Earlier this week, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported, during a video broadcast of his mock draft, that the Rockets were listening to trade offers for the third pick in the draft. O’Connor reported that Houston was talking to the Brooklyn Nets about a trade involving Mikal Bridges and the Memphis Grizzlies about a trade down to ninth in the draft.
If the Rockets were to move down six spots in the draft, Memphis would really need to sweeten the pot, either with future draft assets or existing role players on their roster. While this has been billed a weak draft by scouts, there are several intriguing prospects from which to consider from the third slot, including big man Donovan Clingan, sharpshooter Reed Sheppard, and versatile wing Stephon Castle. Perhaps the Rockets don’t believe they can find playing time on their roster for yet another rookie, given the relative youth of the team’s existing core, and would prefer to kick the can down the road for a later asset?
Would the Grizzlies be amenable to trading veteran guard Marcus Smart in a trade up? Smart, now 30, played under current Rockets head coach Ime Udoka while with the Boston Celtics. Smart is on the books in 2024-2025 for $20.21 million and is slated to earn $21.59 million in 2025-2026 before becoming an unrestricted free agent the following summer. Would the Rockets be interested in such a transaction? Smart would add toughness to the Houston backcourt, but there are already not enough minutes to go around with Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green both expected to return, and sophomores Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore in need of more playing time.
As for Brooklyn, Houston’s interest in Bridges has been long-reported and widely speculated and now only fueled further by the Rockets’ jump in the lottery to third with Brooklyn’s own draft pick. (Brooklyn is conveying its 2024 pick to the Rockets as a result of the 2021 trade which sent James Harden to the Nets.)
Bridges’ fit in the Rockets’ lineup is undeniable where he would give Udoka another versatile defender and help space the floor for budding star center Alperen Sengun. But the two teams would need to see eye to eye on value to strike a deal. It seems unlikely that the Nets would agree to trade Bridges, the most attractive trade chip on their roster, in exchange for just the third pick in the draft. But how many more assets would Rockets general manager Rafael Stone agree to include?
After a spectacular March during which he claimed Western Conference Player of the Month honors, it’s unlikely the Rockets would trade Green in addition to the third pick. And Houston’s most valuable asset, swap rights to Brooklyn’s pick in 2025, would probably also be off the table. (Next year’s draft is considered by scouts to be particularly strong). The Rockets are also owed a pick from Brooklyn in 2026 and also swap rights in 2027, as a result from the same Harden trade in 2021. Could either of those assets be in play?
It’s a development worth watching leading up to the draft in late June.
Read the full article here
