Rockets hope to trade future design assets for a foundation piece

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With PJ Tucker’s trade deal, the Houston Rockets are further adding their stock first round of design capital over the next seven NBA seasons. But that doesn’t mean they will make all those choices.

Per Jonathan figs of the Houston Chronicle, CEO Rafael Stone is hopeful to eventually package some of those concept assets in an exchange for more immediate help. Feigen wrote:

The Rockets made the switch, trading players – Tucker and Rodions Kurucs – who weren’t playing for them, to improve their collection of design assets. But the Rockets don’t try to collect cocks in the hope of increasing their chances of finding a future star somewhere along the line.

They remain very willing, according to a person with knowledge of the team’s thinking, to trade choices for a player they could consider basic, the kind of move they’d want to make even in a largely lost season.

In many ways, it’s a similar template to when former general manager Daryl Morey slowly upgraded his asset stock before trading for James Harden in October 2012. with Houston in the long run, so it’s worth giving up on those design assets.

Trades like that don’t seem likely before this season’s trading deadline of March 25, largely because it is not believed that there is a potential star of that caliber in the market. But when the next disgruntled star becomes available – be it next week, next low season, or beyond – Stone will have the Rockets in a better position to pounce.

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