2 ideal offseason targets named for Houston Rockets by major publication

Is it summer already?

It depends on where you live. Some people break out the beach balls and sunscreen. Others are forced to choose between the spring jacket and the hoodie.

If you’re a Houston Rockets fan, ’tis the season for “buns.” We’re not just talking about the sweltering heat in the energy capital. Rockets fans watch the playoffs and dream about the offseason.

Luckily, they don’t need to think too much about summer. Bleacher Report does the thinking for them. Recently, they named Buddy Hield as the Rockets’ “realistic” target this offseason, and Mikal Bridges as their “dream” acquisition.

Should the Rockets target one or the other?

Hield is a no-brainer – depending on cost, of course.

The Rockets are in dire need of shooting. We’ve typed this phrase so many times that it’s burned into our muscle memory. The fingers move on their own.

It has been reported that the team is interested in Malik Beasley. It feels like a more realistic target. Hield is one of the best motion shooters in the NBA. He will find more money than the mid-level exception for non-taxpayers on the free market.

Still, as Bleacher Report points out, Hield might be interested in signing with a promising team like the Rockets. The team should be happy to sign him if he’s willing to take a pay cut.

And the bridges?

The bottom line here is that the Rockets would still flip Jalen Green for Bridges.

It’s quite fair. We still won’t include Green in any package for Bridges. It’s worth exploring its potential a little longer.

Furthermore, Green will not be able to recover Bridges on his own. The Rockets are expected to return some of their draft capital to the Nets. Of course, they could take away some of the early rounds the Nets have from the Phoenix Suns this way. Still, Bridges is a proven commodity – he’ll have more value on the trade market than Green.

This means the Rockets would experience a loss of value in draft capital. As good as Bridges is, he’s not worth taking this loss at this stage of Houston’s rebuild – with a high-upside player like Green.

If the Nets were open to a deal centered on, say, Dillon Brooks and their picks for Bridges and a pick or two from the Suns, the Rockets would have to bite. Otherwise, they should stick to more realistic goals like Hield:

Let’s see how Green performs when the weather starts to cool down.