‘Misfired Rockets’: Can Mavs Trade to Take Advantage of Dysfunction?
As cliche as it might sound… Houston, you have a problem. Could it be a situation the Dallas Mavericks can take advantage of this trade season?
Midway through the Houston Rockets’ loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, third-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. left the arena following a heated argument with assistant coach John Lucas.
Lucas reportedly challenged a handful of players at halftime, including Porter Jr. and Christian Wood. Porter Jr. threw an object in the locker room before leaving, and Wood refused to check into the second half of the game, although Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, who used to be a Mavs assistant coach under Rick Carlisle, says it was a coach’s decision.
"We had a spirited debate," said Silas. "I have certain demands of this team as far as playing hard. ... I wasn't satisfied with the effort."
The 'poor behavior' by Porter Jr. and Wood has resulted in the Rockets suspending both players for one game, according to a report by ESPN.
Porter Jr. has had a rough start to his young career. It started back in 2019 when USC suspended Porter Jr. for "personal misconduct" reasons. That undoubtedly affected his draft stock, but he still ended up being a late first round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. After he had his locker moved while being with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Porter Jr. had an outburst that led to him being traded to the Rockets for next to nothing.
Whether or not the Mavs should should even consider taking a chance on the troubled 21-year-old can be debated, but there's no doubt that he'd improve Dallas' roster talent ceiling.
Ultimately, though, it's hard to imagine the Mavs inviting that kind of locker room risk into the fold after the dysfunction they experienced last season before parting ways with Carlisle.
That being said, there are definitely other areas of the Rockets' roster worth being examined if a shakeup is imminent.
Wood has never had any issues on or off the court to this point in his career to our knowledge. He's averaging 17 points, 10 rebounds and shooting 47 percent from the field this season while also being able to stretch the floor with his perimeter shooting. Wood is also a very good pick-and-roll man, so he would be an excellent fit with Luka Doncic, if not a perfect one.
Wood would be a hard player to pry away from the Rockets, and if he could be had in a trade, he definitely wouldn’t come cheap. For context, Wood is currently making less money per season than Dwight Powell is.
Although it seems like more of a long shot, it's hard to believe that Wood is untouchable either, even for the Mavs and their limited trade assets.
Another player the Mavs should be keeping an eye on, and a guy who would likely be much more obtainable, is veteran guard Eric Gordon. The 33-year-old Gordon is averaging 15 points and four assists per game while shooting nearly 45 percent from three-point range this season.
Although the Mavs' role players have played better recently, leading up to Doncic's return to action, Gordon would provide another much needed layer of veteran leadership, consistent perimeter shooting and capable playmaking abilities.
Whether or not the Mavs end up with Gordon, one has to believe that he'll be on a different team sooner than later. We can't imagine a player as talented as Gordon being content with salting away the remainder of his career with a Houston team that's currently dead last in the Western Conference.
There are a handful of Rockets players that could help out the Mavs for the rest of this season, including John Wall if he eventually comes to a buyout agreement with Houston. With NBA trade season upon us and the Rockets spiraling, it’s definitely a situation worth monitoring for Dallas at the very least.
