The Houston Rockets were given the opportunity to have their revenge against the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals. Unfortunately, like what happened last season, the Rockets suffered another defeat, getting eliminated in six games by the Warriors’ team that lost two of their core players — Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins — to injuries.
The Rockets have undeniably turned themselves as a legitimate threat to the Warriors in the past two seasons, but whenever they face each other in the postseason, Houston always emerges as the underdog.
In order to change the narrative in the 2019-20 NBA season, the Rockets are reportedly planning to make a huge roster overhaul next summer. According to a Twitter post by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey is eyeing to be more aggressive in upgrading their roster and will make all their players and future draft picks available in trade discussions in the 2019 NBA offseason. The Rockets’ main offseason goal is to surround James Harden with a better supporting cast that could boost their chance of winning an NBA title.
Dan Favale of Bleacher Report recently created a list of free agency, draft, and trade targets for all the NBA teams in the league this summer. For the Rockets, one of the ideal trade targets is Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards. In the proposed trade deal by Bleacher Report , the Rockets would be sending Clint Capela, Gary Clark, and two future first-round picks to the Wizards in exchange for Beal.
“Bradley Beal needs to pop up on the Rockets’ radar if the Wizards start taking offers. Clint Capela, 25, is under contract for another four years at a not-unreasonable $72.2 million, and Washington doesn’t yet have its center of the future. Working in other salary filler won’t be easy if Nene retires, but Capela, Clark and two first-rounders is a legitimate starting point. Beal is worth the cost. He’ll be 26 when next season tips off, with two more years left on his deal, and his arrival would allow the Rockets to lean further into their heavy-playmaking model while softening the blow of Chris Paul’s decline.”
SNUB CITY: Bradley Beal was one of six players to average 25/5/5 this season. He was the only one of the six who DIDN’T make an All-NBA team.
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— NBC Sports Washington (@NBCSWashington) May 23, 2019
Bradley Beal would undeniably be an incredible addition to the Rockets, giving them another All-Star caliber talent who can efficiently play with other NBA superstars. With his years of experience playing with John Wall in Washington, Beal won’t have a hard time building good chemistry with Rockets superstars Chris Paul and James Harden. Being an elite three-point shooter, Beal would be a great fit to Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system.
In the 82 games he played this season, Bradley Beal averaged 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.5 steals on 47.5 percent shooting from the field, and 35.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc. As of now, it remains unknown if the Wizards have any plans to trade Beal, or if the All-Star shooting guard wants his way out of Washington. However, at this point in his NBA career, Beal would be better off playing for a legitimate title contender than staying on a mediocre team like the Wizards.