Grade the Trade: Mock sees Hornets franchise-altering player in 3-team trade
By Jack Simone
Grade the Trade: Rockets get Brandon Ingram in mock deal with Hornets
Incoming: Brandon Ingram
Outgoing: No. 3 pick, Cam Whitmore, Jae’Sean Tate, Jock Landale, No. 44 pick
Leading up to the 2024 NBA Draft, there have been a ton of rumblings that the Houston Rockets want to trade the third-overall pick in this year’s draft. They want to compete.
Last summer, they spent a ton of money to bring in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, and the result was a solid season that saw them just miss out on the Play-In Tournament.
They don’t want to miss the postseason again next season, and trading the third pick in the draft for a guy like Brandon Ingram would absolutely help them do that.
Ingram’s fit with the New Orleans Pelicans is imperfect, but in Houston, he could be relied on more heavily within the flow of the offense, giving him a bit more freedom.
In all likelihood, Ingram would step in as one of their top two scoring options, and with an elite passing big man in Alperen Sengun at the center of it all, he could have some nice new spacing to work with.
Giving up the third pick in the draft would be a lot in most cases, but considering the Rockets don’t have any interest in continuing a rebuild, this trade makes plenty of sense for them.
Grade: B+
Potential starting lineup: Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Brandon Ingram, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun