I think the Jazz, Knicks and Lakers would just cut the Rockets out of that. Nothing the Rockets are contributing really matters.
The Lakers get Eric Gordon and David Nwaba. EG is a great fit with the Lakers, and Nwaba replaces what Horton-Tucker gave them (admittedly not much). No way we'd get that all back for so little going out and taking on Rose's contract, but it isn't entirely crazy to involve Houston. Terrible deal for the Knicks, but that is true with or without Houston.
Danny Ainge knows that Donovan Mitchell is very over-rated and wants to get his rebuild on..... the guy likes the rebuild almost as much as winning. The Jazz don't want Mitchell on the floor for them because they want to increase the value of their own draft pick by losing as many games as possible. Mitchell would be the best fit on a team like Miami, but I don't think they have the draft capital to make it happen. Jimmy Butler would make Mitchell try defensively. The return that Ainge got for Gobert is insane, not sure he is going to get quite as much for Mitchell. The Knicks are acting like they have moved on from Mitchell but I don't buy it at all. Not sure the Knicks are the best package that Ainge can get though.
Depends on whether they want draft capital or young players more. The Knicks have as much draft capital as anyone, and a long history of being mismanaged and sucking to make that draft capital more valuable.
The Knicks have draft capital for sure, but we don't know how much they are willing to fork over and then there is the question of how valuable that capital will be with the Knicks having Mitchell. The reason I somewhat question whether the Jazz want young players that are good, is because the Jazz plan on being terrible the next few years and don't want anything to interfere with that. Ainge knows that the back bone to a rebuild is very high lottery picks, and they only way he is sure to get those is to have his own picks be very valuable. Everyone is fairly happy with the Rockets rebuild at this point, but it isn't really because of the Harden trade - it is because the Rockets own draft picks have been #2 and #3 in the draft, and have netted Jalen Green and Jabari Smith.
The Knicks have Washington's pick for 2023 (protected). Also, are the Wizards a team he wants to go to? In the end, he's under contract, but it will factor in for teams acquiring him. A team I'd look out for: New Orleans - They own a bunch of Laker/Milwaukee picks, and that would be one heck of an offensively talented roster. (McCollum/Ingram/Zion/Mitchell/Valanciunas). We've seen how vulnerable the Lakers are, and Milwaukee is a Giannis injury or trade demand away from being lottery bound. The Rockets/Magic/Thunder/Spurs all have the most to give up, but doubtful any would.
