Rockets miss out on obvious opportunity with 76ers trade
By Rob Leeds
The Rockets are now in a much more difficult position after likely missing the chance to trade Eric Gordon to the 76ers as rumored.
For a night that was going so right for the Houston Rockets, missing the chance to trade Eric Gordon for the 23rd-overall pick is going to hang over the heads of everyone in the franchise as a major missed 'what if' if another deal doesn't happen later.
Gordon is still a good player that is far better than he gets credit for. The veteran guard is turning into a sort of Houston legend and brings plenty to the Rockets as a leader on a very young team, but his time is up as the player that he once was.
The Rockets simply don't have the minutes to go around with Gordon staying. Rumors throughout the day seemed to indicate that the 76ers would go after target at or before they picked at 23rd overall, but a different deal essentially confirms that Gordon isn't going to Philly as of right now.
This puts a bit more pressure on the Rockets to find a new partner in an effort to free up minutes for their group of guards that still found a way to grow.
Houston already has a lot to work with at the one, two, and three. Between Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Josh Christopher, and Daishen Nix, the guard minutes are going to dissappear quickly.
While some would say that Gordon was able to get some reps at small forward, those minutes also just constricted with the team drafting two forwards tonight and Jae'Sean Tate and K.J. Martin likely moving down to the three.
The minutes just aren't there for a guy that isn't going to be a part of the future for this team.
While the deal could still happen with some other type of compensation going to Houston, it looks like the Rockets are going to need to get busy finding a new trade partner.
Want to write about the Rockets? Apply here!