At a few ticks past midnight Monday, Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson and coach Jeff Van Gundy could be on someone's porch with roses and all the riches the franchise's salary-cap limitations will allow.

The NBA's free-agent dance begins Tuesday, and Dawson is a former Baylor coach who has not lost his taste for recruiting.

But the Rockets' free-agent season likely will not go that way.

The hard sell never has been Dawson's style and does not seem to be Van Gundy's. Beyond that, the Rockets don't seem moved to romance the flashy free agents. Signs point toward a more graceful pursuit of subtle changes. Players cannot sign until July 16.

The Rockets have not mapped out their strategy.