Grading a proposal that has Rockets acquire exciting young guard at too high a cost

The Houston Rockets' once-perfect summer has turned into a chilly autumn. Fred VanVleet's injury was devastating, and there's been drama around Tari Eason's pending free agency. A new trade proposal has the Rockets solving both problems at once, but it wouldn't be worth the cost. Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus has Houston flipping Eason for the Kings' Keon Ellis and a second-round pick.

Full transparency: This is not an awful idea. Perhaps some of my "grade the trade" pieces seek to eviscerate a proposal. This is not one of those pieces. It's a sensible proposal:

But it still isn't something the Rockets should do.

Rockets would be wise to hang onto Eason

Forget the second-round pick and the trade exception. This is effectively a one-for-one deal. So, the first question is: Who's the better player between Eason and Ellis?

The answer is unequivocally Eason. Box Plus/Minus (BPM) tells the tale. Eason's impressive 3.6 mark is significantly higher than Ellis' solid 1.9.

That alone doesn't prove that Eason is better - but he is. Eason is perhaps the best offensive rebounding wing in the NBA (shoutout to Josh Hart). His ability to create chaos in passing lanes is nearly unparalleled. At 6'8" with a 7'2" wingspan and massive hands, Eason is simply more equipped to impact the game than Ellis.

That's not to say Ellis isn't a promising young player. He's good. Ellis has proven himself a strong young perimeter defender. He knocked down a remarkable 43.3% of his triples in 2024-25. Yet, for all his strengths, he's not exactly a replacement for VanVleet, either.

In 2024-25, Ellis averaged 2.25 assists per 75 possessions. Ellis isn't a point guard. Sure, he could slide in at the 1 while the offense runs through Alperen Sengun, but trading Eason for a player who doesn't even fill the hole in Houston's roster would be short-sighted.

There has to be a better solution.

Rockets should look elsewhere for backcourt depth

The Rockets are unlikely to do anything before December 15th. That's the day that a large swath of their more expendable players becomes trade eligible.

For now, they'll put the ball in the hands of Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard. If they struggle, the team will struggle accordingly. If that inspires change, it'll still likely wait until the 15th.

Pincus' logic here is sound. The Rockets need backcourt depth, and the future with Eason is uncertain. So, he has them trading Eason for a guard.

That makes sense, but it would make more sense to simply figure it out with Eason. His unique skillset has been too important to this team to part with.

Trading him would only drop the temperature further.

Grade: B