The Houston Rockets have surprised most people with their play this season. Sitting at third-place in the West, the Rockets look poised to make a deep run into the postseason, behind the MVP-caliber seasons from James Harden.
The success the Rockets have exhibited so far could lead to a change of strategy in the coming week. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Houston is looking to make a win-now move, dangling one of their young players as a sweetener in any potential trade:
Houston is chasing a win-now move, sources say, and may send out K.J. McDaniels as the sweetener. McDaniels doesn’t play, mostly because of a busted jumper. Some team should take a shot on him at the right price.
This is a mostly vague rumor. Most teams in Houston’s position are willing to look around for trades that would push them over the top. The Rockets have plenty of lower-level pieces that are intriguing and some teams could be willing to gamble on them in exchange for veterans.
At this point, the idea of McDaniels might be better than the execution. But he is a good defender and a great athlete. With enough development, he could become a rotation player. Whether that’s enough to net the Rockets anything of value to win now is another question entirely.
