The Houston Rockets appear to be one of the elite teams in the Western Conference, keeping pace with both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets as the dust of the early season begins to settle.
Now, according to Marc Stein, one star who many teams thought might be the key to entering that upper echelon, Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz, appears to be unavailable this season. Therefore, in a loaded Western Conference, the Rockets have just gotten major help in fending off their competition.
While the Rockets wouldn't have been interested in Markkanen, many of their competitors were
This season, the Rockets have quickly proven to be one of the top contenders in the NBA. As it stands, they are second in the league in offensive rating, second in defensive rating, first in offensive rebounding percentage and second in 3-point percentage.
If they were to make a trade this season, it now appears as though it would represent a re-shuffling of their role players in order to better complement their stars.
Yet, for many teams, the rest of the season will represent an aggressive trade pursuit of whatever stars become available, and Markkanen, prior to the recent revelation about the Jazz's organizational priorities, was widely considered to be one of those.
This season, Markkanen has yet again proven himself to be one of the most formidable offensive players in the league, averaging 27.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 35.5% from 3-point range despite a sub-par performance against the Rockets on Sunday.
Teams such as the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, who are contenders in their own right but seem to be outside of the upper tier of Western Conference teams, would certainly have had interest in adding such a star to their roster.
As a 7-footer who can shoot from beyond the arc and complement an exisiting center, Markkanen very likely could have been the ideal player to elevate some of these Western Conference teams into serious title contention.
However, it appears as though these teams will have to look elsewhere for the difference-making move that will help them make the leap they are seeking.
Therefore, in a Western Conference that does not have much margin for error, Markkanen's lack of availability this season represents just one more thing that stands between Houston and their rivals. The less stars that become available at the deadline this season, the better it will be for the Rockets.