The Houston Rockets made a colossal mistake. They traded Chris Paul, 2 picks, and 2 pick swaps to Oklahoma City for Russell Westbrook and his super max contract. It was a final push to try and compete with the Lakers and Clippers after years of failing to the mighty Warriors dynasty and it was a horrible misjudgment. Why did they make this move? It’s what superstar guard James Harden wanted. He wanted to play with Russ, he was done with Chris Paul, just like he was done with Dwight Howard. It failed, they barely survived against Paul and the Thunder in 7 games. Then after stealing game 1, they got whipped by the Lakers in the second round. Which led to the end of the Harden era in Houston. Paul is a better player then Westbrook and would have given Houston a legit chance to hang with LA. However, Houston is in a full blown rebuild. How did we get here? How does Houston come out better on the other side? Let us take a deep dive.
It started in late November when both Russell Westbrook and James Harden asked out of Houston after head coach Mike D’Antoni and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey both departed. In December Westbrook was traded to Washington for John Wall and a protected 2023 first round pick. This lead to a whole lotta James Harden drama, that lasted eight games and about two months before Houston folded and made a blockbuster four-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, and Cleveland Cavaliers that netteded them Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, 4 first round picks, and 4 pick swaps (a pick swap is when a team can swap first round picks with another team if that other team is picking higher than them). It was a massive haul for Harden, who landed in Brooklyn, and one that can set the Rockets up for the future if the balls land the right way.
Exum and Kurucs are not much and they will not net the Rockets much (if anything) in a trade. Victor Oladipo is a different story. The former Pacers star is a free agent to be and since the Harden trade happened early enough in the season, the Rockets can trade him however they want. So what could they get for Oladipo? I think it depends, a really good young player like John Collins from Atlanta is ideal. He can score and would be a good tandem with new Rockets center Christian Wood (who came over from the Pistons this offseason). However a young player and a pick would also work for Houston. 2 quality young assets, picks or players, would be what Houston would need back in any deal. Another player Houston can look into trading is forward P.J. Tucker. Tucker was brought over in 2017 during the free agency period when he signed a 4-year deal with Houston. That was the same summer Houston acquired Paul, a lot has changed since then. So Tucker will be a free agent come this summer and Houston probably will not resign him because he doesn't fit the Rockets timeline, as he is 35 years old and will be 36 in May. It would likely take 2 or 3 second round picks to acquire Tucker, a player who brings toughness and 3 point shooting to a team. Any team could really use Tucker, a good defender who can be a small ball center and hits corner 3’s. They also waived former all-star center DeMarcus Cousins today, after dismissing him from the team Saturday.
Now what does Houston do with John Wall. Wall who came over for Westbrook is due $132.9 million over the next 3 seasons. It is very unlikely Houston could move that contract. Wall, who is coming off of a torn achilles injury, is averaging 20.2 points and 6.3 assists on 43% shooting and 35% from 3 point range. There are definitely teams that could use Wall but would they be willing to take on the long term money he is due? It puts Houston in a difficult position they could hold on to Wall for 3 seasons and not worry about a point guard, and maybe even resign Victor Oladipo to pair in the backcourt. Or they could look for a trade. One team I look at is the New York Knicks. They have available cap space right now, though it is not enough to take back Wall’s massive salary so I don’t think a trade would be possible right now but it could definitely be an option this offseason. John Wall is a good player but is not worth the type of money he makes. It is a really hard contract to trade so Houston might just have to eat the salary for the next couple of seasons and try to build a competitive foundation around Wall.
The Houston Rockets have all new faces with new general manager Rafael Stone and new head coach Stephen Silas. James Harden is gone and a whole era with him, leaving Houston with solid vets and scrappy young players to build with. Houston has a lot of places they can go with this roster and Stone and Silas will head that charge. John Wall and Christian Wood are the building blocks for this team as they enter a new era of Rockets basketball.
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