The Houston Rockets are rebuilding and are one of the youngest teams in the league. It should be no surprise to see them begin the 2021-22 NBA season 5-16 because expectations for them were very low entering the year.
As a result of trading James Harden last season, Houston was forced to abruptly rebuild, but this is something that has been on the horizon for a while.
They have slowly been gathering young assets to prepare themselves for a rebuild and now, they actually find themselves in a good position.
While the only thing they are in contention for is the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, there’s a lot to like about this young group in Houston. Jalen Green, Jae’Sean Tate and Kevin Porter Jr. all look like relatively young talents this team can build around for the foreseeable future, as does 26-year-old big man Christian Wood.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Rockets Expected To Entertain Christian Wood Trade Offers
The Rockets took a chance on Wood last year, signing him to a three-year, $41M deal, and he delivered big-time for them. Last season, Christian Wood averaged 21.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and shot 51.4% from the floor, 37.4% from three-point range.
Christian Wood emerged as one of the most improved players in the entire league last season and now this year, while his numbers have declined slightly, he is still a high-level big man on a very affordable contract.
He is only set to make $13.7M this season and then $14.3M next season, making Wood one of the most valuable players in the entire league given his contract worth and what he does on the floor. The Rockets love the production he gives them night-in and night-out, but could they take this opportunity to trade him?
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Rockets Expected To Entertain Christian Wood Trade Offers
With only one year left on his contract after this year, the Rockets are going to have to scramble to try and keep him against other competitive teams in the NBA and having other young players eligible for contract extensions, the Rockets could suddenly run into a cap problem.
Leveraging Christian Wood while his value and interest is at an all-time high may not be a terrible idea for the Rockets, so let’s take a look at three teams who could target the big man in a trade this season.
