ESPN's Bobby Marks exposes himself with terrible Rockets trade idea

The Houston Rockets have declared their rebuild to be over, as they've elevated to phase two of the overhaul, which they expect to include postseason play. The Rockets have gone all in to make this possible, starting with hiring a respectable head coach in Ime Udoka and adding proven players in free agency, like Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet, and Jeff Green, with the latter two bringing championship experience.

The Rockets find themselves on the outside looking in as it pertains to the race to the play-in tournament, as their 22-24 record has them 11th in the Western Conference. Part of the issue has been the team's lack of shooting, as they rank 25th in long-range shooting.

The Rockets also lack a true rim protector, as they've been unable to add one thus far. Based on the Rockets' reported list of trade targets, they intend to address these issues at the trade deadline.

Since it's known that the Rockets will be buyers at the trade deadline, many have began to concoct mock trades, based on the Rockets' needs. Some are logical and some are unequivocally horrendous. ESPN's Bobby Marks' latest trade idea (subscription required) can be filed under the unequivocally bad column, as the idea simply doesn't make sense.

Let's take a look at what Marks cooked up.

Before unpacking this, I'd like to ask a question. Why are people so high on Talen Horton-Tucker?

Bobby Marks' latest trade idea is awful for the Rockets.

Remember when the Los Angeles Lakers deemed him untouchable and weren't willing to deal him to get Kyle Lowry several years ago? Only to later trade him after realizing just how much they inflated his value.

I remember.

Everybody seems to be stuck on the fact that he's just 23-years-old. And yes, I can understand this can oftentimes be an indictmenrt of a player's potential, but it doesn't always work that way.

And you don't trade assets when you're a win-now team just to trade for the potential of someone on an expiring contract.

THT doesn't solve any of the Rockets' problems. In fact, he's a worse shooter than Jae'Sean Tate, as Tate's is a career 30.4 percent shooter from deep, whereas THT is a career 28.8 percent shooter.

Sure, he's capable of providing a scoring spark off the bench, but he's not efficient at it (50.7 percent true shooting). He provides playmaking for sure, but the Rockets could make better use of those second-round picks and Oladipo's contract than this.

Especially with him being on an expiring contract. Anyone who has watched this team would know that THT doesn't meet the Rockets' needs.

Maybe Marks will be better next time around.