Rockets Add Playmaking, Elite Rebounding Wing in Mock Trade

The Houston Rockets made wholesale upgrades this summer, identifying the need for a surefire bucket-getter and consistent closer, and they nabbed arguably one of the greatest to ever do it.

Well, not arguably, as everyone would agree about Kevin Durant's rank as one of the league's greatest scorers of all time.

The Rockets added wing depth and size, by way of Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela. The latter was an interesting addition, because the Rockets were already loaded at the center position.

So much so that Rockets coach Ime Udoka rolled out the double big lineup with Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun, dominating opponents on the glass. Not only was Houston the league's best offensive rebounding team in 2024-25, but they also led the league in total rebounds per game.

This gave the team extra offensive possessions, which was beneficial for a team that was average offensively. 

The latest mock trade has the Rockets landing an elite rebounding wing in Josh Hart, while swapping Tari Eason. The Rockets face a salary conundrum regarding Eason, as his contract has just one year left before he'd hit restricted free agency.

The writer's logic regarding Hart's fit on the Rockets is below:

"Houston finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference last season. Then, they took the Golden State Warriors to Game 7 in the first round.

The Rockets lost that game, proving that maybe more experience and leadership is what they need to take the next step in 2025-26.

Hart could provide that while potentially improving the team's defense and rebounding."

In general, Hart is a rebounding machine. He averaged a career-best 9.6 boards last season, which tied Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo for 12th.

The players ahead of him are all bigs, while Hart is 6-foot-4.

Hart is also an underrated playmaker, which the Rockets could immensely use, as they have a void of playmaking guards. Hart is also an underrated point of attack defender.

Hart is an inconsistent long-range shooter, however. He made 33 percent of his triples in 2024-25, an improvement over his 31 percent clip from the previous season.

Neither is exactly good. Far from it, actually. 

He has proven capable of being a reliable outside shooter in spurts. Through the first 32 games last season, Hart made 39 percent of his attempts from behind the arc.

In the postseason, he made 37 percent of his threes. However, in the Eastern Conference Finals, he fared just 18.2 percent from deep.

He's inconsistent as a shooter and he doesn't quite take enough triples to be relied on as a sniper.

Contractually, he's owed a guaranteed $40.3 million over the next two years, followed by a $22.4 million team option. For that level of coin, the Rockets would be wise to extend the 24-year-old Eason and hold onto him instead.