Rockets must avoid Trae Young temptation as trade speculation begins to mount again

As well as the Houston Rockets play this season, they will at no point be able to shake the rumors swirling around the league regarding their need for a point guard in the absence of Fred VanVleet.

While the Rockets' need to make a move might prove to be an inevitability this season, one point guard around whom trade rumors have already centralized must be left out of the conversation entirely: Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.

With his extension looming, the Hawks have played excellently with Young out of the lineup, and it is natural to think that the organization may look to maximize his value before they are forced to slap a hefty contract on him. Yet, Houston cannot sacrifice its dominant defensive identity in pursuit of such a player.

Whatever the Rockets do, they cannot make a move for a ball-dominant point guard such as Young

Early in the season, the developing NBA rumor mill has crystallized primarily around three star point guards whose teams could look to move them this season: Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball and Trae Young.

All three of these players can be dynamic scorers and creators when they are at their best, and, in a different NBA landscape, all three of these players would command immense trade value were they to truly become available.

Yet, under the modern CBA, teams are infinitely more hesitant to make a move for a star, especially one who cannot contribute on the defensive end and whose shooting is inefficient at best. Young, undoubtedly, is a great player. Last season, through 76 games, he averaged 24.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 11.6 assists while shooting 34% from beyond the arc.

The Rockets, moreover, lack a bona-fide point guard on their roster in the absence of VanVleet, and they have relied on a combination of Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard to take on the role for them. Both players have acclimated well, but it is clear their ceiling as creators is not nearly as high as a star point guard's might be.

Yet, Houston has no room for the issues that have cropped up with Young in Atlanta. Through the first month of the season, the Rockets are first in the NBA in offensive rating and ninth in defensive rating, capitalizing upon both the offensive potency they've found with Durant on the roster and the continuation of their staunch defensive identity under head coach Ime Udoka.

Young needs the ball in his hands, and his innefficient shooting and lack of defensive viability has the potential to disrupt the careful balance that Houston has forged so far this season. If they are to make a move for a point guard, it must be one that, while limited in their ceiling as a producer, can be relied upon to fit seamlessly into the team's system.

That, by no means, is Young, and the Rockets must therefore be careful to avoid any temptation that might crop up this season as his saga with the Hawks continues to develop.