Houston Rockets: 5 moves we wish were April Fools jokes
By T.A. Mock
Drafting Royce White
When discussing moves we wish were April Fools jokes, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the disaster that draft Royce White became. The Houston Rockets selected him with the 16th pick of the 2012 draft. White flamed out quickly and never played a minute for the Rockets, in fact, he only played nine minutes the next season while attempting one shot for the Kings and committing two personal fouls.
Instead of drafting White, the Rockets could have added several players who have become very, very good basketball players for years in the league. Those guys include studs like Khris Middleton, Will Barton, and Draymond Green as well as key role players like Evan Fournier and Jae Crowder.
Trading Ralph Sampson
This wasn’t the worst trade the Houston Rockets have made but trading a franchise cornerstone is always a tough pill to swallow, this one was especially hard because it broke up the duo dubbed the ‘Twin Towers’ with Hakeem Olajuwon being the other member. Sampson continued his decline and the team got decent production in return.
Trading Elvin Hayes
Elvin Hayes was the first truly great player to ever put on a Rockets uniform in their San Diego history and was definitely that guy for their Houston history. He helped the team transition in their move and gave them notoriety. He averaged 27.5 points and 16.3 rebounds per game in his four years with the Rockets.
The Rockets shopped him after one year in Houston to the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin and cash. Marin obviously didn’t turn out as good as Hayes and you likely haven’t heard of him. Hayes went on to be the best player on a championship winning Bullets team.