The Houston Rockets, being one of the youngest teams in the league, are in the prime position to develop their young and talented core. They’re not in the championship-contesting atmosphere yet, but they are in the playoff-contesting one—or so they should be, anyway. They’re off to a great start to the season, and as far as holding on to trade pieces, the Rockets are shutting the doors on some of their younger stars.
Rockets Designate Two Young Guns Untouchable For Trade
Rockets’ Tari Eason and Amen Thompson ‘Off Limits’
When you hear “trust the process,” you think of the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid. Has that process worked out? That’s heavily debatable, with opinions falling on both sides. When I hear “process,” I think of the Oklahoma City Thunder. With OKC, trusting the process is paying dividends, whereas the 76ers are arguably stuck as a franchise. With the Thunder, you have a team built by the draft and genius of Sam Presti (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, anyone?). Look at where they are now. Could the Houston Rockets follow in OKC’s footsteps? They can, and they should.
According to ESPN senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst, the Rockets are informing teams that they are staying out of the business of trading away their young talent in place of a superstar or other. At least, that is the case for now. The talent in question belongs to the Rockets’ Tari Eason and Amen Thompson, Houston’s respective 2022 and 2023 draft selections.
“…the message they are sending out is that they aren’t interested in trading much of their young core right now. Draft steal Tari Eason, for example, has been drawing attention for the past year but has been labeled off limits, sources said. Same for last year’s lottery pick Amen Thompson.”
Windhorst further explained that Rockets GM Rafael Stone prioritizes going after defenders in the draft or free agency. He listed Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks as examples. Stone appears to be taking a page out of Thunder GM Presti’s book. The next step is to trust the process that Presti has and is doing with the Thunder.
Impressive Drafting Similar to OKC
Building the Rockets heavily via the draft appears to be an organization staple. Apart from Thompson and Eason, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Cam Whitmore, and Alperen Şengün, by way of the Oklahoma City Thunder, have all beenselected by Houston over the last four years. That goes to show that they’re invested in the draft, and each of those names are living up to their pick thus far. Last season, Houston missed the play-in by one seed, finishing five wins behind the Golden State Warriors. This season, they’re off to an 8-4 start with a chance to improve to nine wins over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
Ime Udoka has emerged as the perfect coach for this young Rockets team, and this core only continues to grow and excel with one another. For this reason and others, the Rockets should be determined to follow the path the Thunder have taken. That path includes developing the young players—Thompson, Green, Eason, Şengün, Smith Jr., and others—in the process of building a team that can contend for a championship. Because that’s where the Thunder are right now, and they’re not going away as contenders. Houston can replicate that. Making players such as Thompson and Eason unavailable in trades is the intelligent way to play this. This Rockets team is on the rise, and they have the potential to be a true “process” team.
