The Houston Rockets are keen on adding another veteran leader to their locker room, and Kelly Iko from The Athletic has an interesting proposal.
Iko floated the idea of the Houston Rockets engaging in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, where the former will get Marcus Smart, the No. 9 overall pick, and future assets, in exchange for the latter’s No. 3 overall pick of this summer’s NBA Draft.
Head coach Ime Udoka and GM Rafael Stone are reportedly “fans” of Marcus Smart, who is, after all, the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner and three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member.
Udoka coached Smart during his lone season as the head coach of the Boston Celtics, guiding them to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2009-10, eventually losing to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
In his first year as head coach of Houston, Ime Udoka finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 41-41 record, good for 11th in the Western Conference.
Should the Houston Rockets go for Marcus Smart?
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported last week that Houston is “amenable to trading back” if it can give them a win-now player, and Marcus Smart, in theory, meets the criteria.
Throughout his time with the Boston Celtics, Marcus Smart has grown into a locker-room leader, helping the team make deep playoff runs during his nine years there.
However, Houston has to take note that Marcus Smart is coming off an injury-riddled campaign since he only played 20 regular-season games for the Memphis Grizzlies this season, averaging 14.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.1 steals per game on 43 percent shooting, due to a broken finger.
