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Outside of Alperen Sengun, the Houston Rockets’ frontcourt is nothing to write home about.
Steven Adams suffered a season-ending left ankle injury in January. Still, when healthy, the 32-year-old center wasn’t highly productive for Houston (he averaged 5.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, shooting 50.4% from the field in 32 contests).
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes has a trade idea he believes could help Houston create a lethal low-post tandem in 2026-27. The hypothetical deal would swap a disgruntled ex-Los Angeles Lakers forward (Dorian Finney-Smith) for a former Dallas Mavericks star.
“Relative to what it cost the Wizards to get Davis in the first place, this is a pretty serious return package from the Rockets (Jabari Smith Jr., Finney-Smith, Tari Eason, and a 2027 second-round pick via the Memphis Grizzlies to the Rockets for Davis),” Hughes wrote Friday.
“Washington originally parted with veteran salary and a pair of future first-round picks, plus additional draft capital, to bring him in; turning that into multiple young forwards with upside would be strong business.”
“Getting Smith in this deal, plus Eason on what would have to be a sign-and-trade for at least $12 million in 2026-27 salary to make the math work, is a good piece of business. Smith and Alex Sarr could give the Wizards the rare dual-big frontcourt in which both the four and the five can stretch the defense and defend the rim. Eason's defensive tenacity and offensive rebounding would supercharge the second unit.”
Technically, Davis was only a star in Dallas for 29 games, as injuries prevented him from seeing the floor more often following his blockbuster trade from the Lakers to the Mavericks.
Given the fact that there are rumors that Davis isn’t part of the Mavericks long-term plans, there’s a legitimate possibility he could soon be on the move again. Like any contending franchise that may be interested in bringing Davis on board, the Rockets must be wary of the former lottery pick’s injury struggles since the start of the 2020-21 NBA season.
Davis has missed at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons, proving that while he’s one of the most dynamic big men in NBA history due to his well-rounded skill set, he can’t seem to avoid the injury bug.
If the Rockets elect to pursue Davis this summer, they should proceed with caution.
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