There is almost certainly no deal in Houston Rockets for Joel...

Rumor has it that the Houston Rockets are interested in Joel Embiid, the big star of the Philadelphia 76ers, but that takeover is extremely unlikely.

According to a Brandon „Scoop B“ Robinson of Heavy.com, the Houston Rockets are reportedly interested in acquiring Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers. Robinson explained that everyone was on the table with one exception: James Harden.

The validity of this rumor has yet to be substantiated by a more official source, and it is hard to imagine that a great many people outside the organization know what the team thinks in terms of the market with the departure of Daryl Morey.

But any Rockets fan who knows a little about each team and the financial side of the trade can see that this is not a deal that is within the realm of reason. There are several factors why, starting with the only exception that the Houston Rockets would do.

James Harden, apparently unavailable on the missile side, makes it pretty hard to imagine the idea of ​​signing Joel Embiid as he is by far the best asset the missiles have.

Also, if Harden is not to be included in the deal, it means that Russell Westbrook will almost certainly have to be shipped to the City of Brotherly Love, which is difficult for several reasons.

Why the Houston Rockets don’t act for Embiid

First of all, it makes absolutely no sense to the Sixers from a basketball standpoint. In Ben Simmons they already have an all-star point guard whose biggest mistake is that he didn’t shoot from the outside. So to sign a second would be a ridiculous move.

Second, the Sixers don’t have the cap to absorb Westbrook’s massive contract in a direct swap for Embiid. They’d have to part ways with Embiid and a few other players for the salaries to match.

The Sixers would be giving up too much in a deal to buy Russ, and it wouldn’t make sense in the field already, given Ben Simmons’ presence. Even if the missiles were tossing in draft picks to sweeten the deal, it wouldn’t make sense for the 76ers.

But maybe the idea would be to acquire Embiid to play alongside Harden and Westbrook instead of giving up on either of them. Unfortunately, for similar reasons, that’s just as unlikely.

While a big three from Harden, Russ, and Embiid is an interesting idea, there’s virtually no chance it will materialize. This is because the assets the Rockets have to offer outside of Harden and Westbrook are likely not what Philly would be looking for.

That’s not to say the Rockets don’t have players that the Sixers want and could benefit from. Eric Gordon’s scoring chance, PJ Tucker’s three-and-d’s style, and the versatility of Robert Covington, who previously played for Philly, are all things the Sixers could use to improve their team.

However, it isn’t the best package they could likely get for Embiid if they trade the face of their franchise in Joel Embiid for these players, even if they receive a draft compensation. You’d probably love to get Covington back, but Gordon’s contract and Tucker’s age are less attractive than Philly might find in other listings.

Expanding trading to more assets calls into question how good that would be for the Rockets. An all-star and floating in the minds of most within or around the top 10 players in the league, Embiid is also injury-prone and its competitiveness has been questioned more than once.

The Rockets just don’t have the net worth to close a decent deal while holding onto Harden and Westbrook. Either Philadelphia would hang up quickly or the Rockets would give up too much to justify the deal.

Really, there’s probably only one way the Rockets could be with Joel Embiid for the 2020-21 season, and that’s if they decide to blow it up. Obviously, this would mean acting James Harden, and if this rumor is backed up by a more reliable source, Harden will already be considered untouchable by the missiles in that particular scenario.

Even if for some reason the Rockets decided to start a rebuilding by trading James Harden, there are better places they could look to do this before the Sixers, like the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics. The only situation where taking over Embiid makes sense is one where the missiles would have better options anyway.

Next: Kendrick Perkins defends Westbrook

Put simply, Rockets fans shouldn’t expect The Process to put Rockets Red on next season.