Houston Recieves: Lauri Markennan

Jazz Recieve: Jabari Smith Jr., Jeff Green, 3 Unprotected 1sts, 1 Protected 1st

Why the Jazz do this: What the Thunder were just a few years ago (young bad team with a lot of picks) is what the Jazz become. On top of that they avoid having to pay the Max to their top star, which they’ve been hesistant to do. Eventually they might have to pay Jabari Smith Jr. and Kessler, but that is a can they kick down the road. If they still aren’t rising contenders by then, they could just trade again. They do take on Jeff Green’s contract, but it is an expiring one and they do get compensated for it via the draft capital.

Why the Rockets do this: Every Single Champion in this century has been a top 10 defense and a top 10 offense. The Rockets are a top 10 defense, and with Amen, Cam, and Sengun only getting better, they should improve. Their offense on the other Hand… it hasn’t been great or even playoff worthy. They are in the bottom half of the league in offense, and it is entirely attributed to their bottom tier 3pt shooting. They could go after top tier shooters like Trae Young (or Paul George before he went to Philly) to immidiately fix this issue, but it would create another issue. One that plagued the Clippers, the big three Nets, and most of the other failed super teams of the past. The issue of too many Ball Handlers and only 1 ball. With Green and FVV on the team, another ball handler wouldn’t work. You need someone who can shoot the 3 and move off-ball. That person is Lauri Markannen. He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to create his own shot; he can move off-ball. Lauri fixes all of the Rockets’ issues and makes them an instant playoff contender, which doesn’t waste Sengun’s and Green’s young prime (especially before they have to pay them).