Houston Rockets: The Biggest Winners of the Repealed Pau Gasol Trade

Outrage is spreading quickly throughout the NBA as David Stern and the NBA owners reportedly blocked a trade last night that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom and Luis Scola to the Hornets and Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets.

Even though this trade may have looked good on the outside, the Rockets are very fortunate the trade was denied.

At first glance, the Rockets would have acquired Pau Gasol. That seems like a good move on the surface, but it brings up real questions for the Rockets in terms of direction.

The Rockets have an assortment of young players, and they have some assets that they could leverage into a superstar.

Pau Gasol is not that superstar. To start things off, he is 31 years old. The only players on the Rockets ready to win right now with a 31-year-old franchise player are Kevin Martin and Luis Scola, and they are the players being shipped out of town to acquire him!

In the end, the Rockets have a big decision to make. Do the Rockets want to be put on the path of mediocrity for the distant future, or do they want to try and leverage some of their talent into a star?

They could, with the same talent, likely trade for a Chris Paul or a comparable player. They would be foolish to waste their considerable talent on a guy who has already seen his best days.