Rockets must consider mid-season move for this Clippers guard

The Houston Rockets likely have their roster set heading into 2025-26. If they're looking to make a deal throughout the year, they should look at one Clippers guard:

No, not that one.

Although there's a temptation to advocate for a James Harden reunion. The Clippers are marred in scandal. It wouldn't be a surprise if they were sellers this year. Why not reunite with the second-best player in Rockets history?

Well, Harden, unsurprisingly, makes considerable money. Nobody should rule out a reunion with the Rockets, but it would be complicated.

By contrast, acquiring Kris Dunn could be relatively easy.

Rockets must consider acquiring defensive ace

Clint Capela and a handful of second-round picks ought to get the deal done.

Will Capela be expendable for the Rockets throughout the year? It's hard to say. He does feel superfluous with Steven Adams on the roster, but if Adams isn't able to regularly suit up, the Rockets might want to hang onto Capela.

Still, there could be a workaround. Low skill, high utility bigs like Capela are abundantly available. The Rockets could likely flip him for Dunn and find a replacement on the buyout market. That would allow them to preserve Adams' body for the postseason while diversifying their roster.

If Houston does want to flip Capela for a guard, Dunn will surely appeal to Ime Udoka. He's one of the best defensive guards in the NBA. That said, Dunn is a limited offensive player:

Is he really the guy the Rockets need?

Rockets are already built to contend

Hot take: There's too much handwringing about the Rockets' guard depth.

Sure, it's a hole in the roster. It feels like there's too much worry surrounding the one flaw of a team that won 52 games last year and traded Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks for Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Capela this summer. The Rockets were already fringe contenders with one of the league's worst guard rotations.

Dunn isn't a star offensive guard, but he's not wholly incapable. He provides a semblance of ball-handling and playmaking. His career 32.7% three-point shooting is lacklustre, but if you isolate the last three seasons, he's shooting 39.2% on 2.0 attempts per game.

The Rockets could go in another direction. They could target a guard in Capela's price range who's more dynamic offensively, but at that price point, that player will be a poor defender. If they want to maintain their identity while adding some of the skills they need, Dunn is the perfect solution:

If they want to make any more moves, that is.