The Houston Rockets should avoid making a deal with the Heat

According to a recent report, the Miami Heat are expected to reach out to the Houston Rockets on a potential deal this summer.

It’s no secret that the Rockets are looking to shake things up this summer. While Daryl Morey has said James Harden and Chris Paul are safe, other members of Houston’s starting lineup could be on the move.

The Rockets are reportedly working under the assumption that at least one of Clint Capela, Eric Gordon or P.J. Tucker will not be a member of the team by the start of the season. According to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, the Miami Heat are expected to talk with Houston about their available players. Specifically, he mentioned Chris Paul, Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker as potential targets for the Heat.

The Heat are looking to move on from Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside. Both players are heading into the final year of their contracts but are expected to opt in before the June 30 deadline. Miami can’t move either player until they opt into their contracts.

It sounds like Miami could be interested in adding Chris Paul to be their point guard going forward. With Paul’s age and contract, the market for him could be a little dry, so Houston will likely look into any offers they receive for him, even though Morey unofficially said he’ll be back next season.

It’s hard to see how Houston could benefit from a trade with Miami. Dragic isn’t an upgrade at point guard over Paul and he’s already 33 years old, so he isn’t much younger either. Furthermore, Whiteside isn’t really an upgrade over Capela. Whiteside is a better rebounder and excels at shot blocking, but he isn’t a very good perimeter defender and he isn’t nearly the effort player that Capela is. He’s also a bit high maintenance and he’s always in foul trouble.

As previously mentioned, both Dragic and Whiteside are in the final year of their contracts, so the Rockets could be trading away valuable assets for a pair of one-year rentals.

It’s hard to see how a deal with Miami would make Houston any better. The Rockets should only move a core player in a deal that clearly elevates the talent of their roster. They’re unlikely to find such a deal with the Heat, so they should probably look elsewhere.