Kevin Durant has reportedly eliminated the Rockets from consideration in free agency.
So, Houston is moving on?
Marc Stein of ESPN:
PS: The Rockets, I'm told, remain hopeful they get a July face-to-face with Kevin Durant despite knowing they're not presently in contention
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 11, 2016
The Rockets are now in the same boat as several other teams. They know Durant is the best free agent on the market (assuming LeBron James isn’t leaving the Cavaliers), but they also know they probably won’t get him.
So now what?
Do they continue a longshot pursuit even if it means missing out on better fallback options? Durant is so good, even a 1% chance at him might be an overlay. When the alternative is someone like Kent Bazemore, you needn’t be the favorite for Durant to go all out for him.
But that plan carries risk, namely other players signing while you’re still waiting on Durant.
It appears the Rockets are willing to take that risk. The question now: To what extent with they let their Durant dreams dictate their offseason strategy?