Since the 2010 offseason, the conventional wisdom on how to build an NBA title contender has shifted dramatically. Teams that have competed for titles have typically been built around players selected with their own high draft picks and a supporting cast fine-tuned over time via later draft picks, trades and low-priced free agent signings.

Until he traded for James Harden, the entire tenure of Daryl Morey with the Houston Rockets had been defined by the complex accumulation of assets and the inability to convert those into superstars. Morey’s aim was singular as the Rockets had very little interest in incremental improvement in which they would eventually become a middling playoff team.

Morey’s acumen as a basketball mind was never in serious doubt, but many began to question whether he would ever succeed in acquiring a real difference-maker.

After using cap space last offseason on Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, two restricted free agents their teams chose to let go, and not being a destination of interest to Dwight Howard in trade talks when he was still with the Orlando Magic, those doubts increased.

Nine months later, Morey has acquired two top-10 players in James Harden and Howard. The trade for Harden with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the outright signing of Howard have to be seen as companion moves because Howard would have never left the Los Angeles Lakers merely to play beside Lin, Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lamb.

Even though those are the signature moves that have cemented Morey’s status as one of the NBA’s better GMs and the Rockets as a title contender, the series of smaller moves were what manufactured those. From trading Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors last offseason in exchange for a guaranteed lottery pick that was used in the Harden trade to the deal involving the New York Knicks in 2010 for them to clear additional cap space, Morey’s inventiveness allowed put the Rockets in a position to not simply tank and wait for high draft picks or to passively clear cap space in hopes of being the right destination at the right time for a specific free agent.

Stylistically, the Rockets are an ideal fit for Howard capable of maximizing his abilities as the NBA’s best two-way center. It has been so difficult to properly evaluate Howard over the past two years because of the fatigue that fans and media have experienced in waiting for his long-term team to be resolved and due to his back surgery and subsequent shoulder injury that limited his effectiveness during his lone season with the Lakers.

Many have forgotten the type of player Howard was before December 2011 when those two things were first put in motion. Howard still was a poor free throw shooter and inconsistent as a post scorer, but those were the only two elements of his game keeping him from becoming an MVP. The same media that has crucified Howard, rightly or wrongly, for indecisiveness and a general lack of self-understanding thought enough of his game for him to finish second in MVP voting during the 10-11 season behind Derrick Rose and ahead of LeBron James.

When healthy and comfortable, both of which are far more likely next season with the Rockets, Howard is the NBA’s single greatest difference-maker on defense, an excellent rebounder and a remarkably efficient offensive player.

Howard’s presence on the defensive end allows the Rockets to more easily build their roster as floor-spreading perimeter shooters like Ryan Anderson become less of a liability on defense.

The Rockets will continue to play fast as they did last season under Kevin McHale and having two halfcourt scorers in Harden and Howard makes scoring in the fourth quarter and in the postseason a much more manageable endeavor.

The success of signing Howard will be judged based on the number of championships won, but they realistically cannot be held to the same standards as the formation of Miami’s Big 3 in 2010, who have reached the Finals in each season of their existence. The Western Conference has too many other formidable teams in the Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs and whether the Rockets are even on par with those three on paper is debatable, which makes appearances in the Finals and Western Conference Finals a strong result.

Grade for Rockets: A

Howard made his free agency decision far quicker than most expected as he needed just two full days of deliberation before committing to the Rockets on Friday. Howard took the process seriously and was clearly looking for a fit both culturally and to compete for a title. Howard is not as savvy as many of the NBA’s other superstars, but choosing to pair with Harden and in a city like Houston shows some real growth from where he was a year ago. At that time Howard wanted to join Deron Williams with the Brooklyn Nets, a match that would have been difficult given their large differences in personality and also because of the attention from the New York media (and a sizable portion of the NBA’s bloggers based in the area).

Houston is one of the largest cities in the United States with a passionate fanbase for the Rockets, but expectations will be more manageable than they were with the Lakers and he won’t be compared to Yao Ming and Hakeem Olajuwon constantly like he was with Shaquille O’Neal.

Harden may give Howard some of the same frustrations on the floor that he experienced with Kobe Bryant in terms of his usage, but they will unquestionably have a healthier relationship off the floor. Harden and Howard could have a complementary relationship in how they handle the media and teammates together in a way that mirrors the first two and a half seasons between LeBron and Dwyane Wade.

Howard also deserves commendation for personally calling each of the teams that he met with to inform them that he would sign elsewhere. It is a courtesy that would have greatly benefited LeBron’s departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There was some confusion following Sam Amick’s report that Howard had chosen the Rockets where it looked like he was reconsidering his option, but I question the reliability of the reporting and his camp seemed to be at blame. Howard is ultimately responsible since he chooses the people that he surrounds himself with, but it was a relatively minor and entertaining blemish in what was an unremarkable process.

Grade for Dwight Howard: A-

The Lakers squandered an opportunity to again reload around one of the NBA’s best five players, but there was very little lost in what was given up to acquire Howard. In trading Andrew Bynum and a first round pick for Howard, the Lakers would do that trade again every single time. The sign-and-trade acquisition for Steve Nash remains a costlier move since two first round picks and two second round picks were traded to the Phoenix Suns and he also is signed through 2014, an offseason the Lakers have been prudently clearing the books for.

The Lakers were a popular pick to reach the Finals last August, but a bad preseason and slow start to the season was blamed on Mike Brown. It looked like Phil Jackson would return to the Lakers for a third time, but Mike D’Antoni was hired in a shocking decision by the Buss family. This became the fateful decision because the Lakers could have figured out a long-term solution at head coach in the offseason dependent on Howard’s decision with Jackson serving as a steward in the interim.

Injuries were an issue for multiple Lakers throughout the season, but the overriding issue was that the roster was too old, thin and simply not as talented as they were three or four seasons ago.

Kobe could have done more to ingratiate himself to Howard and made the prospect of transitioning from one era to the next more seamless. There are limits to bending one’s personality to accommodate someone else, however, and both Kobe and Howard are to blame to a certain extent.

The Lakers did all they could to convince Howard to re-sign with the franchise without fully compromising some semblance of pride. The balance they struck was appropriate and firing D’Antoni merely to keep Howard wouldn’t have served anyone’s interest in the long-term unless they had done so immediately after the season.

The Lakers are setup nicely for the 2014 offseason with enough cap space to sign two maximum contract free agents and potentially three contracts just under the max if they can clear Nash off the books.

It is tough to see LeBron starting from scratch with the Lakers (with D’Antoni as head coach) unless something dramatic happens with either Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh since they have had several seasons of pre-2011 CBA signings to build their depth. Carmelo Anthony could want to start over from the New York Knicks, but not to play for D’Antoni.

Someone will take the Lakers cap space in 2014 and someone will have to because being bad has no upside since so many of their picks have been traded. But being bad in 2014 to get a high draft pick while Bryant heals and Pau Gasol is moved for an asset of some type is clearly their best path forward to return to relevance.

Grade for Lakers: C-