Outside of the Portland Trail Blazers, no team in the NBA may have had worse luck over the last few years than the Rockets. That continued during the offseason as they had the league reject a deal that would have given them All-Star power forward Pau Gasol and the cap room to sign the top-ranked free agent Nene. Then they saw the Memphis Grizzlies match their offer sheet for restricted free agent center Marc Gasol. Unable to execute any of their plans, the Rockets are bound to fall behind the pack in the incredibly-tough Southwest Division. Counting on head coach Kevin McHale, the most questionable coaching hire of the offseason, to be competitive with a roster that management actively sought to overhaul is not a position any franchise would want to be in.

4th Place, Southwest Division

- Yannis Koutroupis

The offseason was a frustrating time for the Rockets, who struck out on every free agent and trade they pursued. As of this writing they are also without a starting center, or even a back-up unless you count Hasheem Thabeet. The Rockets have lots of nice young pieces, including Jeremy Lin and Marcus Morris, but unless one of the young big men steps up at center it’s going to be a long season for the Rockets. It doesn’t help that they play in the NBA’s toughest division.

5th Place – Southwest Division

- Bill Ingram

It’s not like we didn’t see the Yao Ming retirement coming, but despite that fact the Rockets still haven’t had any luck in tracking down a new franchise center. Pau Gasol would’ve fit the bill just fine had the Chris Paul trade worked out, and Pau’s brother Marc would’ve been equally interesting had he not signed a max four-year deal to stay in Memphis. Nene seems to view Houston as a third option, which means that when this is all said and done, the team’s best new addition might be… Samuel Dalembert? That doesn’t signal a major improvement to me, but Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and Patrick Patterson are talented enough to at least keep things interesting. Rookies Marcus Morris and Donatas Motiejunas clog up the power forward rotation a little, but they’ll be worth watching, too. Despite all that, with essentially the same roster as last year with only a few minor tweaks, Houston doesn’t seem poised to work their way up the Western Conference ranks any time soon. Not without some sort of major trade or signing, which they still could potentially find a way to do.

4th Place, Southwest Division

- Joel Brigham

The retirement of center Yao Ming, due to chronic injury, ended an era in Houston which never fully seemed to get off the ground. For a team which boasts NBA championships and frequent playoff berths on the resume the Rockets have failed to lure in top tier talent via free agency as of late. Luis Scola and Kevin Martin are two more than capable veterans who produce nightly on a consistent basis, but the team lacks talent at center and the undersized but overachieving Chuck Hayes is no longer on the roster. They’ll compete hard but it’s likely another year on the outside looking in of the postseason for Houston.

5th Place, Southwest Division

- Lang Greene

After David Stern vetoed the three-team trade that would’ve sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets found themselves in a very awkward position. Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic had to start training camp with the organization that had just tried to trade them. The deal was a surprise to Martin, who had been assured several months earlier that the Rockets were going to build around him. Houston also missed out on the chance to acquire Pau Gasol and sign Nene, and now they must try to smooth over the situation and salvage their season. The Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs have improved, which will make it very difficult for the Rockets to make the playoffs out of the Southwest Division. While they’ll finish ahead of the rebuilding New Orleans Hornets in the standings, it’s going to be a tough year for the Rockets.

4th Place, Southwest Division

- Alex Kennedy

July 15, 2011 – NBA Development League (D-League) Rio Grande Valley Vipers
MCALLEN, TEXAS – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers announced on Friday that head coach Chris Finch has earned a promotion to become an assistant coach with their parent club, the Houston Rockets.

“I want to thank everybody within the Vipers organization for all their support and professionalism over the last two years. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and working with everybody. I found the experience both rewarding and very helpful in preparing me for my next opportunity,” Finch said.

Finch becomes the second Vipers coach to earn a promotion to an NBA coaching staff, with Robert Pack, an assistant coach during the 2008-09 season, becoming an assistant coach with the New Orleans Hornets, who were one of the Vipers’ parents clubs that year. Pack is now on the Los Angeles Clippers’ coaching staff.

Finch is the second coach to earn a promotion to the NBA this off-season, following in the footsteps of Maine Red Claws head coach Austin Ainge, who recently joined the Boston Celtics as Director of Player Personnel. Finch is also the 29th coach to earn a promotion to the NBA in NBA Development League history.

“This is a great opportunity for Chris and I am very excited for him and his family. Chris has done an outstanding job with the Vipers and he is very deserving of this chance to be on Coach McHale’s Rockets staff. During his time in the Rio Grande Valley, Chris did a terrific job of developing many of our young players while still managing to lead the Vipers to back-to-back NBA D-League Finals, including a championship two seasons ago. I have complete confidence he will bring that same winning mindset to his responsibilities with the Rockets,” said Vipers General Manager Gersson Rosas, who is also the Vice President of Player Personnel for the Rockets.

Named the third head coach in Vipers history on September 29, 2009, Finch completed the second biggest turnaround in NBA Development League history by taking the Vipers from back-to-back 21-29 records to a 34-16 record while earning the Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year award before winning the championship. Finch led the Vipers back to the Finals this past season, marking just the second time that feat has ever been accomplished. With a record of 65-33 (.663) in two seasons, Finch is not only the winningest head coach in Vipers history, but he also holds the third highest winning percentage in NBA Development League history (minimum of five games coached), behind only Hornets assistant coach Bryan Gates (Idaho Stampede, 2006-09) and Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Dave Joerger (Dakota Wizards, 2006-07), who both finished at .666. In a 14-year career as a head coach, the 41-year old Finch holds a record of 446-221 (.679). His resume includes 13 playoff appearances while finishing either first or second in the regular season 11 times. Finch has won eight championships and five Coach of the Year awards.

Finch is also the head coach of the Great Britain National Team, who he will lead into the 2012 Olympics in London.

“We want to thank Chris for being a such a big part of our organization, both on and off the court, for the last two years. From the moment Chris arrived in the Valley, he wanted to be heavily involved in the community. I’ll never forget that weekend in March when we didn’t have any games. Rather than take the time off, Chris took the entire team and staff to go help Paint McAllen Beautiful. He was a great ambassador for the Rio Grande Valley everywhere he went, and I have no doubt he will continue to be that in Houston. Chris is one of the best coaches in the world and we wish him the best of luck with the Rockets,” Vipers President Bert Garcia said.

The Rockets will immediately being the search for the fourth head coach in Vipers history.

• Discuss this story on the NBA Development League message board…

• Digg this story

• Add to Del.icio.us

• Finch Promoted to Rockets – Rio Grande Valley Vipers

• Open Auditions Set for 2011-12 Tulsa 66ers Dance Team – Tulsa 66ers

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.