Does this trade make sense for Houston Rockets?
The 2021-22 season will not offer many wins to the Houston Rockets, and they know this, hence why they are going to look to develop their younger talents even more than they did last season.
With four rookies coming in, Houston will look to spend a lot of time giving their young talents minutes on the court, hence why they are going to be looking to move both Eric Gordon and D.J. Augustin.
While they would be getting Dwight Powell and Trey Burke, two guys who are under contract for two more seasons, Houston would be paying about $11M less in salaries this year and about the same next year as well, allowing them to add more talent around their young players in the offseason.
At this point, the Rockets really have no need for keeping Eric Gordon and D.J. Augustin around, which is why they will want to and have been looking to move them in trade talks.
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No teams have been willing to take on both of their salaries, but here, Houston would get to dump both players and end up with a protected first-round pick in 2024.
Maybe the Dallas Mavericks retain this pick if they fail to make the playoffs that year, but there is a good chance that Houston would hold onto this first-round pick, which would hold value to them since they are rebuilding right now.
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The future is bright for the Houston Rockets as a whole, especially with No. 2 pick Jalen Green being their highest potential young talent. Still, they will not improve much record-wise this upcoming season compared to the 2020-21 season.
As a result, they should be looking to cut salaries and veteran players off their roster, which is why this trade makes sense for them.
