With the Houston Rockets aiming to complete their reconstruction, Demarcus Cousins has appointed two players he wants to join their radar in the coming season.
The Houston Rockets finally found their position after they separated from James Harden in 2021. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun sometimes look part of a team player, with the Rockets currently ranked fifth in the Western Conference and are expected to win the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.
However, they are only 4-8 in the last 12 games, and obviously have a few more away from the championship conversations. Sengun appears to be the only “untouchable” player on the roster, and Green’s new contract extension allows him to move if the Rockets want to move in a different direction.
Sometimes this season, the Rockets are linked to winning stars like Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler and Giannis Antetokounmpo, although there are many goals that won’t catch up with the timeline.
The Rockets are still one piece
Although Houston is one of the best teams in the league, they will shock the world if they compete in this year’s Western Conference Finals, although there is really no need to hurry up on what they build.
“It’s part of that,” Demarcus Cousins Run backwards. “The pain is getting bigger and bigger for young teams. You do have a lot of basketballs and sometimes you come across those bad basketballs.”
Houston lost six straight games early this month, their longest in the last three seasons, albeit on an upward trajectory. Still, the Rockets are one of the better teams in the league.
“I still think it’s a really good team,” Cousins continued. “Obviously, they’re well coached, a lot of talent, and that’s a lot of assets. Houston is in a good place, but [win vs Bucks] It is definitely the right step in the right direction to fix the situation and get back on the right track this season.
“As far as I’m concerned, if I’m Houston, I’m evaluating all these young talents because that’s a lot. They have a lot of assets and depending on how they’re going to grow this year, they want to take the next step in improving this team.”
With enough young talent and a large amount of capital drafts, the Rockets can choose who belongs to Texas for a long time, then transport consumable players and then pick out established stars.
Cousin named two players
While Durant, Butler or Ant Kunimp will improve Houston by the trade deadline, increasing the long-term viability of stars beyond primes makes no sense for the Rockets.
Instead, there are two names to watch, although one name is more realistic than the other.
“You have guys like Ja Morant whose name flows in the trade,” the cousin advised. “You added a guy like that, maybe even Devin Booker, which is a completely different team, and next season, we’re talking about the Rockets being contenders.”
While the Phoenix Suns may be inclined to blow up their core and rebuild, the Memphis Grizzlies have no reason to part ways with Morant, who helped bring them the second best record in the Western Conference after missing most of last season.
Still, adding Booker to the compromise would lift the Rockets, and the idea of adding any established point guards to the market (perhaps Tyrese Maxey, maybe?) was to get Houston to take a reasonable direction.
