It’s no secret the Houston Rockets are ready to win now. The quickest way for them to improve their roster in a big way would be to add a strong, star forward.
Here’s where things start to get dicey. How long are the Rockets willing to wait? Will they take a lesser player to speed the process to winning? They posted 41 wins a season ago and one small tweak could help catapult them into the playoffs, but does it handicap further big moves?
The way Houston set things up, they can go acquire a name like Kevin Durant or Devin Booker when the Phoenix Suns inevitably have to blow things up. However, they’ve got the young players and draft capital to make a move on a star forward now, even if that name is along the lines of Brandon Ingram, a fringe All-Star.
The NBA offseason is entering the dog days between Summer League and training camp — a period with very little movement around the league. Basketball fans can get their fix with the Olympics being played this year, but more than likely NBA discourse will be filled with predictions and mock trades.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report looked at five “blockbuster” moves that are still taking place ahead of the 2017 NBA season. In the simulated transactions, the Rockets acquired New York Knicks player Julius Randle while sending Jabari Smith Jr., Jock Landale, Jeff Green, and a top-five protected 2027 first-round selection to New York. “If the Rockets want to make a big leap in the West standings next season, adding an All-Star power forward in the prime of his career could help,” Swartz suggested. “Randle, 28, is a Texas native who would add balance to the Rockets’ young roster. Last season, he averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game and would slot into a Houston starting five that also includes Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Alperen Şengün.”
By no means is Randle a bad player, but trading for him would feel short-sighted for the Rockets. They can wait to land a talent and name such as Durant if they sit on their hands for a while. If not? They have a developing young core that, at that point, will have had continuity playing together for years that could help the team well into the playoffs and maybe even title contention.
Smith Jr. provides an incredible defensive spark and his shooting is coming around in the NBA. He’s got incredible potential as a strong role player and key starter for the Rockets. He’s even got All-Star potential under his belt, though Houston would simply have to be patient.
This makes plenty of sense for the Knicks, though, who add a starter-caliber player in Smith Jr., adding him to a potential lineup with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson while adding future financial flexibility.
Both Landale and Green would add short-term depth before their contracts expire and open things up for New York.
Should this trade go down, the Rockets would easily be labeled as the losers of the trade, giving the Knicks a large offseason victory while offering up future flexibility for a move that doesn’t leap them into contention, but rather a mid-table playoff team.
