3 Potential Houston Rockets Trade Candidates Entering the 2025-26 NBA Season

Houston began their offseason by trading Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and draft capital to the Phoenix Suns for Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade.

They then signed Steven Adams, Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. to contract extensions and signed Clint Capela, Dorian Finney-Smith and Josh Okogie in free agency.

By making these moves, the Rockets are expected to be a major threat in the West this season as they try to make a run at a championship behind their core of Durant, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson.

Despite this, they could elect to make more moves ahead of the trade deadline to bolster their roster and these three players could be potential trade candidates.

Reed Sheppard

The Rockets selected Sheppard third overall in the 2024 draft but he did not receive a ton of minutes during his rookie season.

Last season, the 21-year-old guard averaged only 12.6 minutes over 55 games which resulted in him averaging 4.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

With Houston’s roster additions this offseason, Sheppard may be in for another small role this season, which could cause the Rockets to try and trade him, especially if they are able to package him with other players and draft capital to land another star player.

Jabari Smith Jr.

Jabari Smith Jr. played a key role in the Rockets’ success last season as he averaged 12.2 points and 7.0 rebounds over 57 games.

Despite this, the additions of Durant and Finney-Smith may cut into his minutes this season, along with other young forward Tari Eason.

If this ends up being the case, Smith Jr. could be the odd man out, especially if he struggles, and Houston may elect to shop him on the trade market to try and land another key player or potentially another star.

Jae’Sean Tate

After having a large role in the Rockets’ rotation earlier in his career, Jae’Sean Tate has seen his role diminish over the past two seasons.

This has mainly been due to the amount of young talent at the forward position that the Rockets have and with the additions of Durant and Finney-Smith, Tate may have an even smaller role this season.

Because of this, the 29-year-old forward could be on the move this season and he should draw some interest from other teams looking for wing depth.

While the Rockets could trade these players, it would not be a surprise to see them keep their current core together to help them chase a championship this season unless they are able to land another star player to add to their roster.