Houston Rockets land Jerami Grant in outrageous trade proposal

Ugh.

Ugh.

I don't know how to write this without being mean. I am dropping the third-person pretense for this piece - I'm going to stand by this one.

Bleacher Report just made another trade suggestion for the Houston Rockets. I could ignore it! Yet, it's difficult to write for a Rockets page and not publish an article about this deal. Before we go any further, let's look at the trade.

Dear God. There's no kind way to say this:

That is atrocious.

Houston Rockets can't afford this deal

There are several reasons why I feel compelled to eviscerate this deal. To begin with, if I can provide even a single drop of "do not do this deal" in the "deals the Rockets could do" bucket, rest assured that I'm providing my drop.

Let's start with a less significant reason. Sure, Brooks' contract is subpar. Grant's is an albatross. He's due to make about $9 million more than the $20 million Brooks will make in 2024-25, and his salary slides up to $36 million by 2027-28.

The Rockets can afford that deal now. They also have six young players who will all be hoping to earn comparable money on their rookie scale extensions. Soon enough, the extra money that Grant earns compared to Brooks will turn their cap sheet into a blood bath.

On the subject of those young players...

Houston Rockets can't give up on Eason

Let's look at Eason's first two seasons compared to Grant's.

After all, it's a reasonable comparison. Grant started his career on the tanking Sixers. Eason started his career on the tanking Rockets.

Despite Houston's bid to lose games, Eason managed a Box Plus/Minus (BPM) of -1.7 as a rookie. Before getting injured last year, he'd hit 1.6.

By contrast, Grant's rookie season BPM was -3.3. That's a bad mark, but it's not a stain on Grant. Playing for a tanking team will depress your compound metrics. Still, it's a major credit to Eason that he was able to hit the mark he hit as a rookie.

In fact, Eason's sophomore mark of 1.6 would be Grant's career-best BPM. Stop what you're doing and read that again:

Eason's sophomore mark of 1.6 would be Grant's career-best BPM.

That's not a thorough scientific analysis by any stretch. There are caveats. Grant is a more capable shot-creator than Eason. Sometimes, these metrics can shine on role players with minimal offensive responsibilities.

Still, that's exactly what the Rockets want Eason to be. He is on pace to be a highly impactful player in his career.

Why would the Rockets flip him for an overpaid veteran who he's likely to outpace in impact soon - if he doesn't already? So they could move down 11 spots in the draft?

There's some very rudimentary logic in this deal. Grant is better than Brooks. The Rockets want to improve, and the Blazers are rebuilding. That's where the logic ends. Handing Portland a potentially (likely, even) elite role player on a silver platter, taking on a bloated contract, and moving down in the draft all in one fell swoop would be a disaster for the Rockets.

Grade: F-