Grade the Trade: Houston Rockets land Lauri Markkanen in bold new proposal

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

That's an apt description of the Houston Rockets lately when it comes to trade rumors. They're always in the rumor mill about acquiring a star player. Yet, the Rockets maintain a patient approach to their rebuild. They haven't consolidated their assets to land a superstar player at this point.

Eventually, they may be forced to do just that. As constructed, the Rockets have a "core seven". You don't need to be a cap wizard to understand that, in time, they won't be able to accommodate seven good players on their cap sheet. Even before the new CBA, that would not have been feasible.

So, the Rockets are likely to eventually trade for a star to pair with the young players they prefer the most. It's been suggested before that the star in question could be the Jazz's Lauri Markkanen.

A new proposal from Jed Katz as Sports Illustrated just suggested the Rockets should acquire him again.

Houston Rockets land sharpshooting combo big in new proposal

As per usual, we'll look at the details first.

That's fair value from the Rockets' perspective. If anything, it may be a bit unfair to Utah. Arguably, there's no reason the Rockets would be receiving a pick in this deal.

Still, this is SpaceCityScoop. We're going to trade this deal from the Rockets' perspective. Is this an A+?

Houston Rockets would have to entertain this offer

Not quite.

We're loath to include Tari Eason in any deal. He is precisely the role player you want on your roster once you've crystalized your star core. Put differently, you want to pair Eason with Markkanen. If the Rockets are going all-in, we'd prefer to give up an extra unprotected first (and possibly two) rather than move Eason.

After all, Eason is a dirty work specialist. His ability to generate extra possessions through offensive rebounds and steals will give the Rockets' stars more opportunities to score. If they're serious about building a contender, they'll insist on keeping Eason alongside whichever star they're landing.

By contrast, moving Whitmore to land Markkanen makes perfect sense. If Whitmore reaches his ceiling, he'll be a high-usage scorer. That's who Markkanen is already. They could co-exist, but bringing Markkanen on board would render Whitmore expendable.

Otherwise, we like the idea of Markkanen in Houston. His ability to space the floor could unlock Amen Thompson in four-out lineups, and his inside/outside dynamic alongside Alperen Sengun could prove lethal. He may be the right star to spend assets on:

Just (for the love of God) not at the expense of Eason.

Grade: B+