Grading a bizarre trade proposal that has Rockets landing star forward

The Houston Rockets are often linked to star players.

There's a list of usual suspects. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, De'Aaron Fox, and Devin Booker have all been linked to the Rockets at some point.

What about Julius Randle?

That's a new one. It's also who Bleacher Report has them acquiring in a new proposal.

Let's look into the details.

Rockets cut ties with young player for veteran

Minnesota Timberwolves receive: Jabari Smith Jr., Steven Adams, Jeff Green, 2026 Second-Round Pick

Houston Rockets receive: Houston Rockets

I'll take a moment to look for the right word. It should be eloquent. It should be something profound. I've got it:

Yuck.

The driving logic is simple enough. At this exact moment, Randle is a better player than Smith Jr. The Rockets are playoff-bound - they should want better players. Realistically, this is the driving logic behind many proposals that the Rockets would hopefully ignore.

Yes, Randle would be a short-term upgrade over Smith Jr. He's shooting 36.7% on 4.7 three-point attempts per game. Smith Jr. is hitting 35.1% on a strikingly similar 4.8 attempts per game. Coupled with the fact that Randle offers far more shot creation and playmaking, this should be a no-brainer, right?

...No.

Rockets should hang onto Smith Jr.

Firstly, there's the little matter of defense.

Smith Jr. isn't a world-beater, but he's solid. By contrast, Randle is an infamously low-effort player on the less glamorous end. That's not the only way that his game is problematic.

Critics have long held that Randle plays in a silo. He doesn't get his teammates involved. His assist numbers can be misleading. Randle will find teammates, but he can hesitate to make passes that won't lead to assists.

Lastly - and most importantly - Smith Jr. has room to improve. Randle does not. He's had an up-and-down season, but recently, Smith Jr. is rounding into form.

This is not a horrendous deal from a value perspective. A player at Smith Jr.'s age who's reached his level of production and a second-round pick for a player as productive as Randle is relatively fair from a market perspective. If you did an anonymous Player A / Player B survey, plenty of fans would pull the trigger on this deal based on age and counting stats.

Luckily, we know who the players involved in this deal are. The Rockets should pass on Randle. Some day, Smith Jr. could be one of the 3 or 4 most important players on a championship team. Randle is more likely to be the first or second best player for an early playoff exit.

He's not the star for the Rockets.

Grade: C-