At February’s trade deadline, general manager Rafael Stone made it clear that Houston wasn’t interested in moving veteran guard Eric Gordon simply to open up minutes. While the 33-year-old is in the awkward spot of being a win-now veteran on a rebuilding team, the Rockets value both his on-court and off-court influence for younger players.
The price would need to be right to the team, and Stone reportedly wanted more than a late first-round pick in 2022 to move Gordon. Keep in mind, Gordon had the highest true-shooting percentage and field-goal percentage last season of his entire 14-year NBA career, and the second-highest percentage on 3-pointers. He has plenty of game left.
Could those numbers, along with now having only one fully guaranteed season left on his contract, potentially move the Gordon trade market into a spot that is more lucrative to the Rockets? Similarly, might a disappointing playoff exit prompt certain teams to be more aggressive?
On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said:
Keep an eye on the Houston Rockets. They’ve already done one deal (Christian Wood) this offseason. Look for a little bit of an Eric Gordon sweepstakes to be in play.
A couple of teams that I’ve heard interested, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns. Chris Paul is looking for a potential reunion with his former teammate there.
Brian Windhorst with some intel on the following teams in regards to trades leading up to draft night:
Hawks
Rockets
Sixers
Suns
Hornets#NBATwitter #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/T1KtgO616f— 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙉𝘽𝘼 (@_Talkin_NBA) June 21, 2022
The same “reunion” dynamic may apply in Philadelphia, where the 76ers are led by former Rockets guard James Harden and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who was Houston’s general manager.
Both the 76ers and Suns entered the 2022 playoffs hoping and expecting to contend for an NBA title, but each had a disappointing and premature exit in the second round. It’s possible that either or both could see Gordon as the potential missing piece to help get over the hump.
