This post was originally published on this site.
Why are we talking about trade rumors? How many of these articles…
Oops. Sorry. Thought I was in the comments section.
Look. It’s trade season. There will be trades. There will be trade discussions. If you’re someone who gets irrationally furious at the mere mention of an NBA trade (a surprisingly common cohort), the internet is not for you. Go to the park.
If you’re still here, let’s take a look at some Houston Rockets trade rumors.
Coby White
We’re mostly talking about guards here, for obvious reasons.
Whether those reasons are obvious to Ime Udoka is a different question.
To us laymen, it sure looks like Houston needs a player who can handle the ball. It ought to be someone who also has at least a semblance of off-ball value. The Rockets don’t need to revolutionize their offense by bringing in a ball-dominant star. Alperen Sengun is doing well with playmaking reps, and both Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard are making progress throughout the season.
White would suffice. He’d make the offense more dynamic. He’s averaging 19.0 points and 4.7 assists per game this year, and shooting 37.0% from long-range.
There are complications. White’s on an expiring deal. The Rockets would likely be looking at flipping Dorian Finney-Smith’s nearly identical contract and a heavily-protected first-rounder for a potential rental. It doesn’t feel like Stone’s style.
Let’s look at some lower-risk moves.
Jose Alvarado
Here’s the conundrum: lower risk means lower reward. Spoiler: The other guards on this list would not be certain to usurp Aaron Holiday in the rotation.
Although it wouldn’t be absurd to prefer Alvarado’s statistical profile. He’s averaging 12.9 points, 5.2 assists, and 1.6 steals per 75 possessions to Holiday’s 15.9, 2.7, and 1.1. Alvarado (-2.2) has a marginally better Box Plus/Minus than Holiday (-2.6). He may be the better player.
Does he move the needle enough to be worth doing – well, anything? That’s a different question. If Alvarado can be had for a couple of second-round picks, the juice should be worth the squeeze, but parting with anything substantial would be a mistake.
On that note…
Chris Paul
The Clippers have to trade Paul. They won’t get anything valuable in exchange for the right to roster him for the second half of the last season of his career. The Rockets could send Jeff Green, and unless the Clippers are including Paul in a larger deal elsewhere, they’d have to accept that deal.
So, for the Rockets, the question becomes three-pronged: Will they play Paul, do they want his voice in the locker room over Uncle Jeff’s, and will they play him enough to justify making that deal if not?
It seems like Paul began to grate on the Clippers. He’s always been prickly. It shouldn’t have shocked anyone if he wasn’t able to co-exist with James Harden.
Personality-wise, it feels like he’d be a better fit in Houston. There’s no coddling under the Ime Udoka regime. If Paul is cussing Reed Sheppard out for overhelping on defense, Udoka is likely to nod in agreement.
Still, there are basketball realities to consider. Paul averaged 7.7 points, 8.7 assists, and 1.8 steals per 75 possessions in 16 games for the Clippers. This is a man who can no longer score at an NBA level, as evidenced by Paul’s 41.3 True Shooting % (TS%) during that stretch. It’s hard to think of the right adjective for that number. Horrifying? Yes. Paul’s efficiency this year should make you feel horrified.
Still, as Sigmund Freud said, sometimes a 16-game stretch is just a 16-game stretch. If Paul even just caught fire from beyond the arc at the right time for Houston, he could change their season. He’s still evidently haunted by nightmares where he makes the wrong read in the pick-and-roll. Paul can still orchestrate an offense as well as anyone.
Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe? That’s where I stand on any of these. An emphatic maybe.
Here comes a stronger opinion…
Another Big
Here’s what I initially wrote:
No, no, no. One more no: No. Wait, that’s two more no’s. Nooooooo!
On the buyout market? Sure. Where is Nerlens Noel? Isn’t it time for his annual half-season of NBA basketball?
Trading for a big man would be comically absurd. If the deadline comes, and the Rockets acquire Yves Missi at nearly the same price the Timberwolves pay for Coby White…
Well, I’ll write an article about it.
That was before the Adams injury. Hopefully, the big man rests up well and is back on the floor as soon as possible, but there may be an opportunity here.
I’ll cede some ground: Get a stretch big. Adding another non-shooting big – so, not Missi – would still be senseless. The double big lineups have been lacklustre this year. Now that we’re tinkering, let’s try something new. Someone like Andre Drummond (yes, he shoots now), Bobby Portis, or Zach Collins would be good. Just know that if the Rockets get a non-shooting big…
I will write an article about it.