Disappointment filled the air in Texas after the Houston Rockets were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs in a tough Game 7 loss to the Golden State Warriors late Sunday night. After all, the Rockets had just won 52 games while having the NBA’s sixth-best defense, leading to a No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Yet, once the playoffs arrived, their inexperience and inability to score with consistency did the Rockets in. However, this is a young team that’s still on the rise, and they have a vast collection of future draft assets, should they want to cash them in for a superstar.
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In fact, shortly after the Rockets’ season officially ended, ESPN’s NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins voiced his opinion that Houston should try trading not for Giannis Antetokounmpo but for former Texas Longhorns star Kevin Durant this offseason.
Though, doing so would likely mean trading Houston’s top scorer, Jalen Green. Here’s the rest of Perk’s trade offer for Durant.
“I’m going after Kevin Durant. I’ll package up Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore and Jabari Smith and some draft picks and go out and get KD, not Giannis”
Giannis’ name was brought up because the Milwaukee Bucks have disappointed since the Damian Lillard trade, most recently getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs too. Making matters worse, Lillard is now dealing with a torn Achilles that will likely keep him out for the start of next season too.
However, Durant has been rumored to be on the trade block for much longer. The Phoenix Suns are widely expected to move on from one of the NBA’s greatest scorers this offseason, also due to their failures, most recently missing the playoffs altogether.
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Needless to say, if the Bucks or Suns are ready to pull the trigger on trades involving their superstars, chances are the Rockets will have already considered the cost and they have the assets to get it done.
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