The Rockets can dream about upgrading around Kevin Durant, but Anthony Davis is the wrong swing.
That’s the basic problem with the mock idea recently floated by analyst Yossi Gozlan, who suggested Davis and first-round draft compensation heading to Houston in exchange for Alperen Sengun. On paper, it has the kind of headline appeal that gets people talking. In reality, it asks the Rockets to give up one of their most reliable pieces for a player whose recent availability and production don’t justify the gamble.
Davis is still a premium name, and defensively he would look like a clean fit next to Houston’s current core. But the recent record is hard to ignore.
He has played just 71 total games over the last two seasons, and during his short Mavericks stint he averaged only 20 points per game. That’s not the profile of a player a team should trust as the centerpiece of a major roster move.
The Rockets, quite simply, have no reason to move Sengun for him.
Yes, Davis would likely be a defensive upgrade over Sengun. He might not be a huge offensive downgrade either. But banking on an aging star to fix your defense is not a stable plan, and the source of the concern is obvious: the last time Davis was healthy on an NBA court, he looked flat-footed compared to the switchable, lockdown version people remember.
That Dallas stretch didn’t do much to boost his case, either. He didn’t move the needle enough on winning there to make Houston feel confident he’d suddenly change everything in a new setting.
Even if a contending roster and added motivation helped him rediscover his best form, the injury history hangs over any conversation involving him. The Rockets already have enough risk on their plate; replacing Sengun with another major question mark would only make that worse.
The contract situation makes the idea even messier. Davis is set to make more than $58 million next season, and his player option for the following year is worth nearly $63 million. That puts him among the five highest-paid players in the NBA, and it makes any deal for him far more complicated than a simple talent swap.
Houston doesn’t have the kind of easy matching salary here, either. Sengun and Durant are the only Rockets who will make even half of Davis’ salary next season, and assembling enough smaller contracts to get there would be a serious challenge. Even if a team like the Wizards were willing to attach multiple future first-round picks, which the source describes as highly unlikely, finding a cap-legal path that also makes sense for Houston is a long shot.
So while the Rockets may want to raise their title odds next season with Durant still in the fold, Davis is not the route. Not with Sengun in the building.
Not with that contract. And not with that health history.
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