Marcus Camby Subtly Changes the Complexion of the Houston Rockets

This year's trade deadline bore witness to buyer's remorse, last-ditch efforts, and demolition jobs alike, but amidst the flurry were a few teams able to secure players of value at virtually no cost. Among them were the Houston Rockets, who somehow managed to acquire a first-round pick in exchange for the seldom-used Jordan Hill while turning two complete non-factors (Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet) into a strong rebounder and help-side defender in Marcus Camby. Say what you will of Daryl Morey's inability to catapult the Rockets into the league's elite, but in this arena he's always thrived; there are few GMs so consistently capable of creating assets and redeeming supposedly marginal value.

In Camby, Morey has given head coach Kevin McHale a fitting substitute for Samuel Dalembert, and a far more natural back-line defender than any other big on the roster. Houston was forced to play Luis Scola and Patrick Patterson "out of position," in order to accommodate for their lack of proper depth, but it's more accurate to simply say that Scola, Patterson, et al were simply out of their element; the issue was not that Houston was masquerading power forwards as centers, but that none of Dalembert's teammates could provide a remotely similar skill set in defensive rotation. Dalembert isn't some profoundly unique talent, but in the context of this team, his contributions proved relatively irreplaceable.

Camby changes that picture significantly — Dalembert will still prove incredibly valuable as a defensive deterrent, but he'll now serve as a part of a crucial tandem able to anchor Houston's defense for an entire game. Camby won't have any kind of transformational effect on the Rockets' defensive performance, but merely by offering a closer facsimile to Dalembert, he'll better equip McHale to coach the team toward defensive sufficiency. 

The Rockets are, in all likelihood, destined for one of the Western Conference's lower playoff seeds. Kyle Lowry's injury puts the team at even greater mercy to the schedule than normal, and even with the addition of Camby, the Rockets' play is still problematic in many regards. But even without being a "team on the brink," this deal does make the Rockets notably dangerous, if only in the right matchup.

Houston has repeatedly played Oklahoma City to a virtual draw, and consistently traded punches with San Antonio. How much will those efforts be fueled by having another big to contest Russell Westbrook at the rim and another smart defender hedging (or rotating to help) against the Spurs' pick and roll? Camby doesn't give Houston the star that Morey has so desperately craved, but he's a no-strings-attached upgrade; he hedges the entire rotation of bigs into a more proper formation, giving the entire roster a greater rotational stability. 

Houston's long game is still a bit of a mess, but it's hard to go wrong with acquiring one of the league's most prolific rebounders and shot blockers at no operational cost whatsoever. It doesn't shift the direction of the franchise or dramatically change the Rockets' on-court brand, but a move like this one should be just enough to give a playoff opponent a legitimate scare.