Rockets fans should celebrate a disastrous Suns trade deadline

The Houston Rockets opted against making a significant deadline move.

Some fans are disappointed. That's fair. To begin with, the deadline is just more fun when your team makes a major move. Granted, smart general managers don't make decisions with the fun factor in mind. Still, the Rockets' roster has some holes that could have been filled at the deadline.

The team's fans should avoid catastrophizing. Perhaps the Rockets could have used a backup point guard. It may be that a backup big man is more your speed. That's fine. The Rockets remain ahead of schedule. When a team is this good and this young, they can justify a stagnant trade deadline.

Besides, it could have been worse. One Western Conference rival had an unequivocally disastrous deadline.

It happens to be exactly the team Rockets fans should be rooting against.

Rockets benefit from Suns' shortcomings

What did the Suns do at the deadline?

...Oh!

Cody Martin is a good player. He's borderline worth a first-round pick. He's probably not worth the very last first-round pick you've got at your disposal.

The Suns are cashed out. They're 25-25. Including the last deal they made, they've turned Josh Okogie, Jusuf Nurkic, and some draft capital into Cody Martin and Nick Richards.

What sound does a needle make when it doesn't move?

This is a talented team. The Suns will not be handing the Rockets Cooper Flagg - or even Dylan Harper. That said, Rockets fans should be familiarizing themselves with names like Liam McNeely and Thomas Sorber. They should be bracing to add another quality young player to their core this summer.

Unless they send the pick back to Phoenix.

Rockets could acquire Suns star this summer - or not

The Suns are drowning. The Rockets have a life raft.

Put differently, the Suns are a classic example of a team that ought to rebuild. They're mediocre, cap-strapped, and asset-poor. They need their picks back, and the Rockets have them.

The obvious target seems to be Devin Booker. He's the younger of the Suns' star duo. That said, there's surely some temptation in the Rockets' front office to add Kevin Durant to their young core. He's the better player. Yes, he's nearing the end of his career, but we've watched LeBron James play at a star level to this point - could Durant do the same?

Yet, there's an alternative path. What if the Rockets didn't want either? What if they told the Suns they weren't interested?

Those picks should only appreciate in value. The Rockets could spend them on an (even) better player than Booker. They could use them to continuously add elite young players to their core. Either way, the Suns depleted their assets on deadline day. This current group will either sink or swim. Even if the Suns orchestrate a miraculous turnaround with their new pieces, they are not built for sustainable success.

If Durant requests a trade this summer, and the Rockets won't play ball, the Suns' backs will be against the wall. It will be impossible for them to upgrade Durant - he's practically impossible to upgrade anyway, and the Suns don't have assets to attach to him to do the job. The Suns have put themselves in a difficult spot:

That's the most significant takeaway from deadline day for the Rockets.