Should the Houston Rockets trade for Mikal Bridges this summer?

“Don’t rush reconstruction!”

You see this a lot if you’re around the Houston Rockets on X. For some fans, the rebuild shouldn’t be rushed. Any trade of any significance would be a major misstep.

Fair enough. There is merit in sticking to your schedule. That said, an NBA team’s timeline isn’t static like – well, real time. An NBA team’s timeline is editable. NBA general managers are time travelers.

Certainly, we have seen teams dangerously rush their rebuild. They will place their chips before they are confident enough in their hand and will be kicked off the table.

Should the Rockets risk making this mistake by trading for Mikal Bridges?

This is not an innovative subject. It’s old. Still, it’s the topic of the day (it’s the last piece of Franglish in this article, I promise).

If the Nets are leaning toward a rebuild, that likely means Bridges is available. Additionally, if the Nets lean toward a rebuild, the Rockets have assets they need more than anything: their own draft capital.

So, it may be an old topic, but it has new perspectives. If Bridges is available, speculation that the Nets would choose to trade him to the Rockets to regain control of their future is inevitable.

Is this the right decision for the Rockets?

We’re going to be transparent here. No, we’re going to be so transparent that we’ll break the fourth wall:

Personally, I would like to trade decks at the right price. Here is the price I would pay:

The Rockets shouldn’t part with any of their “core six” to land Bridges. They also shouldn’t give up their trade rights on the Nets’ 2025 pick.

It’s Cooper Flagg’s draft. Do yourself a favor (if you’re a Rockets fan) and imagine the Nets with Dillon Brooks instead of Mikal Bridges.

Brooks is a plan maker – in his own mind. In practice, his forays into isolated basketball tend to produce results that fall somewhere between “bad” and “horrible.”

Bridges is definitely not a franchise caliber player. The 2023-24 season proved it. However, he can create his own plan. When he was with the Phoenix Suns, he was never asked to do that. He was quite simply the best 3-and-D wing in the NBA.

After landing in Brooklyn, the defense regressed. We’re ready to match that with his increased offensive responsibility. Probably the best version of Bridges is a third option who is sometimes called upon to create, but is largely responsible for spacing the floor and guarding the point of attack.

The Rockets cannot guarantee him this role in 2024-2025. Unless Jalen Green takes a step forward next year, Bridges would be the second option behind Alperen Sengun on this team.

It’s still a more fitting role than the one Bridges played in Brooklyn. It’s a simple benefit of making this deal: the Rockets significantly improve their roster.

More broadly, the benefit of making the trade described above is that it strengthens the Rockets while weakening the Nets. If the Rockets can land a superstar through the stacked 2025 draft because losing Bridges makes the Nets go from bad to worse, it will be worth more than the 2026 and 2027 picks combined.

Think about it. The Rockets are full of young talent. They don’t have a clear franchisee. Would you rather they add Cooper Flagg (or Ace Bailey), or the 8th pick in 2026 and the 11th pick in 2027?

The Nets will never be encouraged to lose if they don’t control their draft. If they trade Bridges to another team this summer, they will use the picks they receive in this trade to make another trade for a superstar as soon as possible.

It’s a riddle. The Rockets want the Nets to be bad because they own their picks. The Nets don’t want to be bad because the Rockets own their picks. So, the most effective solution would be to make sure the Nets are (really) bad before the top draft, and sacrifice the rest of their picks.

Is this a foolproof plan?

Bridges has a great contract – for now. His salary is below market value next year and the year after that. Before 2026-2027, he should access unrestricted free agency.

So, the Rockets are accelerating their timeline by making this deal. They will want to be a 50-win team before this summer. Otherwise, they won’t be able to justify what appears to be a lucrative new deal for Bridges.

The 2025 draft is solid, but it’s not infinitely deep. With flattened odds, there’s no guarantee the Rockets will be in the mix for Flagg or Bailey. The Nets could be the worst team in the NBA next year and still give the Rockets the fifth pick. In this case, they won’t be able to select a can’t-miss franchise player.

So where will the worst-case scenario take them in the summer of 2026? This leaves them mediocre and with a difficult financial decision to make. The Rockets could be forced to foot the bill for a complementary player without a franchise player to compliment or lose Bridges for nothing.

Conventional wisdom would have it that the Rockets wait until they have that franchise player before drafting players who complement him. Sometimes preconceived ideas are wrong. This is what we love about Bridges:

He will compliment anyone.

Let’s say Alperen Sengun develops defensively, or develops a three-point shot that makes him such an unstoppable offensive force that you’ll live with his defense. There’s your franchise player, and Bridges is a perfect fit.

Let’s assume Amen Thompson develops the traits he’ll need to be a primary playmaker. Bridges is a perfect complement. Rockets draft Cooper Flagg? Excellent – ​​Bridges is a perfect addition.

Get the photo?

It’s not Donovan Mitchell. We were opposed to the idea of ​​trading for him. If you trade for Mitchell, you’re overall committing to a team built around him and another star. If that star is Sengun — the most likely outcome on this current Rockets roster — good luck defending in the playoffs with a small guard and no rim protector.

Of course, Bridges’ next deal will be expensive. The Rockets will be in a reasonable position to pay for this. Fred VanVleet’s massive contract includes a team option the summer before Bridges receives new money.

Let’s say Bridges is a $35 million a year actor. Should the Rockets avoid acquiring him now in hopes that Jabari Smith Jr., Cam Whitmore or Tari Eason will earn the same? Bridges would be a high-end outcome for any of them – on the balance of probabilities, it’s worth picking up the bird.

Meanwhile, they gave up Brooks’ $20 million per year contract in this trade. So, the Rockets take an additional $15 million if our estimate of $35 million for Bridges is accurate.

We can only analyze a limited number of figures here – this article is already too long. The point is this: Bridges is likely to start at Tier 3 for the Rockets on merit for half a decade if they acquire him now. If the books become too complicated, you can swap other players.

Additionally, the Rockets regain control of their own draft at the same time they would pay Bridges. If they haven’t found their franchise player yet, they can package some of their (still) young players and those picks for a true superstar. Decks will be there to compliment this player upon arrival.

However, it is the completion of the destruction of the Nets that interests us the most here. Of course, they get their 2026 and 2027 picks back. It’s a cost worth paying for the Rockets if they manage to own an unprotected first team from a team living in the basement before a extremely strong draft in the summer of 2025.

If they’re lucky, the rebuild could be rushed.