Houston Rockets Rumors: A splash trade for Nikola Vucevic should be made

Brandon Knight is, of course, the starting point

Fortunately for the Houston Rockets, Vooch isn’t a star and he only had $12.8 million due to him for the 2018-19 season. So, he shouldn’t cost too terribly much. Another that benefits the Rockets in this trade is that the Magic are in the midst of a rebuild and really aren’t competing.

As with the majority of the trades the Rockets could make this season, the centerpiece of the trade, on Houston’s side, will be Brandon Knight. He is an expendable player with a high price tag so, the likelihood of Knight ending the season in another uniform is pretty high.

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Knight has also become more and more expendable as the season has progressed. He is still apart of the rotation right now but if Paul and Gordon were healthy, he wouldn’t be. Especially the way new addition, Austin Rivers has been playing.

So, Knight and a first-round pick could be very intriguing for the rebuilding Magic as their backcourt depth isn’t great and a healthy Knight could be a very good thing for them. The Rockets first-round selection wouldn’t be great but the Magic need to keep stockpiling assets.

There is also the potential to make this trade something bigger, though it could get challenging. The Magic had a lot of frontcourt depth but they could look to just shed some contract and take back some more picks. If so, the Rockets could package in Marquese Chriss and a second round pick and while the Magic would give up Jonathon Simmons. If they don’t want Chriss they could take Anthony or Michael Carter-Williams to make the money work.

In all likelihood, adding players and picks makes it more challenging to complete a deal. So, the base deal of Knight a first round pick, maybe an additional second, for Vooch should do the trick. Regardless of how it happens, though, the Houston Rockets need to pull the trigger because Vooch would be an excellent addition.

For the season, Vucevic is averaging 20.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. The only other players to have that stat line this season? Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid. Imagine that on the Houston Rockets…