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Messy Fans Lowe's Messy halftime event hits July 19th that's coming up fast, so now's a really good time to become a Milo's Rewards or Milo's Pro Rewards member. Join for free and get access to exclusive messy moments and epic surprises. Let's just say halftime's looking different this year. Make sure to follow Lowes on TikTok and tune in to the Lowe's Messy halftime event on July 19th. Members get more at Lowe's loyalty programs subject to terms and conditions. Visit Lowes.com terms for details.
Luke Morrow
Subject to change A former Rocket player said that the Rockets were the worst organization he's ever played for. Plus, is it really at this point more about next year for the Rockets than this year? Payne and Pendergast I'm Luke Morrow in for Sean alongside Seth Payne. Appreciate you starting your Friday with us. You can always join the conversation 713-572-4610 on the text line or in the YouTube and Twitch chats as well. Seth I've been thinking about this as this offseason has unfolded for the Rockets. We're seemingly not a whole lot's going on for our Houston Rockets as you see all these other teams make the moves and we've been down this road before, but at this point should we be looking more towards just the 2027 draft and next year where the Rockets are holding on to those picks from a couple of bad teams with the Nets and the Suns, as opposed to this upcoming season where the Rockets are trying to just kind of run things back and hope that some healthier players will make the difference?
Seth Payne
I think you know what I that it's a good question and I think that's where the kind of the divide between talking about it, analyzing it thinking about realistically what will happen falls away from. All right, let's not forget that pretty much this same assortment of players last year in the preseason was forecast and predicted to be a lot better than what they ended up being. So that the notion of running it back doesn't seem as extreme. If, if you remember that, okay, with a healthy Fred Van Vliet and a healthy Stephen Adams, that this was expected to be a much different basketball team than it ended up being. And I think that if, if they had been able to run all those guys out and have a full season with them and they got the results that they did, then, yeah, you should be really depressed about all of this and not have very high hopes again. Maybe I'm naive and maybe I'm just too. Just searching or yearning for something. I don't. I would like them to be more aggressive. At the same time, I think it's very possible that they end up surpassing expectations. Right now they're, right now they're the, they've got the. Well, I'd written it down is the short of 15th shortest odds to win the championship. So they're, they're considered just a middle of the road. Like, all right, not really thinking, nobody's really thinking about them as a, as a, as a contender at this point, given the current state of affairs, if Fred Van Vliet is healthy and who knows what the situation is with that, I'm still inclined to be like, no, I'm not looking towards the draft yet. I'm thinking it's awesome that you got some picks that aren't yours, so you can be as good as you want to be and it's not going to affect anything that happens in the draft. And that there's a real good chance. There's. I shouldn't say there's a real good chance. There's a very reasonable chance that they exceed expectations, which right now are not all that high either locally or nationally.
Luke Morrow
Yeah, because you said, what, 15th best odds this year to win the championship. So speaking of odds, props to shoddy ad on Reddit who actually put this together. But looking at that 2027 draft and the potential for the Rockets because of those other picks they hold. And so they have the potential with this new lottery system. And I know that was why some Rockets fans were excited about the lottery changes. But the Rockets could have six lottery balls in the lottery next year, and that would give them a 16% chance of winning the lottery, a 35% chance of a top two pick, 49% chance of a top three pick, 62% chance, top four, 73% chance that it is a top five pick in what is what. I mean, it's still way too early, but it could be a pretty decent draft next year. So if you're a Rockets fan, it's like, well, not much is happening this offseason. Maybe the excitement comes from trying to get, you know, a couple first round picks next year and, and sort of reap, not rebuild. I won't say that. Reinforce the roster that way since they can't do seemingly they can't do a whole lot in free agency this season.
Seth Payne
Yeah. And I mean, this is from a team. It's not like the Rockets have had horrible luck in the lottery or anything with this. It's just they haven't accepted their. Except that they're even their good luck just isn't quite good enough at times to get like an antenna Kumpo, for instance. That's the. It's not horrible luck, but it's almost worse that it's not horrible luck that they've had pretty damn good luck. It's just. Just not quite good enough in the key and specific moments you need it to be.
Luke Morrow
Yeah, it's like being the runner up a bunch for like competitive positions and it's like, well, I'm very close, they think highly of me, but it's still not quite good enough to actually get the position each time. Yeah, you're the bridesmaid, never the bride, so to speak.
Seth Payne
Hey. The Rockets were basically the second best team in basketball for a long time when it just happened to be that the warriors were the best team.
Luke Morrow
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that too.
Seth Payne
Where's our banner for that?
Luke Morrow
Yeah.
Seth Payne
You know, or do it. When do we. When do we get our replica rings for that?
Luke Morrow
I like the top comment on this Reddit thread is saying knowing the Rockets, Lux. Knowing the Rockets luck will be nets in the Suns in the NBA Finals this year. And so then those picks will, you know, then you won't get the lottery picks after all because those two teams will surprisingly, knowing the Rockets luck, surprisingly be really good. And you can't count on those picks.
Seth Payne
Yeah. So I don't. It's, it's, it's kind of cool because I don't. You can have your cake and eat it too. And that. All right. I think running it back, as depressing as it might feel at any given time, when you say that they're not actually running it back, you know, like, that's a, that's a one little Objection. I have to people just so casually saying, well, the Rockets are running it back. If Fred Van Vliet is actually healthy, then they're not running it back. You know, they're. They're running back their plan from before the season last year. But it's not like you should just expect that that's going to be the exact same team with the guys awkwardly trying to fit into roles they're not suited for, as long as you actually have a viable point guard on the team. So that part of it is I'm, I'm still. I feel like I'm a little bit more optimistic than the average Rockets fan on that side of things. But. But at the same time, I don't also have to. I don't have to worry about it. I don't have to worry about, like, oh, well, if they have a, you know, if they end up 500 again, then they screwed their chance to, to get a reset in the lottery. They have that because they already have a chance of having a good pick simply because they've. They've got so many other teams picks.
Luke Morrow
Yeah, that's fair on the whole running it back thing. I mean, they are running it back in the sense or why they were quote, unquote, running it back is because they expect it to be different and better this year with guys actually healthy and available throughout the season like Stephen Adams and, and Fred Van Vliet.
Seth Payne
They're running it back to what, August of 2025, whenever it was that Fred Van Vliet got injured.
Luke Morrow
True. Do you think Kevin Durant is. I think I heard Ron ask about this like a week ago. Do you think Kevin Durant is happy right now in Houston with, you know, we get these rumors he wants to go play with Kate Cunningham. Who knows. They're just rumors. But do you think he's happy right now here in Houston with the way things are going?
Seth Payne
I know that's a. It's a really good question. Whenever he has a question about happiness, you know, obviously happiness is very subjective and can mean different things to different people. I would say a. I don't know if Kevin Durant has ever actually been happy. You know, he, like, I don't think he's unhappy, but just in any given circumstance that he's in, it's never seemed like he's all that tied to a specific place. I would have if you had asked me whether he was happy in San Antonio, really seemed like he was up until the end. So going all the way back, I don't. Or excuse me, Oklahoma City. God, not San Antonio. Oklahoma City. That. I think that. I don't think he. I would guess he's not overly disgruntled. Is that happiness? Is that his version of happiness? It could be. I don't. I don't think he's actively angling to try to get out of Houston, but I think he also might. If a situation arose that seemed more appetizing, then I don't think he would. It's not like loyalty would tie him to Houston.
Luke Morrow
Right? Right. Yeah.
Charles Barkley
It's Charles Barkley here with Wayfair, and let me tell you, game day is serious business at my house. If I'm grilling, chilling and watching hoops, my outdoor setup better be ready to play. That's where Wayfair wins. From patio seating and umbrellas to grills and grill accessories, Wayfair's got it all and it shows up fast. I'm talking fast and easy delivery. So level up your grill game and your outdoor chill game and head to Wayfarer.com to get your outdoor space ready for the season.
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Messy Fans Lowe's Messy halftime event hits July 19th. That's coming up fast, so now's a really good time to become a Milos Rewards or my Lo's Pro Rewards member. Join for free and get access to exclusive messy moments and epic surprises. Let's just say halftime's looking different this year. Make sure to follow Lowe's on TikTok and tune in to the lows. Messy halftime event on July 19. Members get more at Lowe's Loyalty Programs subject to terms and conditions. Visit lowe's.com terms for details.
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Subject to Change it's always amazing to see how quickly your child grows. And I'm not just talking about their height. From those early babbles to full on storytelling, getting to watch how their ideas, creativity and confidence develop over the years is honestly pretty incredible. Sometimes they surprise you with what they come up with, and Lego bricks can be right there with them through all of those stages. It's not just a toy, it's a full creative building journey that keeps evolving as they do. Lego sets Play starts as early as 1 1/2 with Lego duplo the bigger bricks designed for little hands that are just starting to explore and build. Then around age 4, kids transition to the smaller Lego bricks and suddenly you're watching real structures take shape, real ideas form and their imagination really take off. They begin with simple stacking, but over time they grow into full on creators, building worlds, stories and Things you never would have expected. That's the kind of magic of LEGO bricks. You're not buying a phase. You're starting a journey. Learn more and start building today with LEGO bricks.
Luke Morrow
I think it's fair. I don't know if he's, like, ecstatic or over the moon with the way things have gone or are going. But, yeah, like, to your point, I also don't think he's so unhappy that he would be trying to force his way out. It's not like it's some terrible scenario here.
Seth Payne
I would say, financially, I'm guessing he's happy.
Luke Morrow
Yep.
Seth Payne
In terms of, like, okay, running it back. If we're doing hashtag, run it back to August 2025. I felt like he was happy in that scenario and that he. He felt like they were probably going to have a good season this past year, and then everything just went awry. So I would say as long as he's cool with Fred Van Vliet, and Fred Van Vliet actually is healthier than however he described it the last time. I guess the other part, though, would be, let's say, with various disparaging things that he may have said on his Burner account about teammates and their intelligence level, is he. Is he happy with just his supporting cast right now? Right. Like, do you think he's happy with Shangun, with Amin Thompson, with. With all of those guys? With Tari Eason?
Luke Morrow
Yeah, that's my concern. Ah, that's where. That's where I come in on wonder. I'm pondering the happiness. But with that said, like, this is the same team that, that he signed up for, so to speak, maybe he wouldn't be as happy now after actually playing a full season and realizing, like, oh, this isn't as good of a group as I thought it was going to be. But this is kind of what you signed on to and you wanted to come to Houston, is you knew who was here, these are the players. Nothing's really changed there. And you obviously must have thought it was good enough to actually be able to compete. Otherwise, I don't think Durant would have wasted his time coming here. So, you know, I don't know how. How different it should be a year later when this is sort of the team you signed up with.
Seth Payne
Do you think, do you think he still has Burner accounts that he's active on, or do you think cold turkey on that? You think so?
Luke Morrow
I think so. He hasn't posted on his main Twitter account, I think, since April, which is so odd. It's been almost three months, I think, since his last tweet. But I do think part of that is because he's probably living in all these burner accounts and that's how he's getting his fix of like responding on Twitter to everybody.
Seth Payne
Yeah, I haven't seen anything and I haven't like been on Reddit or anything to find out what the scuttlebutt is, but is I. I would assume people are actively out there trying to identify his burner accounts and I haven't. But I haven't seen anything reported about sketchy activity on his. Yeah, for whatever it's worth, maybe he's doing a much better job and he's being more careful about it.
Luke Morrow
Right. Yeah. Real quick, I do want to pay off this tease. I said there was a former Rocket who said it's the worst organization he's ever played for. This is Dennis Schroeder who played for I think 11 teams in the NBA, spent half a season with the Rockets. Here's what he had to say. What team did you have the worst experience with?
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Houston.
Seth Payne
I was with Houston for two months. So that's why you don't like us. No, I don't have no bad blood,
Charles Barkley
but was really, it was really tough.
Luke Morrow
What was.
Seth Payne
What was the problem there?
Charles Barkley
They had no structure.
Seth Payne
No real GM who, you know, like emphasizes what is like important professionals. No, but they good now. Yeah, he threw that in there. They're good now. So that was the 2122 season, right?
Luke Morrow
Yeah. When they won 20 games.
Seth Payne
Yeah. I have a hard time getting offended by that just because. Other than just the no GM part because there was one. Who was it? Red. Let's see. Red94. Red94 had posted this old quote from Sham Sharanya where he said, quote the looming presence of general manager Rafael Stone was also one the head coach had to manage. Talking about Silas, Stone interrupted a Silas led session to give his input on and showed defensive position. Silas eventually had to inform Stone that he could no longer halt the coaches practice sessions. So it's. I don't know whether like when Schroder's situation was with however Raphael Stone was operating at the time or not. I think it was just. Yeah, there were a lot of things that were a mismatch and just needed to rectify it and it just wasn't going to work out with Silas at that point. But Schroeder was also like he was. How many teams did he play for that year? Played for three teams that. That season. Oh no. Just two teams that season with Boston and Houston.
Luke Morrow
Yeah, I think that's the thing. Like, like I, that might have been true at the time, which was also what, four years ago. But I think part of that has to do with the fact that Silas was the head coach and they were a 20 win team. They were tanking and going through this rebuild. It is different now with, with Udoka and having success in different players on the roster. A lot of people used it online as an indictment on stone, but I think it's just, it's with a different head coach, different players. I do think it's, it is a different organization.
Seth Payne
Yeah. And I would say two things. Like, is with the source, like at the end there he says, hey, they're good now. They figured it out. They've got it together. Yeah, cool. It was, it wasn't good back then. It really, really wasn't. And it was also as Schroeder was at the beginning of a stretch where he would play for nine different teams from, from 2021 until now. So like wasn't like Schroeder was the most highly desired and you know, guy to you just got to have him. You got to keep him in your room for the culture. He needs to be here for the culture.
Charles Barkley
Right?
Luke Morrow
Yeah. And he also went from the Celtics who were, you know, one of the top teams in the league, to the 20 win Rockets. So I get just naturally that might be a disappointment for him. Coming up, we got to get you the headlines for this Friday, including I continue to think that Major League Baseball does a poor job marketing its sport. And there's another example this weekend. We'll get to that next Payne and Pendergast.
Lowe's Advertiser
Messi fans, Lowe's Messi halftime event hits July 19th. That's coming up fast. So now's a really good time to become a Mylo's Rewards or my Lo's Pro Rewards member. Join for free and get access to exclusive messy moments and epic surprises. Let's just say halftime's looking different this year. Make sure to follow Lowe's on TikTok and tune in to the Lowe's Messy halftime event on July 19. Members get more at Lowe's loyalty programs subject to terms and conditions. Visit lowe's.com terms for details. Subject to change.
Commercial Narrator
It's always amazing to see how quickly your child grows. And I'm not just talking about their height. From those early babbles to full on storytelling. Getting to watch how their ideas, creativity and confidence develop over the years is honestly pretty incredible. Sometimes they surprise you with what they come up with. And LEGO bricks can be right there with them through all of those stages. It's not just a toy, it's a full creative building journey that keeps evolving as they do. Lego sets play starts as early as one and a half with Lego Duplo, the bigger bricks designed for little hands that are just starting to explore and build. Then around age 4, kids transition to the smaller LEGO bricks and suddenly you're watching real structures take shape, real ideas form and their imagination really take off. They begin with simple stacking, but over time they grow into full on creators, building worlds, stories and things you never would have expected. That's the kind of magic of LEGO bricks. You're not buying a phase, you're starting a journey. Learn more and start building today with LEGO bricks.
Seth Payne
Would you look at that.
Lowe's Advertiser
It's time for some of our favorite Snapple reel facts.
Luke Morrow
Reel back 1433 Toe wrestling is a competitive sport. Reel fact 732 the chicken is the closest living relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex. And rioth back 1599aman once ate an entire airplane. Y have any hot sauce?
Lowe's Advertiser
Yeah.
Luke Morrow
So anyways, this has been a refreshing break.
Seth Payne
Brought to you by Snapple.
Luke Morrow
Real tea, Real juice with snaps and Disney Refreshing. Did you know that There are over 200 legends like Andrew Jones, Albert Pujols, Felix Hernandez and Ken Griffey Jr. In MLB the Show 26. Collect them all and current All Stars to build your perfect lineup. MLB the Show 26 is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS and Nintendo Switch. Rated E for everyone. Officially licensed by MLB Players, Inc. Presented by T Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports. With an awesome network and great savings, there's never been a better time to join T Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today.
Date: July 10, 2026
This episode, guest-hosted by Luke Morrow (sitting in for Sean Pendergast) alongside Seth Payne, centers around the Houston Rockets' quiet offseason and frames the big questions looming over the franchise. The conversation spotlights the significance of the upcoming 2027 NBA Draft, Houston's valuable picks, and whether fans should feel hopeful about the roster as it stands. The duo also dives into the nuanced topic of Kevin Durant's happiness in Houston and reactions to recent criticism of the organization from ex-player Dennis Schröder.
[01:14 – 04:19]
Frustration with Quiet Offseason:
Seth’s Perspective on “Running it Back”:
[04:19 – 06:37]
Potential Draft Goldmine:
Rockets’ “Almost-Luck”:
Runner-Up Syndrome:
Picks Could Fizzle if Nets/Suns Excel:
[06:37 – 08:05]
[08:05 – 13:55]
[13:55 – 16:46]
True to style, Seth and Luke blend hard-nosed analysis with dry humor and relatable frustration. Seth is slightly more optimistic, repeatedly cautioning against fan pessimism, while both keep the conversation rooted in realism and Houston sports context.
The episode lays out why the 2027 draft could be a franchise-shifting moment for Houston, but underscores that the current iteration—especially if healthier—still deserves attention. Despite a roster without splashy new additions, the Rockets remain layered, youthful, and, for once, controlling their own destiny thanks to a stash of valuable picks. The state of KD’s “happiness” is ambiguous but not dire, and despite old criticisms, the organization appears to be on more stable ground under the new regime.