(Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
The Houston Rockets showed some promise this season with their young roster, and while they missed the play-in tournament, they appear to finally be on the rise more than three years after trading Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Center Alperen Sengun has become an All-Star-caliber player, and they will have the No. 3 overall pick in next month’s draft.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Rockets will look to trade that No. 3 pick in order to land another star and accelerate their growth process, per Evan Sidery.
The Rockets will shop the No. 3 overall pick ahead of the draft in hopes of landing a star-level player, per @MikeAScotto (https://t.co/ae4omtzZ3Q).
Houston appears ready to make an even bigger win-now push this offseason. pic.twitter.com/DKOvdl0dkY
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) May 28, 2024
This year’s NBA Draft is thought to be a relatively weak one, and therefore trading that No. 3 pick may be a wise choice, as long as it is sent away for the right player.
Houston appears to have a keeper in veteran point guard Fred VanVleet, who they signed to a big contract last summer and played on a championship team in 2019 while with the Toronto Raptors.
But they reportedly have interest in Donovan Mitchell and LaMelo Ball, both of whom are ball-handling guards, so perhaps VanVleet’s spot with them isn’t totally safe.
The Western Conference is always deep and competitive, and right now, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Dallas Mavericks are on the rise.
In addition, the Denver Nuggets, last year’s NBA champions, likely aren’t going anywhere, and a couple of second-tier teams that are seemingly going stale could make a move or two to rise to that top tier.
Therefore, the Rockets will likely need to make a big move themselves in order to make next year’s playoffs.
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