Goodbye King of the Sea? Rockets and Lakers brewing a 1-for-2 trade, Sheppard scores 49 points to be replaced?

Goodbye King of the Sea? Rockets and Lakers brewing a 1-for-2 trade, Sheppard scores 49 points to be replaced?

Draya Michele, the 39-year-old girlfriend of Jalen Green, attended a basketball game with her 22-year-old son Kniko to watch her 22-year-old stepfather Jalen Green play. This news is more explosive than LeBron James and Bronny playing together in an NBA game. It reminds people of a scene from the movie "Charlotte's Trouble," where Zhang Yang says to Xiaolu: "From now on, I will call myself brother, you will call yourself father, we will each have our own way." However, these negative news did not affect Jalen Green's state. In the last four games, he averaged 30 minutes per game and scored 27.8 points and 5.5 rebounds, becoming the number one contributor for the Rockets to stabilize their second place in the West. In addition, Jalen Green's outstanding performance eased the impact of the absence of Xiao Jia Bari Smith and Tari Eason, as well as the poor form of Van Fleet, becoming the player that head coach Udoka relied on most offensively.

In stark contrast to the Rockets, the Lakers' recent form is worrying. After consecutive losses to the Rockets and Mavericks, their ranking has dropped to seventh in the West. Especially losing to the Mavericks without Doncic and Irving put head coach JJ Redick under tremendous psychological pressure. Recently, American media "BR" suggested that the Lakers should focus on upgrading their frontcourt by targeting "King of the Sea" Adams, the backup center of the Rockets. Despite being limited by injury management and playing time restrictions, Adams always contributes to the Rockets within his limited time. The media provided a 2-for-1 trade offer to the Lakers and Rockets. If negotiations go smoothly, Vincent will be sent to Houston as a bargaining chip. The specific trade plan is: The Lakers send Gabe Vincent + 2 future second-round picks to get Steven Adams from the Rockets.

The Lakers need to add a No. 5 player, which is already an open secret in the NBA league. Many powerful frontcourt players such as Kessler, Valanciunas, and Poeltl have been rumored to join the Lakers, but General Manager Pelinka's trade offers have never been able to impress the management of the other teams. Adams averages 10.5 minutes per game this season, scoring 2.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1 assist with a shooting percentage of 60.5%. He has a strong body, top-level defensive ability, body thickness, and shoulder width that ranks first in the league, effectively protecting the basket. The reason why Adams caught the attention of General Manager Pelinka is mainly because he grabbed 7 valuable offensive rebounds in a recent game against the Lakers, showing great deterrence under the basket. Even All-Star frontcourt player Anthony Davis sighed after the game: "Adams is too strong, positioning has no effect on him."

This trade is not very significant for the Rockets. The third pick in the 2024 draft, Sheppard, exploded with amazing combat power in his first game after being demoted to the developmental league Vipers, shooting 17 out of 33 and scoring 49 points with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. He is the successor to starting point guard Van Fleet and a promising star cultivated by the Rockets management. Vincent's addition will inevitably occupy some playing time, but he has long since lost the form that helped the Heat reach the finals, so he was placed on the trading shelf by head coach Pelinka. There are also sharpshooting guards like Little Holiday and Amen Thompson on the Rockets' bench, so the Rockets management lacks interest in acquiring Vincent unless the Lakers can provide more chips, otherwise this trade is unlikely to happen.

All opinions are based on authoritative American media and are for reference only. Click to follow and be the first to recommend fans.