Head coach Ime Udoka and the Houston Rockets have a lot to be excited about this offseason after what was a relatively successful 2023-24 season as compared to expectations entering the year. While the Rockets narrowly missed out on a postseason berth in the vaunted Western Conference playoff picture, Udoka showed a lot of poise in leading his young team to many more wins than they had compiled in the previous few years, giving Houston fans plenty of reason for optimism moving into the future.
The Rockets' success late in the season, when they used an 11-game winning streak to nearly catch the Golden State Warriors in the standings, led some to speculate on whether the team may look to make a “win now” move this offseason in the hopes of breaking through to the big dance this offseason.
While it still appears unlikely, if the latest reports are any indication, the Rockets still haven't given up hope on the possibility of trading for Brooklyn Nets small forward Mikal Bridges.
“League sources say the Rockets have had conversation with the Grizzlies about trading down from (the third overall) pick, and that the Rockets hold out hope that the Nets would be willing to move Mikal Bridges for it,” reported Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer. “But those same sources say the Nets, on the contrary, prefer to add pieces around Bridges. If Houston stays put, (Donovan) Clingan or Reed Sheppard seem to be the most likely picks.”
The Rockets did indeed net themselves the number three overall pick in this year's draft, which is not expected to be a very talented class but is still better than, say, not having the number three overall pick. O'Connor's assertion that the Rockets would want to select big man Donovan Clingan out of UConn would seem to be a bit odd considering the team already has the center position on lock with the presence of Alperen Sengun (who ironically enough was out during the team's hot streak at the end of the year but is still clearly their best player).
How much would Bridges help?
While he isn't a star player, Mikal Bridges is one of the better role players in the NBA, bringing a Derrick White-esque combination of shot making, defensive prowess, and stability that makes any team he's on better. Bridges has already proven that he can be the third best player on a championship contending team when he helped lead the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals back in 2021, and has only improved his game in the years since.
Bridges is currently in somewhat of a frustrating situation with the directionless Brooklyn Nets, who might well be in the worst position moving forward of any team in the NBA due to their draft immobility, salary cap situation, and general ineptitude. This being the case, in a vacuum it would make sense that the team would at least entertain the idea of getting some assets back for their best player.
In any case, the trade market will open back up in June.
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