Could Rockets Shock NBA By Trading For Jazz Star Donovan Mitchell?

Houston might not be Mitchell’s preferred destination, but crazier things have happened.

The Houston Rockets have a lot of questions that will need to be answered this offseason, starting with the NBA Draft Lottery on May 17, then the draft itself on June 23 and free agency beyond that.

Will the Rockets keep their pick and draft a promising talent like Chet Holmgren? If Houston does get one of the top-3 picks, that could very likely be the case. However, if the Rockets slips out of the top-3, perhaps the option of trading the pick would be on the table.

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Could the Rockets potentially shock the league by trading for Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell?

It’s no secret that big changes are on the horizon for the Jazz after they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The pairing of Mitchell and co-star defensive big man Rudy Gobert seems to have run its course, and one of the two could be on the move soon.

Although his first-round performance against Dallas showcased some flaws in his game — Jalen Brunson torched him to the tune of 27.8 points per game on nearly 50 percent shooting — Mitchell is still a dynamic young talent... and he won’t be cheap either.

If Utah values draft capital over top-tier young talent, then Houston should be able to get its foot in the door given the picks and pick swaps they received from the Brooklyn Nets in the James Harden trade two years ago. Here’s what we could see a potential trade offer from Houston looking like:

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Rockets receive: Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley

Jazz receive: John Wall, Kevin Porter Jr., Kenyon Martin Jr., their own first-round pick in 2022 and two first-round picks in 2023 and 2025 (via Brooklyn)

Although the streaky shooting might be an issue with a potential Mitchell-Jalen Green pairing, the duo would likely be the most athletic backcourt in the league. 

It remains to be seen if the Rockets would even be interested in going this direction if the opportunity presents itself, but for a team that finished with the worst record in the league this season, why wouldn’t they want to make a run at a top-tier talent like Mitchell to improve their roster?