Houston Keeps Stacking Centers. Rafael Castro Is the Third One This Summer.

The Rockets added Castro to the roster on Thursday, the latest in a string of moves that have made center depth the defining theme of their offseason. It follows the signing of Oscar Tshiebwe last week and comes with Steven Adams still working through a maintenance situation that has dragged on since mid-July. The front office has been quiet about most of its reasoning, but the pattern speaks clearly enough.

The context matters. Clint Capela contributed almost nothing offensively last season, and Sengun — as the analyst piece that ran Tuesday detailed — saw his efficiency crater when his workload climbed in the final stretch. The organization has spent the summer building a cushion around that problem: Tshiebwe first, now Castro. Whether either one can actually absorb meaningful minutes is a different question, but the intent is plain.

Three centers added in one offseason is a lot. My read is that the front office is less worried about any single player and more worried about the position as a whole — the fragility of leaning on Sengun at high volume, the uncertainty around Adams, the thin production behind them last year. Castro is insurance on top of insurance. Training camp starts soon, and Houston would like to have options when it does.