John Wall joined the Rockets by trade in December 2020. At that time, former MVP and perennial All-Star guard James Harden was still on the roster, and Houston hoped to salvage that relationship and continue making consistently deep runs in the NBA playoffs.
Less than two months later, Harden forced his way out of town by leveraging a trade to Brooklyn, and Rockets general manager Rafael Stone pivoted quickly to a rebuild. The timing made sense, considering the enormous amount of first-round draft capital Houston owes Oklahoma City in the 2024-2026 timeframe.
