(Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire)
The Houston Rockets were one of the most surprising teams in the NBA last season.
Despite their youth, they fought for a postseason berth until the final weeks of the campaign, and that’s despite their best player, Alperen Sengun, suffering a season-ending injury.
Clearly, this team isn’t that far behind in terms of contention, and they believe they can compete with Ime Udoka at the helm.
With that in mind, the Rockets are being tangled up with multiple players and are expected to make a big trade at some point.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, they’re currently targeting Memphis Grizzlies veteran PG, Marcus Smart (Via Legion Hoops).
REPORT: The Rockets have their eyes on Marcus Smart, per @MikeAScotto.
“Houston is continuing to seek upgrades to help the team improve now, and Rockets coach Ime Udoka remains a fan of his former Celtics player, Marcus Smart, on the Grizzlies,”
(https://t.co/c7ctspk8B3) pic.twitter.com/6OnWvK7UBt
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 26, 2024
Smart’s ties to Udoka are more than evident, as he coached him for a season with the Boston Celtics, and they even made it to the NBA Finals in their first year together.
Smart was barely able to play in Memphis with multiple injuries, and while he looks like a tailor-made player for their grit-and-grind philosophy, he could have a larger role in Houston.
Fred VanVleet is a solid defender and Amen Thompson could be elite on that end of the floor as well, but Smart would immediately become their best backcourt defender.
The Rockets have plenty of valuable assets and young players to move in a potential transaction, including the No. 3 pick in tonight’s NBA Draft, so we’ll have to keep an eye on Ime Udoka’s team as they brace themselves to make a big splash in an already eventful offseason.
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