Rockets predicted to swap ex-Lakers disgruntled forward for $285 million Celtics star originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
All things considered, the Houston Rockets enjoyed a moderately successful 2025-26 season.
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Losing Fred VanVleet before the start of the year forced the franchise to spend the entire campaign with a true floor general, as Amen Thompson is far from a true point guard who can truly command the high-usage position.
To Houston’s credit, they found a way to make it work, winning 52 regular season games, earning the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, and nearly overcoming a 3-0 first-round playoff deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Looking ahead to the offseason, there are rumors that the Rockets could unite Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun with another superstar to significantly raise their ceiling. In a hypothetical four-team trade idea, Houston would do just that by swapping a disgruntled ex-Lakers forward (Dorian Finney-Smith, who was unhappy with the way Los Angeles handled his contract negotiations last summer) for a Boston Celtics standout guard.
“Pairing (Jaylen) Brown with Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengünprovides an instant boost to a Rockets half-court offense desperately in need of one,” Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale wrote Friday. ‘While JB isn’t the cleanest initiator for others, he makes up for it with a more versatile shot-making armory than anyone else on the roster—including, at this point, KD.”
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“The trickle-down effect alone could be massive in Houston. Job descriptions for KD, Şengün, and Amen Thompson get a lot more manageable. The Rockets could still use a floor-general type with VanVleet headed out the door, but Reed Sheppard might have an easier time gaining head coach Ime Udoka’s trust if he gets to play beside yet another jumbo-sized wing who can create his own shot and doesn’t give up anything on defense.”
“Offloading Smith’s deal and, more critically, the Finney-Smith contract softens the blow. Brown opens up the floor far more than either of them, making him a more palatable fit within lineups featuring both Şengün and Thompson.”
Favale’s full trade idea would send Saddiq Bey, Trey Murphy III, Smith, and the Phoenix Suns’ 2027 first-round pick (via Houston) to the Celtics, VanVleet and the No. 39 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft to the Detroit Pistons, Brown and Marcus Sasser to the Rockets, and Finney-Smith, Caris LeVert, No. 21 pick (via Detroit), No. 27 pick (via Boston), Houston’s 2027 first-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick.
Brown would provide Houston with another dynamic, score-first wing who’s already won an NBA championship and understands how to close out tight games.
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Brown was brilliant for the Celtics during Jayson Tatum’s extended absence to start the year, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 47.7% from the field and 34.7% from three-point land.
A perimeter-oriented duo of Brown and Durant would give the Rockets one of the most high-powered offensive attacks in 2026-27, making it logical to explore a trade for the established Celtics phenomenon.
If one thing’s certain, it’s that Brown will be involved in trade rumors all offseason long.
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