Thursday night’s home game versus Toronto was the first time for the Houston Rockets to meet the media since the NBA’s trade deadline for the 2021-22 season elapsed earlier that afternoon.
While not everyone on social media was thrilled with the team’s relatively quiet deadline — the only move was a swap of veteran center Daniel Theis for guard Dennis Schroder, with an accompanying release of Armoni Brooks and DJ Augustin — many around the team were clearly relieved to keep the young and rebuilding group mostly together.
In particular, third-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. — who scored a season-high 30 points during Thursday’s game — seemed thrilled to keep 14-year veteran Eric Gordon, who offers value both on the basketball court for the Rockets and in the locker room as a leader and mentor.
As for head coach Stephen Silas, he was excited to add a proven veteran guard like Schroder, but it was also bittersweet at the cost of losing a selfless teammate like Theis. The big man did not object to being yanked in and out of Houston’s rotation all year, depending on matchups.
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