Major media outlet both right and wrong about Rockets' deadline outlook

The Houston Rockets are primed for a quiet trade deadline.

They may acquire a shooting specialist. They could be in the market for a backup big man. Alternatively, the Rockets could simply hold serve and justify their decision.

They're the second seed in the Western Conference. They're loaded with young players, and they have a surplus of assets. Why change anything? Why fix something if it isn't broken?

Bleacher Report agrees. They just named a goal for every team at the deadline. Their goal for the Rockets is to "bide their time":

In other words, they want them to do nothing at all.

Rockets tasked with remaining patient

It seems Bleacher Reports' Grant Hughes has a good grip on the Rockets.

"The Rockets are loaded with talent, way ahead of schedule in their rebuild, and armed with the tools they'll need to acquire the perfect over-the-top piece"
-Grant Hughes, Bleacher Report

That's refreshing. It feels like major media outlets uniformly call for the Rockets to make a major move. It's nice to see that Hughes understands that's not necessary for the Rockets. He gets it.

Right?

Rockets (once again) linked to star guard

Not quite. Let's look at the next sentence:

"They'll just need to wait for the opportunity to arise when the Suns inevitably implode"
-Grant Hughes, Bleacher Report

Hughes writes at length about how the Rockets need a lead guard. He's inferring that a trade for Devin Booker is inevitable. Listen, Mr. Hughes - I get it. I preached the same for a long time. Now, we all need to update our thinking with more current information.

In 2024-25, Booker is averaging 25.5 points per game and 6.6 assists per game with a True Shooting % (TS%) of 58.2%. He's got a Box Plus/Minus (BPM) of 1.4. Green is averaging 21.4 points and 2.8 assists per game with a 56.2 TS% and a 1.0 BPM.

Is Booker the better player? Yes. That's unequivocally true. He's also 28, whereas Green is 22. Is the statistical gap between them large enough to justify surrendering assets to upgrade Green to Booker?

Some contextual factors also explain some of the statistical discrepancies. The Suns rely on Booker for more playmaking, and that partly inflates his assist total. Granted, the Rockets would like Green to average more assists, but playing alongside Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson lessens the need for him to make plays.

We'll see how this unfolds. Green isn't so far out of the woods that it's unthinkable that the Rockets won't eventually want a new lead guard. Still, his recent play merits a little confidence in him:

Even beyond this year's trade deadline.