Bleacher Report proposes John Wall, Christian Wood, Garrison Mathews trades for Rockets

With the 2022 playoffs field narrowed from 16 teams to four, the NBA’s highly anticipated 2022 offseason is right around the corner. As the June 23 draft approaches, trade talks will pick up around the league.

As usual, general manager Rafael Stone and the Rockets should be among the more active teams. Though Houston is clearly in a rebuilding phase, there are a number of highly priced veterans (John Wall, Christian Wood, and Eric Gordon) who could be of interest to contending teams.

Best of all, each member of that trio is entering the final season of their existing contracts in 2022-23, which could make them more desirable on the trade market due to the lack of a long-term financial commitment.

With trade rumors swirling, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report recently proposed one offseason trade idea for each of the league’s 30 teams. Here’s what he came up with involving the Rockets, along with our verdicts on whether or not each is advisable for Stone to pursue. All of these proposals work within the NBA’s salary matching rules for trades.

Christian Wood to Golden State

Golden State Warriors Receive:

F/C Christian Wood

Houston Rockets Receive:

C James Wiseman
SG Moses Moody

(Bleacher Report’s explanation)

Our verdict for Houston: If available, do it in a heartbeat. Wood is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-23 offseason, which makes his future with the Rockets uncertain to begin with, and it is also an open question as to whether Wood can successfully play in a frontcourt alongside talented center prospect Alperen Sengun.

The Rockets won’t trade Wood just to trade him, since they would likely prefer the salary cap space that comes from Wood simply leaving in free agency relative to contracts that could be seen as having negative value. He’s also, of course, still a good player. But if they could trade Wood for two lottery picks from the first round of the 2020 and 2021 NBA drafts, who would each likely retain at least some positive trade value (based on their youth and upside) in the event that cap space is needed? Yes.

John Wall to Los Angeles Lakers

Houston Rockets Receive:

PG Russell Westbrook (to be bought out)
2023 second-round pick
2027 second-round pick

Los Angeles Lakers Receive:

PG John Wall

(Bleacher Report’s explanation)

Our verdict for Houston: Maybe. If push comes to shove, revisiting the Wall-Westbrook discussions and coming away with two future second-round draft picks (while buying out Westbrook) is a better scenario than simply buying out Wall’s contract and the Rockets getting no value.

With that said, even if Wall alone can’t entice the Lakers into giving up the type of unprotected first-round asset that Stone wants, it’s worth exploring if a combination of Wall and Gordon — or perhaps Wood — might do the trick. Second-round proposals should be a last resort.

Garrison Mathews, David Nwaba to New Orleans

New Orleans Pelicans Receive:

SG Garrison Mathews
G/F David Nwaba

Houston Rockets Receive:

PG Kira Lewis Jr.

(Bleacher Report’s explanation)

Our verdict for Houston: Probably not. Lewis was a late-lottery pick from a relatively weak 2020 NBA draft, and he’s coming off an ACL tear. Though he’s not a terrible reclamation project, it may not be worth giving up Mathews, who is only one season ahead of Lewis in NBA experience and provides solid 3-point shooting on an extremely friendly contract. Moreover, the Rockets already have young point guards they like in Kevin Porter Jr. and Daishen Nix, and it’s possible they could add another with one of their two first-round picks in the 2022 draft.

Stephen Silas’ system needs volume 3-point shooting to provide floor spacing for the likes of Jalen Green, and Mathews provides that at a discount rate. Our bet is that the Rockets would need to legitimately believe in Lewis — and not view him simply as a flyer or experiment — to surrender a cheap rotation player like Mathews as part of the deal.