butler, and after those talks fell apart, the Rockets started handing out deals to their own free agents.
Among those was Austin Rivers, who took a two-year deal at the league minimum to stay in Houston. According to reports, Rivers had offers as big as $5.7 million per year, but he chose a team he believes in and general happiness when deciding to stay in Houston with the Rockets.
“Now that the league is wide open, I just saw an opportunity,” said Rivers “You can’t really put a price on happiness. The goal was to come back to Houston all along. I think we have the team to beat.”
The Rockets have had one of the best teams in the NBA over the last two seasons, only losing to the Warriors in the second round this season and in the Western Conference Finals. The league really could be wide open next season with the Warriors primed for a down year, the Raptors potentially losing Kawhi Leonard and other teams vastly improving their rosters through the draft and free agency.
And of course, the Rockets will remain in that conversation as long as they have James Harden, who has been one of the most consistent producers of good basketball over the last five seasons.
