Houston Rockets trading Victor Oladipo Pro #3: More assets for the future
The NBA has become a dichotomy of teams that are all in for the present or teams that are stockpiling assets for the future. There have become precious few teams that are built to be competitive now that also maintain the assets to build a competent roster a half-decade down the line.
The Rockets find themselves in the awkward position of being a competitive team now but have already begun the process of building for the future. The Rockets shouldn’t continue to straddle the present and future and the reality is they’ve already shown their hand.
Rafael Stone and the Houston front office have had a clear eye on the future and it doesn’t make sense for them to stop now. They’ve traded Robert Covington, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden to secure future first-round picks over the past six months.
The train is already out of the station and the Rockets should take a look around the league and seriously commit to the direction they want to take. The future is bright in Houston but it’ll be even brighter if they move Oladipo.
The Rockets have one foot in the door for a rebuild and it doesn’t make sense for them to not bring the other foot along and move Oladipo. If trading Harden and then Oladipo amounts to six first-round picks, multiple pick swaps, and an interesting young player then that’s a deal the Rockets would gladly take.
Next: Con #3