NBA Rumors: Rockets Want to Take 'Big Swing' in Trade Market; Green, Şengün Linked

The Houston Rockets could consider trading young talent like Alperen Şengün and Jalen Green because they "want to take a big, big swing in the trade market," according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon (h/t NBACentral).

"I don't know if both Şengün and Green are going to be here long-term," MacMahon said. "My guess—and I emphasize, guess—is that one or the other would end up getting moved at some point for them when they take their big swing."

The Rockets currently hold the Brooklyn Nets' 2024 and 2026 unprotected first-round picks, and hold swap privileges on first-round picks in 2025 and 2027, due to the conditions of the 2021 James Harden trade.

That draft capital and the Rockets' young talent could facilitate a significant trade, and MacMahon believes the team will make a move "sooner than later."

"If there are stars that emerge on the trade market, I believe the Rockets are going to take swings," MacMahon said.

The Rockets on Wednesday defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to claim their 10th straight win, narrowing the gap between themselves and the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in spot in the West.

This late-season push might be changing the perspective of the Houston front office on how close the team is to completing a rebuild.

The Rockets have a three-phase plan in place to rebuild from the team's 17-win campaign in 2020-21 according to team owner Tilman Fertitta.

After starting Phase 1 with trading stars like Harden and Russell Westbrook, the Rockets entered the roster-improvement-focused Phase 2 with the hiring of Ime Udoka as head coach last April, according to The Athletic's Kelly Iko, Shams Charania and Sam Amick.

The Houston front office seemed to take a step back from committing to the next phase at the 2023 trade deadline, during which the roster remained mostly unchanged. The team's only deadline acquisition was a trade for injured center Steven Adams, who had already undergone season-ending knee surgery in October.

This Rockets roster has proven it can make it to the edge of the playoff bubble anyway, and that may have sped up the team's projected Phase 3 timeline.

The Nets currently sit outside the playoff bubble as the No. 11 seed in East, promising valuable draft capital for 2024. Houston could now potentially use that unprotected pick in a trade for a player who could help Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson lead the Rockets back into the postseason for the first time since 2020.