The Houston Rockets have been one of the more disappointing teams of the season through its first half. After a campaign in which they made the Western Conference Finals, the team has had issues with consistency, effort, and good play in general. The team has held back on shaking up the roster, however, routinely dismissing rumors about trading the likes of Dwight Howard and Ty Lawson. A new report, meanwhile, has the Rockets front office cautiously and patiently looking for the optimal trade to come along.
The following from Calvin Watkins of ESPN:
Make no mistake, the desire to trade players remains despite the improved record. The Rockets talked to teams about trades regarding forward Terrence Jones and Corey Brewer. Ty Lawson’s reps sought more playing time elsewhere and there was a report Dwight Howard wanted out, something he disputed.
When the Rockets signed second-round pick Montrezl Harrell to a three-year, $3.1 million deal during the summer, it used a portion of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, pushing them to the apron level of a hard salary cap of $88.7 million. Morey is limited in what he can do because he can’t take on a huge salary for this season with the hard cap.
The salary cap does of course make it difficult to make trades. However, that has not kept teams from doing so before. The Rockets are seemingly holding back for fear of blowing up a team that had plenty of success last season. But it is becoming more and more apparent that the makeup of this team is not of the caliber of a championship team. I doubt that the Rockets move one of their two stars, but I would also be surprised if they did not make some sort of move before February’s trade deadline. At the very least, they can bring in pieces to salvage their reputation as the team has mostly been an embarrassment in how they perform on the court.
