The Houston Rockets put together an impressive 2016-17 campaign and they hope to build on that success this coming season. The system implemented by first-year head coach Mike D’Antoni and the offensive juggernaut headed by MVP-candidate James Harden turned Houston into one of the most exciting and lethal teams in the NBA.
However, if they hope to join the class of the Warriors and Cavs, they’ll likely need to add another big piece this offseason. In order to do this though, Marc Stein of ESPN reports that they may try to shed the contracts of a few of their current players including key contributors Patrick Beverley, Ryan Anderson, and Lou Williams:
Free Agency Scuttle: Houston is making Ryan Anderson/Lou Williams/Patrick Beverley available via trade to create summer spending flexibility
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 21, 2017
While the Rockets may be on the hunt for a star to play alongside Harden, dealing Beverley, Williams, or Anderson could be a mistake they end up regretting. Though none of the three are considered stars, they all had their unique roles and filled them admirably. Williams is a candidate for the sixth man of the year award, Beverley plays All-NBA level defense and Anderson serves as a quality stretch big. The trio has the ability to let it fly from outside and the three-ball was instrumental to Houston’s success last season.
Though cutting ties with any combination of Anderson, Beverley, and Williams would create extra cap space, their services will be hard to replace. The Rockets are rumored to be after a plethora of big name free agents such as Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Blake Griffin, and Paul Millsap so freeing up cap space will be a necessity if they hope to acquire a top free agent.
With the free agency period only 10 days away, we should keep an eye out for the Rockets making a move before then which gives them the requisite financial standing to make a splash in free agency.
