ESPN: The Rockets had offseason interest in acquiring Donovan Mitchell or Derrick White

Prior to the recently announced contract extensions with fourth-year players Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, the Houston Rockets had a chance to gain significant financial flexibility in the 2025 offseason.

However, according to general manager Rafael Stone and head coach Ime Udoka, the value of that flexibility may have diminished as potential targets from other teams were signed to new contracts – and thus removed from the theoretical pool of free agency acquisitions in 2025.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst explains:

Elsewhere in the story, Windhorst says that the unique and shorter-term structure of the Green extension “led some executives and agents to believe that this deal was ultimately intended as a trade for the Rockets.”

Green wouldn't be trade-eligible until the 2025 offseason, so it looks like the current 2024-25 regular season will give the Rockets more time to evaluate their options from within.

If these options prove insufficient in terms of building a squad for championship contenders, bigger steps could be on the cards. However, these now appear to come via trade rather than free agency.

More: Jalen Green reacts to the Rockets' $106 million contract extension

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ESPN: Rockets interested in acquiring Donovan Mitchell and Derrick White