Rockets Aggressively Trying To Trade Up With Pistons To No. 1

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 3:26 pm

The Houston Rockets have been aggressive in pursuing a trade with the Detroit Pistons for the first overall pick in the draft, sources tell The Athletic.

Cade Cunningham is the presumptive top pick in the draft and is believed to be the Rockets' targeted player, according to various reports.

The Rockets own the second overall pick in the draft behind the Pistons.

Detroit is believed to also be considering Jalen Green and Evan Mobley at No. 1 in addition to Cunningham.

Via Shams Charania/The Athletic

Lobdog31 · Post #2 » by **Lobdog31** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 4:34 pm

Picking Jalen Green or Evan Mobley at #1 would get the President, GM and everybody fired quickly. If you rather those players just pick Cade and trade down to 2 and grab whatever assets they're offering.

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BostonCouchGM · Post #3 » by **BostonCouchGM** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:15 pm

would really work for both teams tbh. DET, laughably just drafted who they believe is their PG of the future in Hayes. Hayes can't play off ball. Neither can Cade. So taking Cade would signal they screwed up by taking Hayes last draft which G.M.s with huge egos don't want to do. By trading back, DET gets to take arguably the better prospect in Green who CAN play next to Hayes. Plus, they'd be adding another asset (whatever HOU uses to move up).

HOU already has a SG in KPJ so they really don't need another in Green. They also have a big in Wood so they really don't need Mobely. What they need is a table setting PG like Cade that would give them a legit Big Three of players that compliment one another.

This isn't likely to happen though because the media is moronic and has hyped Cade up as generational so the fans believe it and won't let DET trade back. This isn't like when Ainge traded back to #3 with PHI so they could take Fultz. Fultz was a very flawed prospect, Ainge knew Ball was going #2, and he had Tatum as his top player. In this case, Cade is an incredible prospect, so the G.M. would need to be extremely brave and competent and that's not what they've got on their hands in DET.

Bentley1225 · Post #4 » by **Bentley1225** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:16 pm

A swap of Cunningham + Mobley/2022 Miami or Brooklyn 1st/2023 Milwaukee 1st/2024 Brooklyn 1st might get it done.

HotelVitale · Post #5 » by **HotelVitale** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:37 pm

BostonCouchGM wrote:would really work for both teams tbh. DET, laughably just drafted who they believe is their PG of the future in Hayes. Hayes can't play off ball. Neither can Cade. So taking Cade would signal they screwed up by taking Hayes last draft which G.M.s with huge egos don't want to do. By trading back, DET gets to take arguably the better prospect in Green who CAN play next to Hayes. Plus, they'd be adding another asset (whatever HOU uses to move up).

Both Cade and Hays can play off the ball, neither is a massive volume ball-dominant guy, both are rhythm players with good feel for the game so the fit would work well in theory. (Plus Cade's a good spot-up shooter).

I think that HOU is going to have to give up a huge haul to get Cade. As you said Cade is a very high-level prospect with a significantly higher floor than any below him, so it'll cost the Rockets a major package to get the Pistons to start worrying about things like Killian Hayes.

Post #6 » by **dougthonus** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:01 pm

If Houston is trying to move up, then Detroit can obviously demand a pretty good amount for them doing so. If Detroit doesn't believe in Cade for whatever reason or thinks the top few guys are basically equal then it makes sense to trade back and collect assets. If you believe Cade is a tier above Mobley/Green/Suggs or whomever you want at #2, then there is likely no package that they can give you that's worth moving back.

The_Hater · Post #7 » by **The_Hater** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:01 pm

HotelVitale wrote:
BostonCouchGM wrote:would really work for both teams tbh. DET, laughably just drafted who they believe is their PG of the future in Hayes. Hayes can't play off ball. Neither can Cade. So taking Cade would signal they screwed up by taking Hayes last draft which G.M.s with huge egos don't want to do. By trading back, DET gets to take arguably the better prospect in Green who CAN play next to Hayes. Plus, they'd be adding another asset (whatever HOU uses to move up).

Both Cade and Hays can play off the ball, neither is a massive volume ball-dominant guy, both are rhythm players with good feel for the game so the fit would work well in theory. (Plus Cade's a good spot-up shooter).

I think that HOU is going to have to give up a huge haul to get Cade. As you said Cade is a very high-level prospect with a significantly higher floor than any below him, so it'll cost the Rockets a major package to get the Pistons to start worrying about things like Killian Hayes.

If Houston thinks Cade is going to be a lot better than the rest of the prospects, they will pay up more than you think. They might not view the consultation prize as being all that great.

IWishIWasHarden · Post #8 » by **IWishIWasHarden** » Wed Jul 14, 2021 12:32 pm

Not a huge Cunningham fan.

I'd rather the shooting guard + the pick which equals Cunningham's current value.

There's a lot of buzz around Cunningham. He has a lot of value. But I don't love his game. Just another Ben Simmons but can shoot 3s. So yeah I guess that's pretty good now that I think about it. Just don't really enjoy watching it all that much. Give me Anthony Edwards + a pick over Ben Simmons.

Post #9 » by **dougthonus** » Wed Jul 14, 2021 12:56 pm

The_Hater wrote:If Houston thinks Cade is going to be a lot better than the rest of the prospects, they will pay up more than you think. They might not view the consultation prize as being all that great.

For a trade to happen, it effectively would require:
1: Houston to believe Cade is a lot better than the other guys.
2: Detroit to believe Cade isn't a lot better than the other guys.

If either of these things are false, nothing will happen.

Revived · Post #10 » by **Revived** » Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:12 pm

IWishIWasHarden wrote:Not a huge Cunningham fan.

I'd rather the shooting guard + the pick which equals Cunningham's current value.

There's a lot of buzz around Cunningham. He has a lot of value. But I don't love his game. Just another Ben Simmons but can shoot 3s. So yeah I guess that's pretty good now that I think about it. Just don't really enjoy watching it all that much. Give me Anthony Edwards + a pick over Ben Simmons.

If Simmons could shoot 3s remotely well he’d a superstar player.