For the better part of a year, NBA fans and insiders alike have been prompting the Houston Rockets to trade for a superstar.

After their seven-game first-round defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, the Rockets pursuit of a star is back in the spotlight.

Right around the trade deadline, there was rumored mutual interest between Houston and Kevin Durant.

New reports suggest that Durant is still very interested in playing for the Rockets, but despite that, Houston has their question marks about his age.

Phoenix still reportedly wants a big package for Durant despite him being set to enter his age-37 season.

Rightfully so, the Rockets are reportedly turning their focus to a younger star in the league, but are still looking to nail the right one.

A pair of stars in Zion Williamson and Devin Booker have been linked to Houston, but the Rockets seem to have their fair share of concerns with both.

In Williamson’s case, it’s the lengthy injury history. After having just completed his 6th season in the NBA, Williamson has played just 214 of 492 possible games.

There’s no doubt that when Williamson plays, he’s an elite force, but Houston won’t give up a big package just to get back a question mark.

When it comes to Booker, the Rockets certainly have a high level of interest, but the package may cost more than they are willing to pay.

Booker can score the ball with the best of them, but with the Suns likely to attempt to extend him, he may wind up costing more than the Rockets want to pay.

With all that being said, it’s beginning to seem that all roads could be leading to Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Rockets are presumed to have a serious interest in Antetokounmpo, who has expressed for the first time in his career that he is willing to play somewhere other than Milwaukee.

Any asking price for Antetokounmpo would be a very steep one, as it would likely cost multiple draft picks and several NBA-ready young players.

However, Houston is one of the very few teams that can meet the Bucks presumptive asking price.
Bringing in Antetokounmpo doesn’t instantly solve all the Rockets issues, but to say it solves most of them wouldn’t be an understatement.

Antetokounmpo is coming off a season in which he averaged 30.4 points and 11.9 rebounds and was a finalist for MVP. We’ve also seen Antetokounmpo lead the Bucks to a championship as he did in 2021.

Houston would still need to add some three-point shooting if they did bring in Antetokounmpo, but could do something similar to what the Detroit Pistons did in free agency, adding Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr.

There is no doubt that bringing in Antetokounmpo would catapult the Rockets to a legit finals contender.