Houston Rockets: Evaluating 5 theoretical trades for the 2021 season

Realism: Let’s be upfront here: this trade is pie-in-the-sky thinking even if the Rockets include a first-round draft pick. Needless to say, this is not a realistic trade. But with the season being over and a lot of questions to answer about the future, let’s have a little fun here. We have seen trades that are more one-sided than this happen after all.

The Phoenix Suns are not in a good place. Suns fans have undoubtedly been frustrated with the Suns failing to make the playoffs despite having an All-Star talent in Devin Booker. So it stands to reason that they would like to make some kind of change.

That being said, this is probably not the type of change they would like to make. The difference in talent and age makes this trade almost impossible to see the Suns making.

Grade: Keeping along with the trend of not sugarcoating the reality of this trade would be quite one-sided in favor of the Rockets. Not only does it include two talented young players, it directly addresses two needs the Rockets have going forward: a lengthy wing that can efficiently score by creating his own shot and a very productive big man.

It would also get Eric Gordon’s contract off the Rockets’ back, as well as take care of the situation mentioned above with Danuel House Jr. While the team would certainly lose some 3-point shooting, a different coach and style could give the talent received a strong chance of creating a deadly starting lineup.

Plain and simple, this would be a very favorable trade for the Rockets. This one earns an A.

Next: Trade No. 4