Rockets Dubbed NBA Trade Deadline Loser After Staying Silent

The Houston Rockets made an interesting decision to stay silent at the 2026 NBA trade deadline. With a glaring hole at the point guard position, they were in talks with numerous teams leading up to Feb. 5, but could not get a deal completed, and will ride out the season with their current roster.

Most notably, Houston was in talks with the Chicago Bulls regarding Coby White ahead of the deadline. Unfortunately, he was moved to the Charlotte Hornets, and despite eyes turning to Ayo Dosunmu, the Rockets missed out on him after the Minnesota Timberwolves swooped in to fix their own point guard problems.

Houston is 31-19, tied for the fourth seed in the Western Conference, but there's a good chance the team's weaknesses will come back to bite them down the road. The Rockets rank 26th in turnover percentage, with an inability to take care of the ball amid the absence of Fred VanVleet.

Houston is one of three teams to have not made a move this trade season, along with the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. While the Spurs did not have any real need to make a change, the Heat missed out on their big swing at Giannis Antetokounmpo. But because of how much easier a smaller move could have been, Houston's silence feels the loudest.

It's a big reason why the Rockets were tabbed a trade deadline loser by Michael Pina of The Ringer. They feel like a second-tier team in the title race right now, which poses uncertainty for the future.

"One day after Rockets assistant coach Royal Ivey used the word “selfishness” to describe his team’s play in the first half of a devastating beatdown against the 'Maine' Celtics, Houston has all but admitted that it’s not a championship contender right now," Pina wrote.

"Despite having five tradable first-round picks and some significant areas in need of improvement—on a roster that’s down Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet for the season—the Rockets were whisper quiet at the trade deadline."

Pina also brought up the interesting point of maximizing the rest of Kevin Durant's career. The 37-year-old is in what could be his final chapter, but is also averaging 26 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists on incredible 51-40-89 shooting splits.

Durant can put Houston on his back in the clutch, providing a new dimension of offense with shot creation. The question is, can the Rockets reciprocate and make his life easier when the postseason arrives?

The two-time champion and former MVP is one of the pieces in Ime Udoka's point guard committee, but Durant shouldn't be asked to do more at this stage of his career. He should be able to play in his sweet spots and put more energy into half-court scoring, rather than being a part-time point guard. Houston whiffed at the deadline by not acquiring an initiator.

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