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The Westbrook Trade: One fan’s oral history of a wild night

A fan gathering for a Summer League game turned into a live reaction party for one of the biggest trades in Rockets history

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Houston Rockets Fans Twitter Party

It was a rather unspectacular evening, or so we thought.

Ben DuBose, Clutchfans member The Cat and host of the Locked on Rockets podcast, had organized a #RocketsTwitter viewing party for a summer league game of all things. What started as random musings over whether the Rockets were going to sign and trade Iman Shumpert or if Chris Clemons might stick in the NBA turned into a flurry of excitement and one of the most memorable Rocket get-togethers ever.

This is an oral history of the wild night when Russell Westbrook became a member of the Houston Rockets.

First, let me give you some background. I am not a fan of Russell Westbrook. I think I lean pretty heavily towards Dave Hardisty’s line of thinking. But this post is not going to be about reactions to the trade, the fit, analytics, etc. There is time for that later and there are hundreds of them by now. This post is about a night with friends.

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The Arrival

This was my first #RocketsTwitter party Thursday night, so naturally I wasn’t sure what to expect — especially since we were watching a Summer League game. Don’t get me wrong, I can watch Summer League games, but this summer had so far been rather uninspiring, both on the transactions log and on the courts in Vegas. I fired a text to Ben to let him know I would be early (because I always am, even when I think I’ll be late.) I’m hardly a shy person, but the weird thing about a Twitter get-together is that I literally have no clue what any of these people look like. I could imagine walking into Nick’s Place, not recognizing anyone, turning around and leaving. Instead, I recognized Ben and Matt Thomas of SportsTalk790 immediately, quickly took a seat and settled in for a memorable evening.

Our first order of business was kicking around the “boring” Rockets offseason. We wondered aloud whether the Rockets were going to do anything. It wasn’t spoken, but a vision of Rocketgirl’s (@00rocketgirl) “Do Something Rockets” meme was dancing in my head.

We were off to a great start though. Meeting folks like @aprilnicole82 , @Matt_ABC13, @p2s08 and others was really cool. It was good to put faces to the ClutchFans and Twitter handles and realize you aren’t the only one crazy enough to follow every move the Rockets make. In normal conversations with normal people you sometimes have to feign ignorance about sports stuff just to avoid seeming TOO obsessed. Not with these folks. This felt right. These were MY people.

The Ironic Poll

Then we shifted to a ridiculous topic. Ben mentioned that ESPN’s Tim McMahon had reported on The Jump earlier in the day that he wouldn’t rule out Russell Westbrook to Houston yet. We all laughed. It wasn’t something to be taken seriously.

And then I did it. A moment now immortalized on SportsTalk790 (thanks to Matt Thomas) happened.

I polled the room, in an ironic way to be sure, with a leading question: “So we’re all unanimous that we don’t want Westbrook on this team, right?” It’s hard to believe now that I said those words at THAT moment, but I did. Most in the room made one of those faces that you see on reaction gifs when you aren’t sure how to express yourself:

One person did make clear she was pro-Westbrook. @Allison_Wollam was 100% on board. If there were others in the room who felt that way, they didn’t say. So credit to her. Matt Thomas had a good laugh about the situation and teased us saying that if Westbrook became a Rocket we’d all be changing our tune. I was defiant of course. I would NEVER root for Westbrook. It didn’t matter anyway, because if you’ve followed my Twitter timeline you know I thought there was no chance this was happening.

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Are you kidding me?

It was minutes after that informal poll, maybe less than five. Minutes after Matt had laughed about the potential hypocrisy that we would never get to test. Minutes after we all moved on from a topic that seemed ridiculous when one of the guys at the table next to us let out a shout.

“WOJBOMB! We got him!!”

It was so coincidental that we all thought it was a joke.

To Twitter! The first thing was to make sure the account reporting this had that all important Blue Check. There are so many “Woj” imposters, surely that’s all this was. Nope! There it was, on Twitter, staring us in the face: The proof that couldn’t be denied.

To fully grasp how crazy this was, you really need to read that timestamp. 7:26PM. The watchparty was set to begin at 7:30PM at Nick’s Place. I texted Ben at 7:01PM that I was five minutes away. It was twenty minutes tops. Twenty minutes between walking into a bar/restaurant to greet people I’d previously known as random internet handles and sharing in the reactions to one of the biggest trades in Rockets history.

If the first 20 minutes were uneventful, the next 3+ hours were “lit.”

Twitter party gets crazy

So what happens at a #RocketsTwitter watch party in the moments following a shocking trade like this one? It’s as 2019 of an answer as you might guess. Live tweet reading! The rush began to find details of the trade. From somewhere at the table, someone reads out a tweet about the draft picks. Another reads a tweet about protections. Are you kidding? One tweet says we tried to do a trade that would have kept Chris Paul here WITH Westbrook? Another one reads that Paul will stay in OKC. Check that here comes Ramona Shelburne saying they’ll trade him after all! Or was it Woj? Who cares! There’s so much information coming at you that it’s impossible to keep up. Then the reaction tweets begin.

My first thought on twitter? Well, they hated us before and they’ll really hate us now.

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(Thanks for the retweets!)

Kenneth (@YoltsKenneth) won the night in my opinion with:


(Side note: He’s right of course. I KNOW that Westbrook is going to steal Capela’s soul on a rebound at least once)

From then on the night was one of laughter, twitter memes and retweets, spelling out handles, arguing about efficiency and by far my favorite past time: checking your timeline for old Westbrook slander. (Note: No one deleted anything)

How did the group feel about the deal? Honestly the reaction was more “Holy crap can you believe this” for so long than any concrete “This is great!” or “This is terrible!” It’s really hard to describe the energy of a reaction like this when you are in a room full of these kind of people. My kind of people. It’s like a Clutchfans thread playing out right in front of you, a twitter feed happening at your table. Is THIS what it was like before the internet? I can’t begin to imagine.

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Winding down

As the night went on we moved on to other topics. There was Texans talk with Stephanie Stradley. There was blog talk with Justin Levine (@JustinLev) of @RedNinetyFour. There were tales of the celebration and debauchery that followed the Rockets second championship in 1995 and jokes about the ones too young to remember. There were discussions about beer and whether Blue Moon is a “girl’s beer” because it has an orange it. Pro wrestling in the 1990s? Oh yeah we talked about it! nWo 4 Life! Rock n Roll Express, Jim Cornette’s podcast, 83weeks with Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson, Paul Boesch and Houston Wrestling…we hit on it all. Did I mention There were “Russ Shots?” I’m still not exactly sure what those were. Ben had to leave us earlier than some. Something about needing to record a podcast.

The night finally ended around midnight. Ubers arrived for some and the rest piled into their cars. If they were anything like me they quickly turned to SiriusXM and listened to Frank Isola talk about the Westbrook trade. I was tired sure, but staying awake wasn’t a problem. When I got home I logged on to Clutchfans and relived it all again.

So what exactly happens at a #RocketsTwitter watch party for an uneventful summer league game when a huge trade goes down? As it turns out, life happens. Hope to see you there next time.

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A Rockets fan since birth, Justtxyank lives in an alternate timeline where Hakeem Olajuwon only played for the Rockets and there are STILL only three Star Wars films.

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Houston Rockets

Looking Back on the Trade for Phoenix’s Draft Picks

Are the Rockets set to cash in on Phoenix’s downfall or could a Suns retool murky the waters?

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Houston Rockets Trade Phoenix Suns Draft Picks

As the Houston Rockets set to host the Phoenix Suns tonight, it seems the right time to take a look back at the trade that linked these two franchises together for the foreseeable future.

This past June, the Rockets made a trade with Brooklyn that sent back to the Nets control of their 2025 and 2026 unprotected first-round picks. In exchange, the Rockets received a large chunk of Phoenix’s future (2025, 2027, 2029) and control of the Dallas Mavericks’ 2029 first.

In essence, the Rockets traded one pick and one swap for two picks and two swaps. All unprotected.

Thoughts At The Time of the Trade

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If I’m going to discuss the current outlook of this trade, I have to be honest about how I saw it at the time of the move. While I didn’t hate this trade initially, I definitely didn’t love it either.

I liked that the Rockets increased their overall trade assets. I also liked that they extended the timeline to be able to make a bigger trade and I also appreciated that they kept control of the 2027 Brooklyn swap.

But I didn’t like that the Rockets gave up what seemed like the more established value (Brooklyn) for a more uncertain gamble (Phoenix). The Rockets did not control a “tanking runway” of picks to offer back to Phoenix — all of the picks Houston got in the deal were in staggered years (’25, ’27, ’29). I also felt Brooklyn, who badly needed to rebuild, got away with paying market value to get their picks back despite the fact that the Rockets invested years in watching those picks appreciate up to the point that they had the Nets completely over a barrel.

Net-net: I felt like more certainty was traded for less certainty and it was more of an equitable trade for both teams rather than Brooklyn paying dearly to get back the things only the Rockets could offer.


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There were two ways I thought this trade could pay dividends: The Suns needed to flame out immediately, as in this season (unlikely), or the Rockets could trade all those pick assets as part of a deal for a real superstar in the next 12-18 months (more likely).

In a testament to how quickly change can occur in a very unpredictable NBA, four things have happened that have been positive indicators for the Rockets in making this move.

The Suns are fading

While Phoenix had major salary cap issues, dealing with the second apron, they didn’t appear to have problems on the court. They jumped out of the gate 8-1 and looked like a legitimate contender behind their star trio of scorers in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

Given Houston controlled Phoenix’s pick this year via a swap, it looked like the Rockets would come up empty-handed on the trade this season.

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That changed quickly.

Injuries, serious depth concerns and a lack of a defensive identity has sent Phoenix spiraling. Booker’s availability has been inconsistent, forcing Durant to carry the load, while Beal has not quite fit in at all. Their financial limitations, thanks to owner Mat Ishbia’s all-in spending spree, have handcuffed their ability to improve the roster around the three stars.

The Suns are sitting 11th in the West, having gone 22-34 since that hot start, and are currently trying to catch a depleted Dallas squad to get back into the play-in picture.

As of right now, the Rockets project to end up with a lottery pick (albeit a late one) this season out of the trade.

Phoenix was caught shopping Durant

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Because the Suns struggled so hard after the start, they tried to make a major move at the deadline but could not unload Beal, in large part due to his no-trade clause.

As a result, they may have made a misstep: They openly tried to trade Durant, which inevitably became public news.

Now? Durant will almost assuredly be traded this summer — likely to a destination that he handpicks. This means the Phoenix Suns will have to look at all possibilities for their future, including potentially having to give Rafael Stone and the Rockets front office a call.

But keep in mind, the Rockets can not offer Phoenix the ability to completely rebuild via the draft right now. Phoenix’s 2026 pick is controlled by Washington. They would have to get extremely creative to set that stage. A retool in Phoenix is much more likely.

Could Brooklyn have been better than expected?

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This one is tougher to gauge.

The Brooklyn Nets are currently tied for fifth-worst team in the league, giving them strong lottery odds this summer. This was expected. After all, the Nets, even with a healthy Mikal Bridges and a full roster, were not a good team last season, closing the year 20-41 in the final three quarters of the season. The Rockets ended up with the #3 pick (Reed Sheppard) as a result of Brooklyn’s mediocrity.

However, if the Rockets had not placed that pick back in Brooklyn’s hands, would the Nets be better than this?

Brooklyn brought in a new coach in Jordi Fernandez that has had a positive impact. They have dumped off players, such as Dennis Schroeder and Dorian Finney-Smith, that impacted winning. The bar to make the play-in in the East (.415 winning percentage) is obscenely low, with Brooklyn being just five wins away from it at the moment.

And on top of that, Brooklyn did have lots of draft capital that they could have moved to try to win now.

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It’s very tough to say as you don’t know if a team with Bridges still in Brooklyn might have actually been worse than this current squad, but you could make a case that the pick the Rockets would have ended up with from Brooklyn this season would be eerily similar to the one they will end up getting from Phoenix this year.

Again, this is a tough call.

Nico Harrison Hooked the Rockets Up

As part of the trade, the Rockets got control of the Dallas Mavericks’ 2029 first-round pick (unprotected, of course). While there’s really no way of knowing what a pick will be five years out, we did know that Luka Doncic would be just 29-30 years old that season and it was fairly etched in stone that he would be the core piece of a Dallas squad that season.

Enter chaos in Dallas.

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Doncic was shipped out in the trade that shocked the world, which could have a major impact on the Rockets. Dallas’ current core of Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis will be 37 and 36 years old that season, respectively.

On paper, the value of that pick shot up.

Final Summary

Right now, the outlook on these picks looks strong. One source stated off the record that they feel the 2029 Phoenix pick is the best pick asset out there that is owned by another team. The Rockets would be reluctant to add that one specifically into any trade unless it’s for a truly legitimate star.

But if there is any lesson that the NBA teaches us over and over again, it’s that it’s very hard to predict where a team will be a year from now, much less three years from now.

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Can the Rockets pressure Phoenix and leverage the ownership they have of their draft capital to get what they really want (Booker) from them? Could a Suns retool around Booker and Beal, with the right pieces and assets acquired from a Durant trade, significantly change their on-court outlook and cap sheet — which in turn could damage the value of the picks Houston controls?

Bottom line is it has worked out well this season, and the future forecast at the moment is promising. The current value of those future picks appears strong. What will likely determine history’s final grade for this trade will be how it sets them up for the trade to come, and that’s where fans will be looking to Stone and the front office for action starting this summer.

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Amen Thompson’s ankle injury will be re-evaluated in one week

“The things he does you can’t replicate,” says Rockets coach Ime Udoka

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Amen Thompson ankle injury while going for triple-double

Rockets young star Amen Thompson will have his ankle injury re-evaluated in one week, according to Ime Udoka.

Thompson had an MRI on Sunday and the Rockets coach confirmed all imaging (X-ray, MRI) was negative.

“Just some swelling and pain, obviously,” said Udoka.

If you listen to Udoka, you can tell he knows how special Amen is to this team. He said the Rockets are missing a lot by not having him out there.

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“Obviously, the things he does you can’t replicate,” said Udoka. “[Amen is] a guy that plays every position for us. When one goes down, he runs the point. If another is out, he runs the four.”

Amen is one of the best defensive players in the game, and as a one-on-one defender of guards/wings, he might already be the best in the league in just his second season. He’s holding his opponents to 40.5% shooting from the field, tops in the league.

“He’s a very unique defensive player,” said Udoka. “We got some guys that do some great things there, but I like to put him and Dillon on the best two usually, night to night. You got Tari and that’s a luxury as well, but the way he goes about it is different. His athleticism, size, speed, strength, shotblocking ability, steals… he’s all over the place.”

“Hard to replicate for sure.”

Amen injured his ankle late Saturday night in a blowout win against the Pelicans, but the unfortunate part was he probably should not have been on the floor in the first place.

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The Rockets had built well over a 30-point lead by early fourth quarter. Jalen Green was able to rest the entire fourth. Alperen Sengun came out of the game with 7-8 minutes left while Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason came out with 6:00 left. But Thompson, who had posted an insane +39 on-off number, remained in the game because he was one rebound shy of a triple-double with 15 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.

Udoka addressed that decision on Monday before the game against Orlando.

“What I typically don’t do is wholesale substitutions,” said Udoka of the decision to keep Amen in the game. “Albeit 30[-point lead] at six minutes [left] is different than losing to Minnesota, a 16-point lead with four minutes [left].”

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“I’ve seen it go both ways in the past. You take out guys too early and have to bring starters back, and vice versa.”

Thompson has played in 60 games this season, five short of being eligible for postseason awards. He absolutely should be up for an All-Defensive nod this season so keep an eye on him getting back in time for that. He would need to return to action no later than April 4th for the game against the OKC Thunder in order to play enough games to be eligible.

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How the Kyrie Irving Injury Impacts Rockets

Houston’s draft positioning and offseason plans could be impacted by Dallas

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Kyrie Irving Injury

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving was injured Monday night and the news dropped on Tuesday that the knee injury is serious — a torn ACL in his left knee that will end his season and a good portion of next season as well.

Brutal. I can’t think of an NBA team that imploded faster than the Dallas Mavericks.

You trade away a 25-year-old phenom who just hoisted you on his back en route to the NBA Finals a year ago. You cashed in that golden ticket to go all-in on a trio of aging stars in Kyrie, Anthony Davis, and Klay Thompson.

Bold strategy, Nico. Let’s see if it pays off.

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(Narrator: It’s not paying off.)

The Mavericks had some interesting potential this year and maybe the next couple of years once everyone was healthy, but now? Their star guard is likely out until the calendar year 2026 and Klay and AD aren’t getting any younger nor more durable. The Mavericks may have actually swapped their future for a present that never arrives — and Dallas GM Nico Harrison has to be feeling overwhelming pressure right now.

So how does this impact the Rockets?

For starters, Houston has a game remaining on the schedule against Dallas on March 14th at Toyota Center — Davis may or may not be back for that game.

More importantly, Dallas is the 10th seed in the West at the moment, just 3.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns (11th seed). The Rockets control Phoenix’s first-round pick unprotected this season via a swap. We need as many West teams as possible ahead of Phoenix to keep them out of the play-in/playoffs and to push them as deep into the lotto as possible.

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This complicates that. Phoenix’s remaining schedule is the toughest in the NBA by a good margin, with plenty of games left against the league’s best teams, so it still looks promising overall — but we’re talking about Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. They can still get hot at the right time while Dallas may struggle.

So keep a close eye on that. The good news is the Portland Trail Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the league and they are (shockingly) nipping at the Arizona squad’s heels.

Taking a look ahead to the offseason, the Kevin Durant Pursuit will be big.

This one is a little more complicated for Houston. The Rockets really want Devin Booker but, as of now, the Phoenix plan appears to be to trade KD this offseason and retool around Booker. The Rockets will have interest in Durant but they’re not going to sell the farm (prospects and all the picks) for a 37-year old like they would for Booker.

Three teams that I’ve heard a lot about from Rockets circles that will be in the mix are Houston, Minnesota and Dallas — Timberwolves and Mavericks have been considered the main competition. But, a lot of this will depend on Durant himself and where he wants to play at this stage of his career.

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Keep in mind also, if the Suns are “retooling” around Booker and Beal (holding the no-trade clause), then they could be placing a higher priority on win-now players over the return of their own draft assets. The Rockets definitely have the best assets overall to offer up in any trade package between those three teams, but if Phoenix does prefer finding the right ready-to-win players around Booker/Beal, that gives Dallas and Minnesota a real chance.

This injury “may” take Dallas out of the equation, and they are/were definitely a contender for KD’s services given his past relationship with Kyrie and the way Dallas was positioned to win right now. Does KD at his age want to wait for Kyrie to be healthy?

And one last friendly reminder: The Rockets control that Dallas 2029 first (unprotected).

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Rockets Sign David Roddy to Two-Way Contract

Former first-round pick has played with the Grizzlies, Suns and Hawks

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David Roddy Houston Rockets

The Rockets made a move on Monday, signing former first-round pick David Roddy to a two-way contract.

The two-way spot opened up after the front office signed Jeenathan Williams to a standard four-year, $8.2 million contract (with friendly team options all along the way).

Roddy is 6-foot-5 and 250+ pounds but sports a 6-foot-11 wingspan. He was taken with the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft — six selections after the Rockets drafted Tari Eason. A standout in college, Roddy averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game during his junior season at Colorado State.

Roddy, who turns 24 later this month, is a physical player who can play multiple positions. He’s a solid rebounder for his size/position. He has played in 165 games over three seasons with the Grizzlies, Suns, Hawks and most recently Sixers, averaging 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

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The guard/forward has not shown efficient shooting, however — he’s a career 30.5% three-point shooter and just 68.4% from the line. His defense is better inside than out.

Ultimately, it will be those two things — three-point shooting and defense — that will determine his chances of carving out a consistent role in the league.

All in all, it’s a low-risk signing and the Rockets get a look at a prospect that fits their age timeline.

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Houston a potential landing spot for Ben Simmons post-buyout?

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Ben Simmons Houston Rockets

ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst said on Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline show that Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons is working on a buyout and the Houston Rockets is a potential landing spot for him.

“Cleveland and Houston are two situations for Ben Simmons,” said Windhorst.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka was an assistant coach in Philadelphia in 2019-20 when Simmons was with the Sixers, before injuries took a significant toll. In fact, Udoka, when speaking about Amen Thompson earlier this season, brought up some comparisons to Simmons.

“The skill set is there, and it’s something that’s unique with his speed, athleticism, size, passing ability, and all those things,” said Udoka of Thompson. “I coached somebody, Ben Simmons, who had similar traits… as far as size and ability to push the pace, and find guys and finish. There are some similarities there.”

Both Thompson and Simmons are known for their elite athleticism, defensive versatility, and ability to create opportunities in transition.

However, can Simmons help the Rockets today? That’s the tough question.

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Simmons has played in 33 games this season, averaging 6.2 points, 6.9 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks in 25 minutes a night. He does not shoot threes (like, at all) — he has only attempted two threes in the past three seasons combined.

Ideally, he does not play in front of your young forwards of Amen, Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. and on that basis alone, I think I would pass. But, Ime loves defensive dogs and he could use some extra ballhandling on the roster. You can see that there’s little in the way of offensive organization when Fred VanVleet is out.

There would be a comical full circle moment though if the Rockets did sign Ben Simmons, considering the Rockets were heavily criticized for trading James Harden in 2021 to Brooklyn instead of to Philadelphia for Simmons. The Rockets clearly made the right choice there.

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