The NBA trade deadline comes up on Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern, so we’ve decided to throw the spotlight on some specific teams who could be active to either help bolster their playoff chances or clean house in order to rebuild for the future.
I’m here to tell you what the Rockets should do at the deadline…but I’m honestly running out of ideas because they’ve already done so much. And, if I’m being real with you folks, not much of it makes a ton of sense.
What on Earth are the Rockets thinking?
Last night the Rockets took part in one of the biggest trades in NBA history by sending away their best two big men in Clint Capela and Nene.
No, Nene isn’t good anymore. But when your options at center are Capela, Nene and Tyson Chandler, Nene becomes a pretty good alternative.
Now, obviously, they’re down to one of those guys – and it’s the worst one. They’ve also got journeyman Jordan Bell at center after last night’s trade. And the Rockets seem to be just fine with that! They’re leaning into the small ball thing all the way — PJ Tucker and Danuel House are their new starting front court.
That’s a super questionable basketball fit, at best.But it goes even beyond what’s on the court. Their last few months haven’t made any sense from a business standpoint, either. They traded assets away to dump Chris Paul and Clint Capela — both of whom are still really good players!
Morey traded CP3, Capela, 2020 first, 2024 first, 2026 first, 2021 swap, 2023 swap for Westbrook and Covington.
— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) February 5, 2020
But, uh, at least they’re under the luxury tax now. So there’s that?
What the Rockets should do
It is absolutely imperative for the Rockets to go out and find themselves a center to replace Capela. Sure, they got a good wing back in Robert Covington. But they need size to win a title.
Going with PJ Tucker at center would’ve made perfect sense…if the Warriors were still ruling the NBA. They’re not. The league’s best teams? They all play big. The Lakers, Jazz, Clippers, Bucks, Raptors and Nuggets have big centers playing in their best lineups.
Is PJ Tucker going to guard Anthony Davis? How about Nikola Jokic? And those two are a problem before you even begin to think about playing against Giannis Antetokounmpo or Joel Embiid in the Finals.
The Rockets need to get on the phone with the Kings and see what it would take to get their hands on Dewayne Dedmon. That’s not a sexy name, but they don’t need sexy. They just need a guy who can start and play 25 minutes at center competently.
Of course…they wouldn’t if they didn’t trade that away, but alas.
What the Rockets will do
They’ll probably just chill through Thursday’s deadline, honestly. They might try and swing another wing — Andre Iguodala comes to mind.
But they’re definitely not going out and trading for a big man. They’ll wait for the buyout market to develop instead. Maybe that includes Dedmon?
To be clear, the Rockets aren't searching for a starting center. They're playing small-ball and rolling with PJ Tucker at the 5. But they need a big to throw at Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, etc. in the playoffs. https://t.co/y6d8l9HnWG
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 5, 2020
They have about $12 million in cap space after this deal and can still expand the trade to include a 5th team ahead of Thursday’s deadline, so there’s an opportunity to fit another player into that slot.
But if they can’t? This small ball philosophy what the Rockets will head into the postseason with. We’ll see if it works.
Contracts worth noting
- Thabo Sefolosha — $2.5 million in 2019-20
- Ben McLemore — $2.02 million in 2019-20, $2.3 million in 2020-21
- Tyson Chandler — $2.5 million in 2019-20
- Danuel House — $3.5 million in 2019-20, $3.7 million in 2020-21, $3.9 million in 2021-22
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