The Houston Rockets enter Saturday at 15-40, which marks the worst record in the Western Conference. For the young and rebuilding team, a 2022 playoff push is already off the table, for all practical purposes.
Yet, in addition to keeping veteran guard Eric Gordon at Thursday’s trade deadline, they also traded for veteran guard Dennis Schroder from the Boston Celtics. While there are certainly some fans who want the Rockets to prioritize minutes for younger players, general manager Rafael Stone clearly sees value in select veterans assisting those younger prospects with their development — including via on-court roles.
“I think Eric’s been extraordinarily helpful to the development of our guards,” Stone said at Friday’s post-deadline press conference. “My hope is that Dennis is helpful in the same way. They’re both, we think, helping these guys (younger players) develop.”
“We play a five-out system, so you need multiple perimeter players on the court, and multiple ball-handlers,” Stone said. “One of the things that is hard about playing four or five young guys at the same time is that making reads as a young player in the NBA is difficult.”
Rafael Stone says he believes giving minutes to Eric Gordon and Dennis Schröder the rest of the season will help the development of the Rockets young guards: “I think Eric’s been extraordinarily helpful to the development of our young guards…" pic.twitter.com/dcgUuB7EEv
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) February 11, 2022
Now 28 years old and in his ninth NBA season, Schroder appears set to initially slide into Houston’s rotation as a point guard off the bench. That could allow rookie Josh Christopher to play more off the ball at his preferred position of shooting guard.
“Dennis is not by any means like an over-the-hill veteran,” Stone said. “He’s just a really good basketball player, and has been for years. Depending upon how you measure it, we’re either the fastest or one of the top three or four fastest teams in the NBA, and he’s obviously electric in the open court, and he’s an above average defender. So I think it’s going to be a good fit, or I hope it’s going to be a good fit, both ways.”
Schroder averaged 14.4 points (44.0% FG, 34.9% on 3-pointers), 4.2 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 29.2 minutes in 49 games with the Celtics this season. He could make his Houston debut on Monday night in Salt Lake City, when the Rockets face the Jazz in an 8:00 p.m. CST tipoff.
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