Rockets bring in Brown Holiday ? The rest of the media complained that the 4-for-2 plan was stupid: the cost was much higher than the return

On May 20, Beijing time, NBA celebrity Bill Simmons mentioned a trade plan for the Rockets and the Celtics on the show. He suggested that the Rockets send VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Eason and the 2025 first-round pick No. 10 in exchange for the Celtics' Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday in exchange.

In order to get out of financial trouble, the Celtics do have the possibility of trading Holiday or even sending Brown away in the offseason. This plan quickly caused heated discussions, and the well-known leisure media Space City Scoop posted an article complaining about the stupidity of this plan and gave the deal a rating: C-.

Space City Scoop said any trade for the Rockets should be aimed at making the team more competitive. After a 52-win season, the team is bound to go one step further. Will this deal achieve this?

Theoretically, yes, although it may not lead to a qualitative leap. First of all, it's important to note that in the 2024-25 season, Holiday has a lower plus/minus (0.7) than VanVleet (0.9). While Holiday is one of the best defensive guards in NBA history, he may not be as good as VanVleet on the offensive end, who isn't a general figure on the defensive end himself.

Brown is the centerpiece of the deal, but is he worth the assets?

Advanced stats have never defined him as a player at the "top level in the league." Brown is an excellent shot creator, but his three-point efficiency has been poor for years and his ball-handling ability has been criticized. To get him, the Rockets are depleting their own flank depth. If Jrue-Holiday is just a "replacement" for Van Vleet, then such a price does not seem to be worth it.

More critically, the Rockets can't afford Brown's salary. Brown's annual salary is about $57 million, which is the fifth highest salary in the NBA, and he has five years left on his contract. If he is kept on the roster alongside Shin Kyung, Amen Thompson (and possibly Jalen Green) and Jrue Holiday alongside him, salary space will soon come under intense pressure. The Rockets will have to tear apart the depth of the roster they've relied on in recent years — an approach that only makes sense when they bring in "superstars," and Brown clearly doesn't belong in that class.

He's certainly a very talented player, but the Celtics signed him because they wanted to keep the core of the championship roster, and in the Rockets' roster, the contract is more of a burden.

Space City Scoop says the proposal isn't entirely ridiculous, but it's not far from it. The reason for its barely passing grade is that it does make the Rockets stronger, but the cost is much higher than the reward. The Rockets shouldn't have considered such a trade at all — they could have had a better option if the rumors were true.

What do you think of such a deal? Feel free to leave a message to express your opinions.