Every year, there are winners and losers when it comes to the NBA trade deadline. As of now, it appears the Houston Rockets are the early frontrunners for biggest losers.
Houston made the biggest trade of the season back in January, sending James Harden to Brooklyn in a four-team deal. In return, the Rockets received Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, Victor Oladipo, four first-round picks (all unprotected) and four first-round pick swaps.
The Rockets then traded away Oladipo before the deadline for Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a draft swap. That’s not the type of package you want to receive in return for an All-Star guard.
Now that all the dust has settled, NBA fans are reevaluating the Rockets’ trades from this season to see what they have to show for it.
As a whole, the Rockets have traded Harden for Bradley, Exum, Olynyk, Kurucs, and multiple first-round picks. Let’s not sugarcoat it, that’s an awful haul for one of the best players in the league.
At this point, Houston’s best bet is landing one of the top picks in this year’s draft.
Landing an elite prospect like Cade Cunningham or Evan Mobley could get the franchise back on track. However, the NBA Draft Lottery has shown before that anything can happen, so the Rockets can’t bank on having a top-three pick.