Getty Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni
The Houston Rockets seem to have little-to-no interest in standing pat at the NBA trade deadline. While they’ve been linked to a few various players and potential deals, the latest report points to their sights potentially being set on the Memphis Grizzlies. While the Grizzlies are looking into deals for Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, there’s also interest in a few other players as well.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Rockets could be an option for one of three Memphis players in JaMychal Green, Justin Holiday and Garrett Temple.
“JaMychal Green, Justin Holiday, and Garrett Temple are all available, per league sources. They could be possible targets for Houston. The Grizz would surely like to recoup at least one of the second-rounders they flipped for Holiday.”
Any of the three players could be interesting fits for Houston and would provide depth either on the wing or inside. The Grizzlies acquired Holiday from the Chicago Bulls this season, and he’s been hit-or-miss during his short tenure in Memphis. The trio of players are all on expiring deals so it would allow the Rockets to utilize them as rentals for the push towards the playoffs a potentially an NBA title run.
Rockets Discussed Alec Burks Trade
In the same story from Lowe on ESPN, he reports that Houston and the Cleveland Cavaliers spoke about a trade for guard Alec Burks. The deal reportedly would have featured guard Brandon Knight and a pick going to Cleveland in exchange for Burks.
Houston has discussed sending Knight and a pick for Alec Burks, but those talks have quieted, sources say. They will also monitor the buyout market. Houston still has about $3.9 million of its taxpayer midlevel exception to spend, giving the Rockets a potential leg there.
Those talks obviously didn’t pan out, but it may be a situation to monitor as the trade deadline approaches. The Rockets are going to make a push for depth one way or another, and they seem more than willing to attach a draft pick to the deals of Knight and Marquese Chriss to make that happen.
Rockets’ Areas of Focus at Trade Deadline
Houston picked up a nice addition in forward Kenneth Faried after the Brooklyn Nets bought him out of his contract last month. With that said, they could still use a backup center as the team could then utilize Faried at either the four or five and add depth behind starter Clint Capela once he returns from injury.
The Rockets could use one player both on the interior and an additional wing, as they have quite a few question marks in both spots. While Gerald Green has done a decent job this season off the bench, Mike D’Antoni’s squad would benefit from having another shooter or two with the second unit.
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