Trade rumors: Ranking the Rockets top-9 trade partners

With the team effectively in a rebuilding stage, the Houston Rockets are going to be looking for major roster reconstruction in the coming years. Luckily for them, they have multiple players who are garnering interest from multiple teams.

This being the case, it is important for the organization to prioritize which teams they want to engage with. The Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and Utah Jazz have all been rumored to harbor trade interest in at least one Rockets player.

How the Houston Rockets will view trade partners

All of these teams have something to offer the Rockets, but what assets they would actually be willing to deal is an unknown. Because of that, these rankings will not take into account what a team is willing to trade, but simply what the team has to offer within reason, as the Lakers wouldn’t entertain trading Anthony Davis or LeBron James.

Another reason for this ranking occurring in a vacuum as opposed to context is that negotiations can start with an interest in one player, but then culminate into the acquisition of multiple players due to the nature of the trade business. In simpler terms, if a team starts off with interest in only P.J. Tucker, it is not unlikely that the elements of salary-matching and draft picks will cause them to take on another player’s contract.

With that elaboration out of the way, let’s take a look at the nine most likely trade suitors.  Starting with the least attractive, for the Rockets, with the Brooklyn Nets.

Next: #9