Washington Wizards: 3 potential Porzingis trades once he picks up his player option
By Cem Yolbulan
Houston Rockets
On paper, one of the best fits for Kristaps Porzingis’ is the Houston Rockets. The team with the worst overall record of the last three seasons, Houston is desperately trying to take a step forward next year, especially since they owe their first-round pick. They have every incentive possible to reset the culture and chase the playoffs.
They also have the most cap space in the NBA this summer. So, they could outright sign Porzingis if they were interested. But they also have higher aspirations, reportedly names like James Harden and Khris Middleton. If they sign one of these stars to a massive contract, they most likely can’t offer Porzingis the deal he desires. In that scenario, an opt-in and trade scenario would come into play.
In this scenario, Houston still has a lot of cap space to just absorb Porzingis into. There doesn’t need to be matching salaries, which makes the trade construction easier. The Rockets have a slew of young players that the rebuilding Wizards could potentially be interested in.
Kevin Porter Jr, Usman Garuba, and TyTy Washington are three former first-round picks with solid potential. Getting multiple young pieces in a trade increases your odds of hitting on one and turning them into a long-term starter.
Porter Jr projects to be an inefficient-yet-solid scorer, Garuba has the potential to be a very good, switchable defender who could play both big men positions, and Washington has the makings of a good table-setting point guard who doesn’t make many mistakes.
Porzingis on the Rockets provides them with much-needed floor-spacing for their young players and solid rim-protection for a team who was a complete mess on the defensive end the past few seasons. If Houston is serious about landing two high-level starters this offseason, they aren’t going to do much better than Porzingis.
