Victor Wembanyama now has an all-star caliber teammate so the Rockets need to enter win now mode
Since Victor Wembanyama gestured in excitement when the Houston Rockets landed at number four in the 2023 draft lottery, meaning he would not be playing for the Rockets, I haven’t liked him. However, there is little doubt that the countdown to him eventually being the best player in the league began the day he was drafted. For Rockets fans, our only saving grace was that although he was drafter to our interstate rival, the Spurs were terrible.
That was until yesterday, when the Spurs acquired De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings. No, this move does not make the Spurs contenders this season, but it does significantly accelerate their timeline, which in turn should accelerate the Rockets timeline. No, that doesn’t mean I believe the Rockets need to make a trade before the February 6 deadline (although that Robert Williams trade is sounding pretty good right about now). What it means is that the countdown until the Spurs are perennial winners again just got a lot shorter.
Last season I stated on the Houston Sports State of the Union Podcast that the Rockets “need to get good, quick” because the Spurs will not stay terrible. Once Wembanyama develops physically and teams up with another top player, the Spurs could very well be the thorn on the side of this version of the Rockets that the Golden State Warriors were to the James Harden era.
The Spurs managed to land Fox and didn’t have to give up Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, or Jeremy Sochan. On top of that, they only gave up one of their own draft picks. Essentially they traded Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Sidy Cissoko (whoever that is…) and a 2027 1st round pick for De’Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin. Now that isn’t a Luka to the Lakers kind of fleece, but it is a huge win for our hated rivals, who are currently three games out of what would be a play-in spot.
With the veteran leadership from Chris Paul, possibly the greatest head coach in NBA history, and an absolute alien on the court in Wembanyama, San Antonio is set up to make some noise in the back half of the season. Now the Rockets need to enter win now mode before they are stuck chasing the next Spurs dynasty.
What exactly does that look like? Perhaps it is a move this year, but at minimum if this young core does’t produce a superstar player come this time next season, it may be time to use their assets to acquire one. The clock is ticking.