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The Rockets signed one of the best free agents on the free agent market after trading Kevin Durant early in the season, which reminded me of the summer of 2017.
That year, the Rockets signed and traded Chris Paul, and cleverly structured the trade to retain the mid-level exception that wasn’t taxable, and eventually used that exception to sign P.J. Tucker—like Finney-Smith today, both were experienced 3D players. Tucker eventually became a starter, helping the Rockets win 65 games and force the defending champion Warriors to a Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals.
Finney-Smith’s arrival filled the void left by the Rockets after trading defenseman Dillon Brooks to the Suns (Durant trade). But statistically, the three players Dillon faced most often in positional defense last season were centers (Wen Banyama) and point guards (Alexander), and Finney-Smith’s defensive versatility is a little less impressive.
At this stage, it might be more appropriate to have Finney-Smith guard the power forwards rather than have him guard speedy guards. The Rockets could use All-Defensive Team pick Amen Thompson as a complement. The youngster proved to be one of the top point guards in the league last season.
Offensively, Finney-Smith is a better fit to partner Durant than Dillon — if a different trade structure were used to keep Dillon, the performance might not be as good as it is now. Four of the Rockets’ five starters are capable of scoring independently (Durant, Amen, all-around center Shin Jing, and point guard VanVleet), and the fifth is primarily a spacer. Finney-Smith, who shot 38% from three over the past six seasons and 41% last season, is clearly better than Dillon (though he set a personal high of 40% in 2024-25, his career three-point percentage is just 35.5%).
The risk of this four-year deal is that it could become a negative asset down the road. But given Tucker’s precedent—he helped the Bucks win a championship in the final season of his four-year deal (2021)—that concern may be misplaced. Finney-Smith’s choice to forgo a $15.4 million player option for next season (above the average annual salary of his new contract) also reflects the importance of guaranteed money to some extent.
On the plus side, the Rockets signed Finney-Smith for less than the entire non-taxable middle class, which should help them avoid the luxury tax this offseason. If the contract increases by 5% per year, the Rockets are expected to be about $3 million over the tax, meaning they could simply send Cam Whitmore or some minimum-wage player away in the middle of the season to avoid the tax.
For now, the addition of Finney-Smith has allowed the Rockets to form an unbreakable core of seven — including forward Jabari Smith Jr., who just signed a five-year rookie maximum-salary extension, and potential forward Tari Eason. The team also has Steven Adams, the main puzzle piece of the playoff lineup, and recent first-round picks Whitmore and Reed Sheppard to add depth. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Rockets also plan to extend contracts with free agents Jeff Green, Aaron Holiday, and Tate.
This means the Rockets have achieved a rare feat: while acquiring a superstar like Durant, they haven’t sacrificed depth. This team is perfectly capable of dealing with Durant’s possible regular-season rest while still maintaining a strong winning percentage. While the reigning champions are still the favorites to win the championship this season, just like in 2018, I think the Rockets will be the biggest obstacle in the Thunder’s path to back-to-back championships.
(source: NBA)
