And confirms Houston’s earlier interest in Kevin Durant.
It’s NBA crazy (read: slow) season, and as usual, the Houston Rockets are being linked another trade target, as ESPN’s Zach Lowe discussed on his Lowe Post podcast that the Rockets were an intriguing possibility for a possible Lauri Markkanen deal.
Lowe had this to say:
“Houston is a really interesting one for me, because I’ve been of the view that if I’m the Rockets, I just need to let this thing marinate. I’m not rushing I just don’t know enough about my team and how it all fits together and what all these players can do.
I know Ime Udoka and the coaching staff, they wanna win. They wanna hit the gas now and Markkanen would be a way to hit the gas. They’re clearly an interesting team.”
Markkanen is coming off of back-to-back huge seasons in which he averaged 25.6 and 23.3 points per game respectively, including an All-Star appearance the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2023.
Is he the level of superstar that would truly lift Houston to contender status? That, I’m not sure of, but he’s certainly a quality player. The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are also said to be interested, so we’ll see how this shakes out with the 27-year-old forward heading into the final year of his deal.
In addition, Lowe also confirmed Houston’s interest in Kevin Durant earlier this offseason, though he also confirmed that Durant was never really available and it was simply a case of the Rockets big-game hunting. Lowe said:
“An agent said to me, I think the Rockets really wanted Kevin Durant, I think that part of it was true.”
Though Tim MacMahon fired back saying that it wasn’t a unanimous feeling in the Houston organization (thank god) and that there are also people in the Rockets who want to continue to let things shake out with Houston’s young pieces before making a deal.
The Durant talk starts off around the 35-minute mark.
With the Rockets holding six or seven legitimate young pieces with value along with picks from the Brooklyn Nets, you can expect these types of rumors to continue.