The Houston Rockets have yet to reap the benefits of their decision to bottom out in the aftermath of the trade that sent James Harden out of town back in 2021. Since then, the Rockets have struggled, with their young pieces having their fair share of troubles in figuring out how to be efficient, two-way weapons in the NBA. Thus, the Rockets decided to finally bring in some veteran reinforcements, signing Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks — two hard-nosed defenders who should teach the Rockets youngsters the ropes on how to conduct themselves professionally.

Even then, it's fair to wonder whether the Rockets have enough pieces to at least insert themselves into the play-in tournament conversation. The Rockets also unfortunately will have to say goodbye to Kevin Porter Jr., as there's simply no place in the league for someone whom all pieces of evidence point to being guilty of an all-out assault on his former partner.

With the Rockets' current tribulations in mind, here are two trades the team must pull off with the intention of distancing themselves from Porter as well as to fill the void his inevitable departure will create.

Just get KPJ out of here, whatever it takes

Rockets deal Kevin Porter Jr. and two second-round picks to the New York Knicks for Evan Fournier

It's hard to imagine before all of Kevin Porter Jr.'s alleged misdeeds went down that the Knicks will be able to get something of value for Evan Fournier. But here we are in this scenario, with prospective trade partners having all the leverage as it's not in any franchise's best interests at the moment to be associated with the man allegedly guilty of assault.

According to the latest report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Rockets are targeting a player under contract who “can play immediately and help the team”. There won't be a single team in the league that will decide to give up a positive asset, that's for sure. To be taken into consideration for a trade involving Porter and the Rockets, the player must be earning eight figures and, perhaps, be under contract for more than a season to give the trade partner the financial benefit of waiving Porter in the aftermath of the deal.

Besides Evan Fournier, the Rockets could also target Devonte' Graham, since the team will be in need of more depth at the point with Kevin Porter Jr. gone. But at this point, there should be no urgency on the San Antonio Spurs' end to trade away Graham, since Graham's contract is only guaranteed for $2 million next season anyway. The Spurs won't be saving money should they acquire Porter, even though receiving two second round picks for their troubles does sound appealing.

Thus, Fournier appears to be the most logical candidate. The Knicks will be saving around $3 million if they waive Porter immediately, while the Rockets will be receiving a motivated version of the Frenchman after a trying 2022-23 season in the Big Apple and an uncharacteristic 17th place finish at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He should slot in nicely behind Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks in the Rockets rotation, giving the team another weapon from the perimeter to help the Rockets youngsters have more space when driving to the rim.

Fournier should give the Rockets a boost in terms of spacing, and he's a consummate professional, so they won't be running into any off-court problems like they did with Porter. And if Fournier flames out in Houston, they can simply refuse to pick up his $19 million option for the 2024-25 season.

Given the team's win-now mandate, approaching the Knicks for an Evan Fournier trade seems to be one of the Rockets' best options in terms of maximizing Kevin Porter Jr.'s trade value in the aftermath of his unfortunate actions.

Beefing up the team at PG

Rockets trade away Jae'Sean Tate to the Chicago Bulls for Ayo Dosunmu

With the loss of Kevin Porter Jr., the Rockets will be thin at point guard. Fred VanVleet may be capable of shouldering heavy minutes and Amen Thompson is a very capable understudy, but the team needs insurance in case of injury. So why not trade from a position of strength to bolster a weakness?

The Rockets will have a ton of combo forwards fighting for minutes, with the likes of Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, and Jeff Green battling each other for spots on the rotation. Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr. will also need their minutes at the 3 and 4, respectively. Thus, that may leave Jae'Sean Tate on the outside looking in.

The Bulls, meanwhile, have a logjam at the point, with Coby White, Alex Caruso, and Jevon Carter all presumably ahead of Ayo Dosunmu in the pecking order. Meanwhile, they're thin at the combo forward slots, with Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig being the only traditional options they have at the position. Thus, a Tate for Dosunmu trade seems to be logical for both parties.