The Houston Rockets have been eradicated from the NBA Playoffs by the hands of the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, Might 4.
Ime Udoka’s inexperienced crew did nicely to take the Warriors to a Recreation 7, the place Buddy Hield’s sensational 33-point efficiency was the distinction.
The Rockets will now sit up for the offseason, with a blockbuster commerce seemingly on the playing cards.
Former NBA participant Kendrick Perkins thinks they need to make a transfer for one in every of Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant.
The Rockets have a lot of proficient gamers and draft capital, to allow them to simply commerce for nearly any participant within the NBA.
Many count on Antetokounmpo to need out of Milwaukee after the Bucks misplaced in 5 video games to the Indiana Pacers and Damian Lillard suffered an Achilles damage.
Durant can be prone to be on a brand new crew subsequent season, because the Phoenix Suns’ experiment with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal has failed.
Perkins has picked which famous person the Rockets ought to go all out for to degree up as a contender for the 2026 NBA championship.
“They want a better. I attempted to defend Jalen Inexperienced. I imply, I feel his future is brilliant, but it surely simply doesn’t should be with the Rockets. They’ve a whole lot of enticing items.
“If I’m the Rockets, I’ve obtained to handle the problem of capturing and a better, and I’m going after Kevin Durant. I’ll bundle up Jalen Inexperienced, Cam Whitmore, Jabari Smith Jr, and a few draft picks, and exit and get KD.
“Not Giannis however Kevin Durant, and also you pair him alongside Amen Thompson, [Alperen] Sengun, and Fred VanVleet. You retain Steven Adams, and now you’re rocking with one thing.
“They only didn’t have sufficient offensive firepower tonight, particularly when the Warriors locked in on Fred VanVleet, who had been giving them work after the final three video games.”
Durant would instantly rework the Rockets into main contenders within the Western Convention as a result of he solves their largest drawback.
Udoka’s crew are very good defensively, which retains them in video games, however they typically lack the offensive firepower to recover from the road.
Durant is clearly one of many best scorers in NBA historical past and, even at 36 years of age, continues to be able to placing up 25 factors per sport.
Nonetheless, his age is necessary as a result of he gained’t be at this degree for lengthy. At finest, he’ll be an All-Star caliber participant for 2 or three extra seasons.
That’s why the Rockets should be cautious not to surrender an excessive amount of in a commerce with Phoenix. Just a few younger gamers, like Jalen Inexperienced, Jabari Smith Jr, and Reed Sheppard, needs to be greater than sufficient.
