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Report: Rockets bigs Christian Wood, Daniel Theis to receive trade interest

Ben DuBose
·4 min read
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Should they choose to do so, the rebuilding Houston Rockets will likely have opportunities leading up to the February 2022 NBA trade deadline to move big men Christian Wood and Daniel Theis.

Regarding Wood and Theis, here’s what league insider Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer says in his latest story (published Monday morning):

With the Rockets focusing on developing young players, rival executives wonder how long it’ll be until Houston moves veterans, paving the way for (Alperen) Sengun to play more.

There is an expectation around the NBA that Christian Wood, who’s in the second season of a three-year contract, will receive significant trade interest and that Houston will entertain offers. Wood is only 26, so Houston could keep him, but he’s no sure thing to stay come 2023; one of the reasons he signed with the Rockets over other interested teams was to play with James Harden, and Harden is long gone. Wood can offer a lot more to a team with playoff hopes than he can to the Rockets.

Starting center Daniel Theis will also receive mild trade interest from teams in need of a steady veteran backup.

The case for trading Theis is simple. The 29-year-old is in the middle of his NBA prime, yet Houston is currently one of the league’s worst teams. As such, he would presumably have more value elsewhere, since he could be past his prime by the time at which the Rockets are next able to make a legitimate playoff push. His fit alongside Wood has also been problematic due to issues with floor spacing, which has led to Theis not playing at all in Houston’s last two games (both wins).

Theis cannot be traded until Dec. 15, since he signed with Houston in the 2021 offseason. But between his age and worse-than-expected fit, it would be a surprise if general manager Rafael Stone doesn’t look to acquire an asset of more future value (i.e. a young prospect or draft pick).

With Wood, the calculus is more complicated. He’s clearly Houston’s best player at the moment, and at 26 years old, he’s still young enough to where he could easily be in his prime by the time Houston is next ready to make a playoff push. However, as O’Connor notes, Wood is set to become a free agent in 2023, and he’s likely to want a significant raise.

While the Rockets will have Wood’s Bird rights and be able to exceed the salary cap to retain him, the question is if Stone will deem that to be prudent, since it could be prohibitive when it comes to having the financial flexibility to pursue other stars in free agency. If Houston has what it views as the foundation of a potential title contender already in place by the 2023 offseason, it would be an easy decision to keep Wood, even if it limits flexibility elsewhere. However, if the Rockets aren’t there yet with the surrounding roster, it would be a tougher call.

The trickiest part for Stone is that if Houston is to trade Wood, his value would likely be higher at the 2022 trade deadline than during the subsequent offseason — since a trade made in February would allow the team receiving Wood to have him for two seasons prior to his free agency, rather than just one. Thus, Stone may need to make an educated guess by February as to what Houston’s status entering July 2023 is likely to be.

In that scenario, it isn’t yet clear what Stone would conclude. But in the event that he’s pessimistic on retaining Wood in 2023, it seems that a trade market for the big man’s services will certainly be there.

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