Before the trade deadline, the most buzzed-regarding trade discussion was how the Lakers should decide what to do next with Russell Westbrook. The Lakers have not played well this season, and the chemical effect of pairing with LeBron James has not produced any better results. The good response also made most Lakers fans, local media, and even some Lakers executives want to send him away early, but Westbrook’s contract is too big, if he didn’t intend to make him the team’s number one. General, otherwise normally no team is willing to tear down most of the team to accept him, and in the league, only the Houston Rockets are willing to hand over an olive branch to the Lakers.
The easiest way is to go back. In the past, the Wizards used John Wall for Westbrook. Now the Rockets and the Lakers can do the same, but the Rockets have added a condition. I hope the Lakers can pack the 2027 first-round draft pick, as long as the Lakers Ken nodded, the deal can be executed at any time, but the Lakers still did not press the execution button until the deadline for the deal passed, and there was little interest in selling Talen Horton-Tucker everywhere, although there was a chance to win Nick and the Tyrannosaurus to participate in the tripartite The transaction is nothing but nothing. In the end, the Lakers did not have a single transaction in the 24 hours before the transaction deadline. Westbrook will continue to put on the purple and gold jersey and follow the Lakers to work hard to enter the playoffs.
Desire to be reused, but in the wrong place
So far this season, John Wall has not played a single second, and the Rockets had an agreement with him as early as the preseason, because Kevin Porter Jr. was promoted as the team’s new head point guard, and there was no way to keep him as a starter. Controlling the ball, and Wall didn’t want to succumb to the bench, so the Rockets promised to continue to find a new owner for him. Wall also promised to play a supporting role similar to the coaching team, providing experience from the side to KPJ and Jalen Green, and also in the middle of the season. From time to time, we can see Wall and Jalen Green one-on-one training clips, and it also confirms that although Wall is not on the court, at least the atmosphere in the team is still very harmonious.
In addition to the trade rumors with Westbrook, there are also many teams in the league who are willing to pursue Wall, but they are all stuck in huge contracts, and the Rockets are unwilling to sign out of the draft to sign in the package, which has led to the original intention to pursue the team until the There was no sign of a shot before the trade deadline, and even most of them indicated that if Wall was willing to be bought out, he would be a very popular target, but the Rockets are not willing to buy out the full two-year contract, and Wall is not willing to give up, following all, they have already lost the ball. After playing, the players themselves give up their salaries. This calculation is too good.
In the middle of the season, the Rockets asked the Rockets to play, but the Rockets still wanted to start with KPJ and Jalen Green. If they really wanted to play, they had to compromise on the bench to start. Even the Rockets would not let him play too much time. Wall, who needs to show himself on stage, is unacceptable, and there is no follow-up to the end of the negotiation, and the Rockets continue KPJ’s point guard transformation plan.
However, following the Westbrook trade with the Lakers fell through, it was officially announced that John Wall would never hope to play once more this season.
Rockets’ paradoxical early-season signing and mid-season trade
Celtic Giveaways: Dennis Schroder, Enes Freedom, Bruno Fernando
Rockets send: Daniel Theis
The Rockets sent center Daniel Theis, who had just signed a four-year 36-million-dollar offseason, to return to Boston, where he made his fortune. In exchange for guard Dennis Schroder, centers Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando, the Rockets bought out Enes Freedom and left him The remaining two players.
This deal may not seem like a big deal, but it highlights the rockets’ paradoxical approach to trading this season. First of all, the Rockets selected four first-round picks in the 2021 draft, including Alperen Sengun and Usman Garuba. It is a player in the penalty area, and the Rockets have not cleared Christian Wood, the main player in the penalty area, and they have found Theis, who is also a center, and signed a four-year long-term contract, which is really confusing, especially Sengun and Garuba. All of them have their flaws and require a lot of time to adapt and learn. The practice of signing an immediate combat center will eat up playing time. It does not seem that the Rockets are serious regarding training the two rookie centers they have selected.
Furthermore, under the unsystematic attack of the Rockets, Theis did not have the space to play. He did not have the stable efficiency he had in the Celtics and the Bulls in the past. The overall shooting rate was only 46.9%, which was a new low for his career. Wanting him to play his skills so that he can find a next home in the middle of the season to exchange for future assets, this approach not only hurts the value of Theis itself, but also wastes the opportunity that should have been given to newcomers to hone in.
Fortunately, Theis was sent back to Celtic to make up for the combat power in the penalty area. It is expected that he will become an indispensable penalty area member of Celtic once more in the future.
