Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix on the NBA’s 2025 offseason trade market: “Every player wants to play for Ime Udoka. That’s a real asset that the Rockets have.”
Entering the 2025-26 season, the Houston Rockets have the foundation of a relatively young and improving team that finished 2024-25 with the NBA’s fourth-best record (52-30, No. 2 in the Western Conference).
That’s led many to speculate that Houston could be very desirable to any star players who might come available on the offseason trade market.
But there’s another potential reason for that desirability. On Friday’s The Rich Eisen Show, NBA insider Chris Mannix (of Sports Illustrated) made the case:
Every player in the league loves (head coach) Ime Udoka. Every player wants to play for Ime Udoka. That’s a real asset that the Rockets have.
Mannix went on to name Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, and Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns as All-Star-level players who could be targets. Brown and Durant each have previous experience playing for Udoka, with Durant’s stint coming when Udoka was an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets.
Udoka was a finalist for the NBA’s 2024-25 Coach of the Year award.
“The team that I’m still watching the closest is going to be Houston,” Mannix said of his offseason outlook. “Can Houston make a play for Giannis? I’m sure they would love to.”