3 reasons why the Rockets should trade for D’Angelo Russell

When the Houston Rockets ushered out their best player in recent history in James Harden, it was clear that they were going to have their work cut out as it pertained to replacing him. For starters, star players win games (as Harden proved year in and year out), but they also can help lure other star-level players simply by recruiting them, which Harden was also successful at doing.

As it stands now, the Rockets have one borderline star player in Christian Wood, although there’s been much too small of a sample size to know either way, as he missed roughly half of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets have another young, promising player in Kevin Porter Jr., but he will surely need to continue to develop, as he’s still very raw and unpolished.

One player who could possibly be interested in joining the Houston Rockets is Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell, the 2019 All-Star. Russell made headlines on social media when he liked a jersey swap of him in a Rockets uniform.

It must first be pointed out that Russell simply liking a jersey swap doesn’t necessarily mean that he would welcome a trade to the Space City. And even if he did actually want to join the Rockets, a deal would have to be agreed upon between both the Wolves and the Rockets’ front offices.

But let’s assume that Russell does in fact have interest in joining the Rockets, where he would be re-united with his Ohio State teammate Jae’Sean Tate (which is possibly why he liked the photo, as Tate is in the picture with him), and let’s assume a deal could be constructed. Here are three reasons why the Rockets would be wise to make a trade for Russell.