Dec 27, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) drives to the basket against Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) during the game at Toyota Center.

It’s no secret that the Houston Rockets want to contend now. It’s why they brought in Ime Udoka and shelled out a total of $214 million to Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.

The franchise fell short of their goal of reaching the play-in tournament in 2023-24, but injuries played a large part. Next season’s goal will surely remain the same- to qualify for postseason play.

Especially after coming so close in Udoka’s first season.

However, the  has the Rockets making a move that doesn’t quite align with the franchise’s goal: trading a win-now player for a 2031 first-round draft pick.

The trade has the Rockets sending Tari Eason and a 2025 first-round pick to the Phoenix Suns, in exchange for Josh Okogie and the Suns’ 2031 first-round draft pick.

The writer’s reasoning is below, from the Rockets’ standpoint.

“Eason is not someone you move just because. But this isn’t a “just because” transaction. The Rockets have cornered the market on future Suns picks. After this trade, they effectively control Phoenix’s pick in 2027, 2029 and 2031.

If poaching Devin Booker is the endgame, or even if Houston is just loading up for other blockbuster options, this tracks with that type of asset and trajectory management. Plus, with Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore in the fold, not to mention Jae’Sean Tate, the Rockets can treat Eason as somewhat dispensable.”

The writer, Dan Favale, then explains the deal from the Suns’ standpoint.

“Eason metabolizes opponents’ offensive possessions at warp speed when he’s healthy. Adding him to Phoenix’s rotation will be a huge deal.

It’s an even bigger deal when viewing him through the Kevin Durant-at-the-5 lens. And it’s a larger deal still when he has two more years, including 2024-25, left on his rookie-scale contract.

Forking over an ultra-distant first-rounder for a non-star still may not sit right. It’s easier to digest when the Suns are also landing old friend Torrey Craig—another positionally flexible defensive option who isn’t as likely as the outbound Okogie to get played off the floor come playoff time.

Tack on a back-end first-rounder in next year’s draft, and Phoenix is getting enough to part with that 2031 selection relative to its extremely urgent title window.”

Again, this move doesn’t quite make sense for Houston. They’d essentially be swapping a 2025 first-round pick for a 2031 pick, while also getting rid of Eason and bringing in Okogie, who is a worse player than Eason.

Even with the theory that the Rockets may eventually have to part with Eason, due to their wing depth, they’d likely be able to find a better deal than this. And again, the franchise is wanting to contend now.

Eason helps with that.

The move makes perfect sense for Phoenix but Houston would say no.