[3] On October 15, Daryl Morey resigned from his position as general manager after thirteen years and Rafael Stone was named as his replacement.
[4][5][6] For the first time since 2011–12, James Harden was not on the roster as he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a four-team deal; this reunited him with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant for the first time since the 2011–12 season.
[7][8] Without Harden along with Russell Westbrook, who was traded to the Washington Wizards for John Wall during the offseason and the majority of their players lost from last season's team, the Rockets entered a rebuilding period.
[9] By April 22, the Rockets were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since the 2011–12 lockout season.
This ended the NBA's longest active playoff streak at eight straight years.