As the Houston Rockets aim to finish their rebuild, DeMarcus Cousins has named two players he wants to be on their radar in the coming seasons.
The Houston Rockets seem to have finally found their footing after parting ways with James Harden in 2021. With Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun, who have both looked the part of a franchise player at times, the Rockets are currently fifth in the Western Conference and poised to make the postseason for the first time in six seasons.
However, they are only 4-8 in their last 12 games and are still clearly a few pieces away from being included in championship conversations. It would seem like Sengun is the only “untouchable” player on the roster, and Green’s new contract extension makes him moveable if the Rockets want to go in a different direction.
At times this season, the Rockets were linked to win-now stars like Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, although there are plenty of targets who wouldn’t rush their timeline that much.
While Houston is one of the better teams in the league, they would shock the world if they made it to even the Western Conference Finals this year, although there isn’t really a need to rush what they’re building.
“This is a part of it,” said DeMarcus Cousins on FanDuel’s Run It Back. “Young teams have growing pains. You have really good stretches of basketball, and sometimes you run into those stretches of bad basketball.”
Houston lost six games in a row earlier this month, which was their longest of the last three seasons, despite being on an upward trajectory. Still, the Rockets are one of the better teams in the league.
“I still think this is a really good team,” Cousins continued. “Obviously, they are well coached, a lot of talent, it’s a lot of assets. Houston is in a great place, but this [win vs Bucks] is definitely a right step in the right direction with fixing the situation and getting back on the right track for the season.
“As far as this season goes, if I’m Houston I’m evaluating all this young talent because it’s a lot. They have a lot of assets and depending on how this year goes, where they want to take that next step in improving this team.”
With more than enough young talent and plenty of draft capital, the Rockets can pick and choose who belongs in Texas long-term, and then ship expendable players and picks out to land an established star.
While Durant, Butler, or Antetokounmpo would have improved Houston prior to the trade deadline, the long-term viability of adding a star past their primes simply doesn’t make sense for the Rockets.
Instead, there are two names to watch, although one is much more realistic than the other.
“You got guys like Ja Morant, who’s whose name is floating around on a trade,” suggested Cousins. “You add a guy like that, and possibly a Devin Booker, this is a totally different team, and next season, we’re talking about the Rockets being contenders.”
While the Phoenix Suns might be inclined to blow up their core and rebuild, the Memphis Grizzlies would have no reason to part ways with Morant, who has helped lead them to the second-best record in the Western Conference after missing most of last season.
Still, adding Booker into the fold would elevate the Rockets, and Cousins’ idea of adding any established point guard on the market (Tyrese Maxey, perhaps?) stands to reason as a sound direction for Houston to take.
