In the blockbuster four-team trade sending disgruntled star James Harden to Brooklyn, the Houston Rockets received a package headlined by significant future draft considerations and Victor Oladipo. Two months later, Oladipo was flipped to Miami for Kelly Olynyk and a pick swap.
Those were not, of course, the only options available to Houston general manager Rafael Stone in early 2021. He could have received the same amount of draft assets alongside Brooklyn guard Caris LeVert, who was dealt to Indiana in exchange for Oladipo. He could have taken slightly fewer draft assets by keeping Nets big man Jarrett Allen, rather than redirecting him to Cleveland for another pick.
Or, the Rockets could have traded Harden to Philadelphia (also on his desired list) for a package headlined by young All-Star Ben Simmons.
Stone, however, remains convinced that the path they took was the correct one to fit the timeline of the franchise’s ongoing rebuild. In a new episode of the Red Nation Hoops podcast, Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen was asked by Salman Ali about the alternative options — and why the team chose to go in the direction they did.
On Simmons, Feigen said:
People always talk about the 76ers option. ‘Oh, they made a big deal about (Tyrese) Maxey, or they could’ve gotten (Matisse) Thybulle, or the Sixers should’ve offered that.’ It was never about that!
And that’s to say nothing of the worthiness of Ben Simmons as the guy to build around. The Rockets were concerned: ‘How do we build around a guy who can’t shoot, especially for the years that he shares a backcourt with John Wall? Is that really worth doing?’
But the real thing that stopped that, they wanted everything you have (in draft picks), and they wanted it unprotected. They couldn’t get that. You can argue with what he (Stone) wanted, but he got what he wanted.
New @RedNationHoops episode w/ @Jonathan_Feigen: Rockets Make Front Office Hires + More 2nd Pick Talkhttps://t.co/GKti2FLoBw
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) July 8, 2021
Another benefit to the path Houston ultimately took was that it played a large role in them finishing with the NBA’s worst record in the 2020-21 season, which maximized their odds for the 2021 draft lottery. As it turned out, that led to the Rockets landing the No. 2 overall pick in the first round, rather than falling to Miami’s slot at No. 18 (courtesy of a top-four-protected pick swap from the Chris Paul-Russell Westbrook trade).
Per Feigen, the way the season and draft order turned out makes the terms of the Harden trade look far better, in hindsight.
By choosing to not prop themselves up short-term and be a mediocre team, a much better team than they were — they gave themselves the best chance they could at keeping their pick this year. Ultimately, they did. If they ended up being a team that didn’t make the playoffs, didn’t make the play-in, but were a lot better than worst in the league, the chances of keeping that pick would’ve been much, much worse. Now, they have another part they can build around. That worked out for them, too — not propping themselves with, say, Jarrett Allen for a year before he hits free agency. Well, that gives you a chance at having the No. 2 pick in the draft.
With Jarrett Allen (the thinking was), ‘Can we afford to have a guy who plays the same position as Christian Wood? We’ll have to pay to keep him, and maybe not even start them both. Is that the way to build the team? That was more of the calculus on Allen.
-Rockets asked other teams about their interest in Caris LeVert during the Harden trade negotiations and found there wasn't much interest from other teams and that Oladipo would be easier to trade again if necessary
— Don Knock (@DonKnock) July 8, 2021
Regarding LeVert, Feigen says that Stone found Oladipo’s trade value to be higher at the time. That value may have declined somewhat after Oladipo’s underwhelming and injury plagued stint in Houston — but in January, the thought was that LeVert would be harder to redirect.
The funny thing is, when they tried to determine who would be easier to trade, they thought Victor Oladipo would be. And maybe he was, they got a little something. But they were not getting much from the Caris LeVert option. They shopped him, and they couldn’t find a whole lot. They looked at which one would be easier to trade, and judging from those talks around the league, they determined that it would be Oladipo.
In January, the Rockets were open to scenarios of keeping Oladipo, as well. However, they eventually determined that it was not the right fit.
After shipping Oladipo to Miami, Olynyk played extremely well in Houston, which allowed Stone to recoup some value on that end of the deal. However, the 30-year-old big man is a free agent this offseason.
The Rockets do have Bird rights on Olynyk, which could help them to potentially re-sign him or perhaps extract value by facilitating a sign-and-trade elsewhere. Whether Stone is able to pull one of those scenarios off could determine whether the Rockets made the best value decision out of the LeVert, Oladipo, and Olynyk triangle.
The complete podcast with Ali and Feigen, which also includes insight on Houston’s options at No. 2 in the draft and recent changes to the basketball operations team, can be listened to below.
[lawrence-related id=43507,43358]
[listicle id=49943]