Fans were quick to criticize Houston for its lack of interest in the two-time MVP. Over the weekend, NBA insider Marc Stein mentioned the Houston Rockets as a possible trade partner for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
On Sunday, Stein stated that “whispers have begun to percolate among rival teams monitoring a potential down-the-road Houston pursuit” of the two-time MVP. While there have been whispers about Antetokounmpo recently owing to the Bucks’ terrible start, the Rockets have not been cited as an interested party, so Stein’s story was bound to raise some eyebrows.
It also caught the attention of Rockets beat reporters, and Kelly Iko of The Athletic confirmed on Wednesday that the story is false.
“The Rockets are not interested in breaking up their core to acquire Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Iko posted on his X account. “Houston, sitting at 10-5 and a game out of first in the West, remains focused on developing its young players as a collective.”
NBA fans pounced on the Rockets for the news, chastising them for not only making their lack of interest public, but also for believing the team had a chance of acquiring Giannis in the first place.
On the one hand, the Rockets are a team to keep an eye on when a superstar becomes available for trade because their young talent is legit. Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, and Tari Eason form one of the league’s greatest young cores from any perspective. Regardless of how likely it is that the Bucks will deal Giannis, Houston makes sense as the front-runner in those hypothetical trade conversations.
On the other side, this allegation sounds very similar to all of the NFL teams that openly stated they did not want Lamar Jackson before he went on to win his second MVP award. The Rockets should believe in their young core, but they should also anxious to pounce on the opportunity to grab a player like Antetokounmpo at practically any cost, and saying in advance that they aren’t interested appears to be an easy way to end up looking foolish for no reason. Anyway. Leave the Rockets out of Giannis trade rumors for the time being.
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