Biggest Houston Rockets trades ever made in January

It's trade season in the National Basketball Association. The deadline draws near. Will the Houston Rockets make a move?

It's beginning to feel unlikely. The Rockets seem content to watch this young core develop - and rightfully so. If they do make a trade, it's likely to be a marginal move.

More broadly, the Rockets don't have a rich history of making deadline deals. They've even been historically quiet in January. With some thorough research, SpaceCityScoop found the two biggest blockbusters the Rockets ever made during this month. One is a history lesson, and the other one still reverberates on this roster.

Here they are.

2. Rockets Acquire Scottie Pippen

If you're an older fan, you'll remember this January 1999 deal. You may not remember it fondly. Pippen's time in Space City is not regarded as an unmitigated success.

To be sure, Pippen's productivity tanked in Houston. At 33, this was the beginning of his decline. In 1997-98, Pippen averaged 19.1 points, 5.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game with a 5.0 Box Plus/Minus (BPM). The next season was his first (and last) in Houston, and his points per game (14.5) and BPM (2.5) plummeted.

He was worth acquiring anyway.

The Rockets sent out Roy Rogers and a second-round pick for Pippen. Let's not dig too deeply into Rogers' career - he'd only play one more season in the NBA. That pick was used on Jake Voskuhl - a surprisingly solid backup, but not a player to lose sleep over.

For Houston, this was the last gasp of the best era in team history. It was, to put it succinctly, worth a try. Moreover, the Rockets flipped Pippen for a handful of players including Stacey Augmon, Kelvin Cato and Walt Williams. From a value standpoint, they got more than they gave up:

Even if the Pippen era feels like a disaster.

1. Rockets trade James Harden

The Pippen deal has a complicated legacy. This deal is still being litigated. It's also one of the very most consequential trades in Houston Rockets history.

Let's review the details. The Rockets traded the second-best player in their franchise's history for Caris LeVert, Rodions Kurucs, four first-round picks, and four first-round swaps. Breaking down the details in this deal can be an exhausting process, but let's try.

Firstly, Houston can thank the Nets for Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard. They were all acquired via picks that came in this deal. Only one more player will come directly from the Nets, as the Rockets sent them most of their picks back in exchange for a larger quantity of Suns picks.

So in a sense, the Rockets moved Harden for Eason, Whitmore, Sheppard, three first-round picks, and two swaps.

This deal was panned when it went down. Trading a franchise player for little else but draft capital was seen as sacrilegious. Now, it seems those pundits were unable to make a basic abstraction. Picks will eventually become players. Rafael Stone invested in his ability to draft, and so far, it's worked out wonderfully well.

Not bad for the biggest January trade in Houston Rockets history.