Back in January of 2021, the Houston Rockets traded away James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, thus ending an era in Houston. While the Rockets did not win a championship in the eight full NBA seasons that Harden was a member of their roster, Houston did make the playoffs each of these years, including two trips to the Western Conference Finals in 2015 and 2018.
Unfortunately for them, the Golden State Warriors were just a better overall team with more overall talent, which is why Houston was never able to break through and make it to the NBA Finals. With Harden gone, the Rockets are now looking to build for the future with a young core that has already exceeded expectations.
Jae’Sean Tate, Kevin Porter Jr. and Kenyon Martin Jr. were all great young talents for the Houston Rockets over the course of the 2020-21 season, but so was Christian Wood, who they signed in free agency last summer.
The 25-year-old big man signed a three-year, $41M deal with the Rockets in free agency last offseason and he proved to be one of the breakout stars of the 2020-21 season. Christian Wood only played in 41 games this year due to multiple injuries, but in those games, he averaged 21.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and shot 51.4% from the floor, 37.4% from three-point range.
READ MORE: Predictions for Latest NBA Trade Rumors: Lillard, LaVine, Simmons, Sexton
If he had played a full season, Wood would have had a chance to contend with Julius Randle for the Most Improved Player award, which is why he is going to be a focal point for the Houston Rockets to build around for the foreseeable future.
However, with Wood’s value being as high as it is right now, could they potentially look to leverage him in trade talks this offseason to try and bring in even more future value? This will be something to monitor in trade rumors throughout the NBA offseason.
Seeing as Christian Wood outperformed his contract by a lot during the 2020-21 season and the Rockets love his production, it seems very unlikely that they would even discuss his name in trade talks, but the Warriors do have some intriguing assets they could offer Houston.
After all, the Rockets are interested in trading with the Detroit Pistons to try and obtain the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, so they could be willing to strike a deal with Golden State to get the necessary assets they need. Let’s take a look at what a Christian Wood to Golden State trade package could look like.
