The overachieving Houston Rockets were booted from the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs by the Golden State Warriors after a grueling 7-game series, but their quick ascension to the top of the Western Conference has positioned the franchise as heavy buyers heading into the offseason.
Houston’s incredible mix of young talent, defensive versatility and an endless stockpile of both draft capital and tradable prospects makes them a perfect destination for a superstar talent that could further elevate the team into an outright title favorite heading into the 2025-26 season.
The Rockets may go fishing for a top-5 talent to pair with their electric shooting guard Amen Thompson, and a recent report has indicated that the organization is willing to part with a franchise cornerstone if it means that they’d land one of the game’s greatest talents and a future Hall of Fame inductee from the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Houston has optionality, this (Antetokounmpo) trade can be structured in many different ways,” NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin wrote Thursday afternoon.
“Houston would be open to trading Alperen Sengun, league sources told NBC Sports, but the Bucks may be higher on a Jalen Green-based trade (depending on how they rate Green).”
“Jabari Smith Jr. is likely part of any deal, and the Rockets have a lot of future first-round picks — their own and others, such as Brooklyn (Nets) and Phoenix (Suns) picks — that could be part of the trade. It likely takes a third team to make the math work, but it’s very doable.”
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In a shocking turn of events, it now appears that the Rockets could very well let go of their coveted former No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to acquire the disgruntled 2-time league MVP in return.
At just 22 years old, Sengun posted sensational regular season box score figures of 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 76 appearances for Houston, doing enough to earn his first trip to the All-Star Game in the process. If brought in by the Bucks, he’d become the centerpiece of their newly-minted rebuild, helping to carry the team through the immediate post-Antetokounmpo era.
While Sengun’s contributions were surely a step in the right direction, the introduction of the 2021 NBA champion and Finals MVP would help Houston to possibly become one of the greatest defensive units in league history.
Antetokounmpo just wrapped up his 12th NBA campaign as a member of the Bucks, averaging an absurd 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists while shooting 60.1% from the field, finishing as a finalist for 2025 NBA MVP honors.
The all-time great 30-year-old forward and 2020 Defensive Player of the Year is looking to join a winning situation sooner rather than later after being bounced from the first round of the postseason for a third consecutive season, and Houston could be the perfect situation for the two-way force.
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