In short, we’re trading a player with A+ potential for 2 players with B+ potential, simply because this exchange works better for both teams.

Rockets wanna build around Sengun, but if Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr don’t pan out, they’ll probably be stuck in this mediocrity purgatory for the foreseeable future unless they trade for a star or pair with Sengun. Right now, superstar players are valued rather low, and Zion’s trade value is low enough to the point where it seems worth to make a move for him. Note that no draft picks are involved too, allowing the Rockets a ton of flexibility to make future moves to put a star guard next to Zion and Sengun.

Pelicans, on the other hand, have proven that they can win without Zion and that they can develop young players. Adding 2 top 3 picks to a roster with a lot of other talented and slightly older young guys should hopefully allow for these two to blossom into potential all-stars, allowing the Pelicans to develop into a deep team capable of a long playoff run.