Which Houston Rockets players could be moved before the trade deadline: Is Jabari Smith Jr's time winding down?

Having too many good players on your roster isn't the worst problem to have in the NBA. Deciding which ones to keep as part of your future plan and which ones to trade, though, is where the fun of having an overload of young talent gets less fun.

The Houston Rockets have hit on some draft picks in recent memory; Amen Thompson, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, is developing into a pretty unique player with his blend of defensive instincts, rebounding skills and playmaking upside.

Tari Eason, the No. 17 pick a year prior, has been compared to a young Kawhi Leonard by Rockets head coach Ime Udokah, who has coached both players — and doesn't give out compliments like that often.

Jabari Smith Jr. hasn't developed at quite the rapid Amen Thompson has — it's been more of a slow burn for the 2022 No. 3 overall pick. Last season, he looked like a big piece of Houston's future, shooting 36.3 percent from 3-point and bringing some defensive versatility to Houston's lineup.

But with Thompson and Eason looking like important pieces to Houston's puzzle as well, and Smith's minutes decreasing a bit in his third season, it's rational to question how exactly Smith fits into the future of this team with so many other young prospects also fighting for minutes.

Houston is off to a roaring start at 10-5 — but the Rockets are probably a veteran or two away from competing in high-intensity playoff series. With Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Tari Eason leading the youth movement (and with rookie Reed Sheppard waiting in the wings) the best path to acquiring a veteran might be trading Smith Jr to a team ready to embrace a tank.

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Could the Houston Rockets look to trade Jabari Smith Jr?

If the Rockets decide that the best path forward is to trade one of its young role players, Smith might be the odd man out — and Houston wouldn't have a hard time finding a trade partner. A 21 year-old power forward who can defend multiple positions and (theoretically) shot 3-pointers at a high clip is an archetype the whole league fiends over. Smith came into the league with 3-point shooting being the skill that teams thought would translate seamlessly, but Smith Jr has shot just 33.1 percent from deep in 170 career games.

Trading Smith would be solely a matter of necessity; Houston won't be able to pay all of its young studs, and a team would be happy to take on Smith's talent, especially because he's under team control for so many years as a potential restricted free agent in 2026. With still considerable upside, Smith Jr would start a bidding war among other NBA teams.

If Houston feels great about the rest of its young core like it appears to, then a move would behoove the Rockets sooner rather than later. Things are going well — but as we've seen in the past, doubling down and improving a roster that's "almost there" is a better option than staying put and hoping to overachieve in the postseason.

What team would make sense for Jabari Smith Jr?

Any team with a veteran wing near the bottom of the NBA standings should be calling Houston and offering a pretty substantial package to get back Smith Jr, who could very well be the headliner in one of this year's big deadline deals.

Portland sticks out as a team that would be happy to swap its veteran forward — Jerami Grant — for a younger player with more upside in Smith. Houston gets a more consistent wing scorer in Grant, and everyone's happy. Or no one's happy. Which is the NBA equivalent of everyone being happy, basically.

Brandon Ingram, of course, is the biggest name on the wing scorer trade market. His fit in Houston looks good on paper, and his skillset — specifically his improved passing — would do wonders for Houston's ball movement.

So far in 2024-25, the Rockets rank No. 28 in assists per game. The ball gets stuck far too often, and Ingram's underrated facilitation abilities would remedy that quickly.