As the Houston Rockets attempt to contend this year following their blockbuster offseason acquisition of Kevin Durant, the, possibly season-ending, ACL injury to starting point guard Fred VanVleet means that their championship hopes have taken a major hit.
Yet, according to Zach Lowe on the most recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, this development does make it more likely, albeit only slightly, that the Rockets might pursue a trade for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo were he to surprisingly become available this season.
While such a trade would empty their coffers of their draft capital, and likely cost them one of their budding young stars in Alperen Sengun, such a move would set the team up for immediate success, and a win-now stance is something that the organization has already committed to.