Rockets Will Dangle Sengun in Trade Offers for Mitchell & Antetokoumpo This Summer?

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images If the Houston Rockets are shockingly ousted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, a new report suggests young star Alperen Sengun will be added to trade packages to make a blockbuster deal this summer. Entering the 2025-26 season, the Rockets were viewed as a real threat to defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder , and with good reason.

The year before, they took a huge leap forward under head coach Ime Udoka as their young core showed real promise and they had an elite defense. Adding future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant to the mix seemed like a championship recipe. However, as the year unfolded, the Rockets did not play up to expectations, and questions of poor chemistry have emerged over the last couple of months.

To open the playoffs, it looked like they had a layup of a matchup against a Lakers team without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Yet, they enter Game 3 of the series down 2-0. If they exit in the first round again this year, there will surely be changes to the roster.

Moving on from Durant ahead of turning 38 in September would make sense. It seems like the experiment failed. However, according to The Athletic’s William Guillory , there is a real chance Alperen Sengun could be used for a blockbuster trade for a top star to pair with Durant next season.