Rockets' answer to the latest Giannis debate couldn't be more obvious

Between the offseason addition of Kevin Durant and the in-season strides taken by this young core, the Houston Rockets have clearly launched themselves into NBA championship contention. You might think, then, this club could effectively sit out the upcoming trade season, save perhaps for making a marginal move to add more shooting or bring in another backup big.

Under almost any other circumstance, that would ring true. But Giannis Antetokounmpo's apparent addition to the trade market changes everything. The chance to add a generational great—who's very much still in his prime—comes around once in a lifetime. Not even a team as stacked as Space City's finest can afford to pass this up.

Houston can afford Antetokounmpo and might need him to dethrone the defending champs.

Before digging into Antetokounmpo's potential fit or Houston's hypothetical cost, let's get this out of the way: Status quo looks spectacular for the Rockets. They have the league's No. 2 offense and No. 2 defense, per NBA.com. Not even the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who are on a 78-win pace, have matched this level of two-way domination.

Houston looks legitimately awesome. Durant has fit like a tailored suit. Alperen Sengun has neared the superstar conversation. Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard have taken such big steps that you can watch this team and forget (at least momentarily) that its starting point guard, Fred VanVleet, was lost to a torn ACL in September.

In other words, the Rockets wouldn't be Antetokounmpo's most desperate suitor. Far from it, in fact. That does not mean, however, that Houston should simply sit out these seemingly inevitable sweepstakes.

Remember, we're talking about Giannis freakin' Antetokounmpo: a megastar who's managing to hit new personal-highs despite already being a two-time MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year, a Finals MVP and seven-time All-NBA first-teamer. He's had a mess of a supporting cast in Milwaukee and dealt with multiple injuries (including a current calf strain), and he's still having his best season ever in field-goal percentage (63.9) and player efficiency rating (34.9, the second-highest ever recorded, per Basketball-Reference.com).

You don't rule out the possibility of getting a player of this caliber. Especially when the difficulty level of winning a championship has been set so impossibly high by the Thunder, whose average outing is a 15-point thrashing of the opposition.

Drop Antetokounmpo in Houston, and this disruptive defense would grow even longer, lankier, more athletic, and stingier. This transition attack would become even more ferocious. And the half-court offense would add all kinds of new dimensions with the most dominant finisher this league has seen since Shaquille O'Neal was in his prime.

The Rockets can afford to get an Antetokounmpo deal done. In fact, they're so flush with assets, they could reel him in without emptying the cupboards.

If the Bucks want draft capital, the Rockets have some of the best to offer, like a 2027 swap with Brooklyn, an unprotected 2027 first from Phoenix and a 2029 first from Dallas, Phoenix, or both. If they're seeking building blocks, Houston could flesh out a package built around Sengun (which would greatly reduce the outgoing draft assets), Thompson, or Sheppard.

Houston is in such good shape for a trade that it could draw from both areas and not wind up depleted in either one. An Antetokounmpo-Sengun-Durant trio sounds unguardable. An Antetokounmpo-Thompson-Durant trio could be impenetrable.

Either way, you're taking a great team and making it...well, even greater. And that might just be what's required to conquer a league with the Thunder in it.