With the NBA trade market booming with multiple trades occurring, it’s natural to wonder whether the Rockets would trade any of their young core. Well, it seems we got the answer, as in a Kelly Iko article released in late June, Iko was quoted saying: “Rival teams that have contacted the Rockets recently have been informed that 23-year-old Amen Thompson is the only near untouchable on the roster,” Iko wrote. Houston isn’t actively shopping its All-Stars or other key members, sources said, but is merely
expressing more of a willingness to listen than at previous junctures. We already heard that the team has no reservations about shopping Kevin Durant.
This adjustment follows a season in which Houston’s potential was put to the test due to injuries and the constraints of an incomplete squad. The Rockets won 52 games after adding Durant in July of last year, but season-ending injuries to Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams weakened the foundation that had enabled them to control pace and possessions.
Following Iko’s article, a tweet appeared on many people’s timelines, Tim MacMahon of the Hoop Collective Podcast stating
“As high as you think they might be on Amen Thompson, they’re higher. I literally dont know that they’d trade him for anyone but Wemby…”
Now, to some people, this may seem like a wild statement, but to be honest, in a way, it makes sense. It’s almost natural to gas up your own players if you’re a team’s front office to try and get the most you can for your player. Additonally, while the verdict is still out on Sengun, many feel Thompson is the last chance the Rockets have at getting a homegrown superstar from the draft since Jalen Green did not reach expectations before being traded, and Jabari Smith Jr. is likely just a high-end role player. If anything I agree with the statement to a point however, I personally would maybe include a few more players on the list of players I would trade Amen Thompson for, such as Nikola Jokic (yes, the fit would potentially not work because of Sengun, and you would have two centers, but let me cook), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and potentially Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson.
Now here is where the fun begins, now that I have given my opinion on who I would trade Amen Thompson for, I want you, the reader, to list your lists of players you would trade Amen Thompson for. It can be a large list, a small list, or you can straight-up say you don’t want to trade him at all. Bonus points for listing potential trade deals, and the only rule is that, for this exercise, the normal trade rules with salary matching don’t apply since, obviously, Amen’s salary does not match that of any of the players mentioned besides Wemby.
