15 hours Ago
The Houston Rockets are in the midst of battling for a comeback in their first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors. Down 3-2, the Rockets are in a must-win situation but showed life after winning Game 5. The one issue that has plagued Houston throughout the majority of the series has been the lack of offense.
The Rockets have struggled to find a consistent X factor on offense, mostly due to the youth of their core. The defense has remained consistent, but shooting woes continue to hold them back. Given Houston's talented and deep young core, plus its draft capital, the franchise has been involved in superstar trade rumors all year long.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker are the three biggest names involved. The Rockets' potential need for a superstar was highlighted in a recent article from ESPN's Tim MacMahon . While the organization's goal is to continue to develop the roster, Houston's "Plan B," according to MacMahon, would be make a drastic 'win-now' move to acquire one of the league's best players.
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka recently gave his thoughts on developing the core and a potential blockbuster trade. The 47-year-old has a 95-74 record across nearly two years with Houston. "We're all on the same page as far as what we have in our organization and wanting to see it through and seeing what all these young guys can become," Udoka said.
"When you have this many high draft picks, you want to see who becomes what. I understood when I came to take the job that we were going to try to develop these guys and see what we can get to." "So to try to expedite the process by going out and getting one piece now is kind of doing a disservice to what we all talked about coming into it.
That's our vision, and I think the playoffs this year will give us a good picture of that and put guys in different situations and high-pressure situations to see how they react to it." If the Rockets get bounced in the first round as the second seed in the Western Conference, speculation of changes could grow louder. Houston has the chance to make a blockbuster deal without selling the entire future, but it would take a lot of assets.
However, the speculation could be silenced if Houston manages to beat the Warriors..
