Jabari Smith made Auburn Tigers history when he went No. 3 to the Houston Rockets in the 2023 NBA draft, becoming the highest-drafted player to ever rock the orange and blue. His career in Space City has not been anything Auburn fans would've wanted to see back in 2022, though. As a near-seven-footer, Smith has a sub-45% conversion rate from the field in his four years in Houston. He's yet to reach the 16-point-per-game threshold for a full season. Kevin Durant's presence will always put a natural cap on Smith's ascent.
Smith signed a five-year, $122 million extension with the Rockets last summer, so, in theory, he's locked into his situation for a while. The NBA's trade season is expected to be active this summer, though, and any all-in move from Houston would include Smith, not to mention Reed Sheppard and/or Tari Easton.
While Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer believes Houston will stick to the status quo, Space City Scoop's Daniel O'Connor urges the Rockets to get active for stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo on the trade market. O'Connor sees Durant, Alperen Sengun, and Amen Thompson as untouchable, but wants the aforementioned group, including Smith, to be included in a win-now gamble.
"Of course, the Rockets would have to hold onto their most important players for this to make sense. If acquiring Antetokounmpo meant losing Durant, Sengun or Thompson, the conversation would become more complicated. ... But if Houston could land Antetokounmpo without giving up any of those three, the Rockets would suddenly have a championship-level core led by an in-his-prime superstar," O'Connor wrote.
"Would Milwaukee consider an offer built around Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Fred VanVleet and an obscene amount of draft capital? Maybe not. But if that type of package is even close to realistic, Houston needs to enter the Antetokounmpo conversation. Safety usually does not win championships."
Jabari Smith on a rebuilding team would be an Auburn fan's dream
By now, you could tell how those following the Rockets view Smith: as expendable. After being part of a great Auburn team and showing elite switchability on the perimeter and in the paint with strength and length, Smith is oftentimes finding himself standing around, waiting on a teammate to find him in the pros. That's not to say he didn't add at least a bucket a game for Houston on backdoor cuts. It is to say he could be doing more, though.
Landing with the Milwaukee Bucks in a Giannis trade scenario would be beneficial, but if that's not realistic, different scenarios across the league are better than the one he's in. The New Orleans Pelicans could be another rebuilding situation that'd make Smith's home games more accessible to many Tiger fans. Herb Jones and/or Trey Murphy could be a Rockets target in that situation. Ditto for the Memphis Grizzlies, though they don't have many players of interest outside of Zach Edey, who probably isn't on the table. The Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, and, especially, a reunion with Walker Kessler on the Utah Jazz are also great situations where the slate is clean, and Smith could get a featured role on offense.
All of these would be ideal ways to get him out of a likely non-championship-caliber situation in Southeast Texas. Smith is about to be paid like a high-end role player/borderline star and won't be featured as such unless he finds himself on a team that has the patience to be deliberate with his development.
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