Rockets Unlikely to Pursue Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Houston Rockets spent years chasing stars and/or high-profile players. Granted, they were also developing one of their own into one at the same time. Alperen Sengun morphed into an All-Star and fringe All-NBA talent.

(Although this year Sengun has as a good a case as any).

The Rockets pursued Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant (who they eventually nabbed) and even Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Granted, the Rockets have historically chased stars. That's not anything new.

But that was an older iteration. Former executive Daryl Morey was always stargazing.

He even went after LeBron James.

General Manager Rafael Stone eventually got his guy in Kevin Durant, for a fraction of what one would imagine it would cost for Durant.

Or at least what it would normally cost.

Situations matter.

Which is why it takes discipline when stars become available. Because they always become available, eventually. There's always a new name.

But the situation will usually dictate the price.

Antetokounmpo is another example.

The Milwaukee Bucks don't want to trade him. Most teams don't want to trade their superstars.

Especially small market teams.

The reality is that the Bucks will never have a player as good as Antetokounmpo again.

However, he has applied pressure over the years about wanting to leave if the surrounding pieces aren't championship-caliber.

That forces organizations to make win-now moves. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

For the Bucks, Jrue Holiday was a championship piece. Damian Lillard, on the other hand, was a bad fit.

Antetokounmpo has flirted with wanting to leave the team. Naturally, other respective ball clubs are interested.

He's a top-75 player of all-time.

Every team should be interested. Count the Rockets out, however.

According to Marc Stein, Houston won't be pursuing Antetokounmpo, even if he is made available.

"There is a growing belief among trade-trackers that San Antonio and Houston, like Oklahoma City, do not plan to join the chase for Antetokounmpo even if the Bucks ultimately do decide to consider in-season proposals for their two-time MVP. All three of those teams, as you can imagine, like what they have going."

This isn't surprising. Again, the price for Antetokounmpo would surely be several of Houston's key players, in addition to draft picks.

And they landed Durant, so they aren't as star hungry anymore.