The Houston Rockets made two of the biggest free agent signings this offseason, bringing in star guard Fred VanVleet and renowned defender Dillon Brooks in their effort to reach the playoffs as soon as possible. Moves that generated plenty of buzz for the dollar amount as much as their names, the Rockets clearly put their money where their mouth is as they continue to navigate through the post-James Harden era.

The question is this though?

Why use the vast majority of your cap room to address two areas of need that didn't really need addressing?

Using money that would have been better spent on a volume scorer like Kelly Oubre Jr. or a high-level center in Brook Lopez was foolhardy.

To make matters worse, the signings that the Rockets made seem like a mix of the organization chasing names and being desperate to be considered a competitive team again, neither of which is too problematic in and of themselves. However, when combined with a pocket flush with cash, it results in moves that don't make too much sense.

Rockets big mistake in 2023 NBA free agency

The Amen Thompson conundrum

Not many teams draft a player fourth overall then sign a player at their position to a three-year, $130 million contract. Although this could be seen as the Houston Rockets bringing Amen Thompson along slowly from a conceptual standpoint, realistically, it doesn't make sense for Fred VanVleet to start over Thompson.

For one, Thompson is the better player. He's quite literally a bigger threat around the rim, with the 6-foot-1 VanVleet shooting a paltry 55.4 percent inside of three feet of the rim and being blocked at least 50 times in each of the past few seasons. Due to his length and athleticism at 6-foot-7, he also offers more defensive upside than VanVleet. Lastly, as one of the best natural — or, in other words, cerebral — passers that you'll see, all VanVleet has over Thompson in that area is experience.

Dillon Brooks vs. Tari Eason

For all the talk about how Dillon Brooks is an impressive on-ball defender, and he is, there hasn't been enough talk about how special Tari Eason is defensively as well. The 17th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Rockets having both Cam Whitmore and Eason seemed to be a bit redundant, though Whitmore is a superior athlete with more scoring upside. However, having Brooks, Eason and Whitmore is certainly over-redundant, as none of them can truly be counted on for much offensively just yet.

Yes, Brooks has averaged 16.2 points per game over the past four seasons, but he's done so on 41.1 percent shooting from the field. Eason, who averaged 9.3 points per game as a rookie last season, did so while shooting 44.8 percent from the field (which is more than 5 percentage points higher than Brooks' field goal efficiency last season).

Lastly, in considering team culture, Eason is better for the team and organization as well. Though confident and a dogged defensive player, Eason leaves his ego at the door. His ‘cup half full‘ mentality also serves him well and allows him to bring light to a team that could go through struggles even after their blockbuster signing.

If the Rockets signed Kelly Oubre Jr.

In an alternate world, the Houston Rockets would have signed Kelly Oubre Jr. rather than Dillon Brooks, landing a player that's not only a stronger defender but who averaged 20.3 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting from the field.

Compare that to Dillon Brooks, who averaged 14.3 points per game on 39.6 percent shooting from the field. In addition, Oubre shot 41.0 percent on corner 3s last season, while Brooks shot 36.1 percent on corner 3s.

Then there's the question of if Brooks will negatively impact the locker room and organizational culture; questions that have never come into play for Oubre.

The Rockets also would have opted to sign Brook Lopez rather than Fred VanVleet.

If the Rockets signed Brook Lopez

Firstly, at 35-years-old, Brook Lopez still managed to be the runner-up for the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year award. With that in mind, Lopez would have come to the Houston Rockets to be the defensive anchor, and to mentor Alperen Sengun.

Sengun, already having proven himself to be an exceptional offensive talent, would have welcomed Lopez starting over him for however long. That said, it likely would have only been one season, with Sengun still playing a major role off the bench; particularly if Smith continued to struggle next season.

Now, the Houston Rockets' main depth behind Smith and Sengun primarily features soon-to-be 37-year-old forward Jeff Green and two-year pro Jock Landale. The Denver Nuggets demoted to Green to the bench last season, while Landale's struggles against Nuggets centerpiece Nikola Jokic in the 2023 NBA Playoffs became a focal point.

If the Rockets signed Gabe Vincent

These moves would have likely still left the Houston Rockets with enough salary cap space to sign a veteran point guard that could start while Amen Thompson got up to speed, such as defensive specialist Gabe Vincent, who averaged 15.8 points and 2.2 assists per game on 48.5 percent shooting from the field against the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.

For comparison, Fred VanVleet averaged 14.0 points and 2.2 assists per game on 44.4 percent shooting from the field in the 2019 NBA Finals.

Sure, VanVleet is a better player overall. However, he'll be paid $32 million more than Vincent in 2023-24 and could very well still wind up a backup with similar production as Vincent by the midseason.

Hypothetical 2023-24 Depth Chart

Amen Thompson, Gabe Vincent, Aaron Holiday

Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Josh Chrisopher

Kelly Oubre Jr., Cam Whitmore, Jae'Sean Tate

Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason

Brook Lopez, Alperen Sengun