The Houston Rockets have made significant strides in rebuilding their roster, boasting a solid young core, but in the stacked Western Conference, they could face stiff competition for a play-in spot. Over the past few years, the Rockets have added …
The Houston Rockets have made significant strides in rebuilding their roster, boasting a solid young core, but in the stacked Western Conference, they could face stiff competition for a play-in spot.
Over the past few years, the Rockets have added talented players like Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, both of whom are eligible for extensions as they enter the final year of their rookie contracts. Whether these two become long-term cornerstones for head coach Ime Udoka remains to be seen. If they don’t fit into the Rockets’ long-term plans, they could be potential trade assets, especially since the team has stockpiled draft capital to make a big move when the time is right.
The long-term goal is clear: evolve into a playoff team, if not this season, then by next year, with an eye toward competing for titles later on.
However, the immediate focus will be on improving their offense, which lagged behind their defense last season. With continued development, the Rockets could be in the play-in conversation this year, but given the depth of competition in the Western Conference, they’ll need to take big steps forward to secure their spot.
The Brooklyn Nets have made a deal with the Houston Rockets to reacquire their 2026 first round pick.
The Brooklyn Nets are currently wheeling and dealing as they head into the offseason. After sending away Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in a blockbuster deal, the Nets called up the Houston Rockets to reacquire their first round pick.
The Nets made a deal with the Rockets to reacquire their 2026 first round pick that they sent away in the James Harden trade back in 2021. Brooklyn is in the middle of rebuilding its draft stockpile as they look ahead to the future.
The Nets will send Houston a 2027 first round pick via the Phoenix Suns and Houston also acquires a 2025 right to swap Houston/OKC first for the 2025 Suns first-round pick.
Most importantly in the deal, per sources: Houston relinquishes the right to swap a Houston/OKC first-round pick for Brooklyn's 2025 first-round pick. The Nets control their own pick as they go into a full rebuild — especially important in talented 2025 draft. https://t.co/jUR0f5lSjM
It’s obvious that the Nets have understood that this current roster needs to be retooled as they move forward. After sending Bridges to New York for Bojan Bogdanovic and five first round picks, the Nets will bring back another pick that they sent away in the Harden deal. Brooklyn is in a great position for the talented 2025 draft.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Warriors trolling the Rockets after their win.
The Golden State Warriors blew out the Rockets in Houston 133-110 and ended their season after they most likely eliminated them from the play-in contention.
Tari Eason infamously was the star of the night, as he wore a shirt that said, “Warriors come out to play”.
Here’s how NBA fans reacted to it after the Warriors win.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Lakers getting blown out by the Rockets in Houston.
The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t started the season as they hoped for. After getting blown out in Houston by the Rockets 128-94, they fell to a 3-5 record.
LA was without Anthony Davis in Houston, but still, NBA Twitter thrashed the Lakers for their blowout loss.
Here are the teams who made it out the best and worst from day one of NBA free agency
NBA Free Agency has barely just started and we’ve already seen a ton of deals pour in.
A big story so far is that most teams have been able to find ways to retain their big-named free agent talent that hit the market this offseason. However, there are some players who’ve managed to find new homes and some teams that have been able to fill a few gaps here and there because of it.
We’ve seen some pretty high-profile reunions in the NBA before. The one that immediately comes to mind for everyone is LeBron James rejoining the Cleveland Cavaliers and bringing them a championship.
Of course, that reunion came with a fairy tale ending. But every story isn’t a fairy tale.
And a James Harden return to the Houston Rockets certainly isn’t equipped to be that — especially not at this point. The situation just doesn’t make that much sense.
Yet, here we are. It’s an actual thing. The Athletic’s Sam Amick is reporting that Houston is expected to pursue James Harden this offseason if he declines his player option for the 2023-24 season with the 76ers.
There’s more. Harden is also said to be just as interested in a reunion with the Rockets, too.
“Sources, who like all of the other sources in this story were granted anonymity so that they could speak freely, have told The Athletic Houston is widely expected to pursue the 13-year veteran point guard if, as is expected, he declines his player option for the 2023-24 season. And even more surprisingly, sources with knowledge of Harden’s outlook say he’s as serious about a possible return now as he was when he left town.”
This really looks like a thing that could happen. Between Amick’s new reporting, Adrian Wojnarowski’s previous reporting and all the rumblings across Houston media circles, it feels like this is actually going to happen.
But let’s be clear about this: It’s a bad idea for all parties around. Let’s dive into why.
Hopefully, Russell Westbrook has finally found a new home
Welcome to Layup Lines, our basketball newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon
Howdy, folks. Welcome back to Layup Lines. It’s Sykes, once again, here to usher you into another weekend of basketball. Before that, let’s talk Russell Westbrook.
The future Hall of Famer will make his season debut for the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
It’s yet another benchmark of what can only be called a tumultuous season for Westbrook at this point. He’s gone from starter to sixth man to vampire to traded to buyout bargain, all within the span of a few months. That’s a journey that no player wants to go on.
This is the dark side of the “Super Max” deal — the contract Westbrook signed back in 2017 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The designated player extension — what we know as the Super Max — was originally intended to be used as a tool for star retention. It allowed teams who already had stars in hand to pay them up to 35% of their cap space if they hit certain landmarks like winning an MVP or making an All-NBA team.
That’s the deal Westbrook signed after becoming an MVP. Yes, obviously, it’s been lucrative. But it’s led him down a perilous journey where he’s now playing for his fifth team in five seasons. No one wanted to pay him that money.
Nobody can blame the teams that have moved him for moving him. Paying 35% of the cap to a player who isn’t an All-Star isn’t smart — much less one that isn’t even a starter on your team.
You can find multiple contributors who might be better a better fit instead. Your team probably doesn’t get worse. It might even get better — the Lakers certainly seem to be seeing a boost in the aftermath of Westbrook.
But, man. Doesn’t this all just feel wrong?
I mean, Westbrook is absolutely going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s one of the best five or so point guards to ever play the game and, officially, one of the best 75 players the league has ever seen.
To see him passed around like this just doesn’t feel right at all. It’s been hard to watch over the years, honestly. We’re in Olajuwon on the Raptors territory with him now. It was painful then and it’s painful now.
Westbrook’s diminishing skill here deserves bigger blame than his contract does. And, ultimately, there’s nothing we can really do about it. The Super Max is here to stay — and it’s also worked in a lot of cases. It kept Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard around with their teams. Steph Curry won a championship on a Super Max deal.
Hopefully, let’s just hope the buck stops here for Russ. He deserves a much better finish to his career.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Irony can be so cruel, y’all. The Kevin Durant trade has worked out extremely well for the Nets so far.
Mikal Bridges is the brightest light the organization has seen in quite some time. He seems like he can be a leader for the squad in the future. So, of course, the team wants fans to get to know their new franchise face. In a video, the team asked Bridges who his favorite player was growing up. His answer, our Bryan Kalbrosky writes, was hilarious and sad all at once.
It’s Kevin Durant.
“Bridges had to pause before answering the question because he understood just how funny it was, and then he broke out laughing.
What a cruel twist of fate: He only had to leave the only NBA team he had ever played for because he was traded for his favorite player — who he never got a chance to play alongside.”
Bucks (-1.5, -120) vs. Heat (+100), O/U 219.5, 7:30 PM ET
Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
The Bucks and Heat know each other extremely well. Yes, Milwaukee is on a 12-game winning streak right now and are hitting their stride at the right time. But they’re 3-2 against Miami in their last 5 with some extremely close games played. With Giannis Antetkounmpo out due to his wrist injury, I think the Heat +1.5 feels like a pretty safe bet.
Shootaround
— Our Cole Huff wrote an incredible story on this trainer whose hoop dreams didn’t quite materialize but still landed him in a place of love. You should absolutely check this out.
Dejounte Murray clearly hates the 2022 draft class
What if I told you there was a game where Trae Young and Dejounte Murray combined for 83 points in a single game. You’d think it’d be one the Hawks won, right?
Well, if so, you’d be wrong. That actually happened. But they actually lost to the Houston Rockets, 128-122.
It’d be a reasonable assumption to think that they’d have won this game. We rarely see fantastic performances like this that result in losses.The funny thing is, though, the Hawks were actually in position to win. They led by as many as 16 points in the 3rd quarter.
This might be the biggest trade in NBA history that actually didn’t matter
Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon
Welcome to Layup Lines. It’s your boy Sykes here once again. Let’s talk about the most insignificant humungous trade in NBA history.
It’s rare that anyone misses news about an 8-player trade. Well, for that matter, it’s rare to ever see an actual trade with so many players involved. But, believe it or not, one happened on Thursday. It did! I promise.
You just didn’t hear about it because, well, it actually didn’t matter much. The Thunder and the Rockets swapped a bunch of names many non-hardcore NBA fans might not actually know, according to details from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Here’s the move:
The Rockets got Ty Jerome, Theo Maledon, Derrick Favors and Moe Harkless along with a 2025 second-round pick
The Thunder got David Nwaba, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss.
Yep. Exactly. Nothing to see here. Just a bunch of dudes, swapping teams.
I wonder how this trade call went. The Thunder were probably like “Yo, do you want to include Theo Maledon in this?” and the Rockets were probably like “…who?” And then they probably proceeded to do the same thing for the next 30 minutes as they mapped the rest of this out.
And that’s not to shame any of these dudes for being involved. Making the NBA is an accomplishment on its own that they should all be proud of. And many of them have been solid contributors on good teams.
But, uh, this ain’t really changing anybody’s fortune. Well, except the Thunder, who literally saved a fortune by shaving $10 million from their cap bill. That’s about it, though.
Good luck to these guys. Hope they find steady homes in the NBA at some point.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Everyone loves to talk about the bizarro world in which the Lakers never made the Russell Westbrook trade and went out to get DeMar DeRozan. But, as it turns out, it was actually a thing.
DeRozan, himself, thought it was a done deal. He talked about it on JJ Redick’s Old Man and the Three podcast and, man. Wow. Our Bryan Kalbrosky wrote about it.
“[DeRozan] revealed that he was so “hellbent” on going to the Lakers that he had pushed all his other options to the side. Because of this, he said he had to go into “scramble mode” to find his new home.
DeRozan would have fixed many of the issues that Los Angeles had last season, but the front office opted to make the move for Westbrook, and the rest is history.”
I bet the Lakers wish they’d kept that offer on the table now. Sheesh.
