The Houston Rockets recently received good news as the team’s general manager, Raphael Stone, said that all the players are healthy and ready for training camp except for Porter Jr. who is entangled in a lawsuit. This is good news for the team’s head coach, Udoka, as he has pretty much finalized the Rockets’ starting lineup. VanVleet, Jaylen Green, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr. and Shin Kyung will be the Rockets’ starting five. This lineup of three rookies led by two veterans is strong and has the ability to lead the Rockets to the playoffs.
However, the Rockets’ bench is still weak. Tari Eason, Amen Thompson and Whitmore have just recently entered the league, while Langdale, Jeff Green, Tate, Holliday and Boban are limited. Add to that the fact that Porter Jr. is unable to play due to a domestic violence incident, and the Rockets are facing an even bigger problem with their bench.
At this point, it’s still up in the air as to who is the strongest bench player in the league today, but Brogdon is undoubtedly the winner of last season’s Sixth Man of the Year, and there’s no doubting his strength. Recently, it was reported that the Rockets and Celtics are planning a three-for-one trade to send Brogdon to Houston. If the deal goes through, the Rockets will send Kevin Porter Jr, Jayson Tate and the Grizzlies’ second-round pick in 2027 in exchange for the Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon.
Brogdon, 30, is a 1.93-meter tall point guard with 2.10-meter arms and 104 kilograms. He represented in 67 regular season games with the Celtics last season, contributing 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range. His arm length and weight advantage make him extremely capable of organizing at the point guard position, especially against opposing bench players. In addition, Brogdon has a wealth of experience in the big game and has never averaged less than 10 points per game in his career, which has made him a representative of the NBA league’s inspirational players and much admired by young players.
The Celtics are considering trading Brogdon because they gave up on him in the summer and were close to a three-way deal with the Clippers and Wizards. However, the deal was rejected by the Clippers, who felt it was too uneconomical, and was ultimately canceled when Brogdon failed his physical. The Celtics now face the possibility of losing Brogdon, and they are left with only one reliable point guard in Derrick White.
For all of Porter Jr.’s issues with off-court incidents, his basketball prowess cannot be ignored. He is averaging close to 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists per game which only very few can achieve. If Porter Jr. can reign in his temper and focus on the game of basketball, he has a chance to be the most reliable helper next to double-double scout Smart.
