NBA Rumors: Houston Rockets Should Prioritize Dealing Kevin Martin

The Houston Rockets made a big move yesterday when they traded forward Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 18th overall pick in tomorrow night's draft and according to Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, shooting guard Kevin Martin could potentially be next.

Martin is a talented scorer who averaged 17.1 points per game last year and has averaged 18.4 for his career, so he could easily be of interest to one of the many lottery teams that need help in the scoring department.

On top of that, the Rockets now have three first-round picks on their hands after the Budinger trade.  Though they were supposedly stockpiling picks in an effort to land Dwight Howard, the All-Star center doesn't appear interested in playing in Houston. 

That said, dealing Martin should be first priority.  He has just one year and $12.9 million left on his contract and given his strained relationship with coach Kevin McHale, it's best that he be traded so as not to cause any drama in the locker room.  The Rockets are looking to get back to being a relevant team and if their top scorer is unhappy, that could be a recipe for disaster.

As I mentioned before, the Rockets now have three picks in the first round.  Considering the lottery teams that could use an effective scorer, this is the perfect opportunity for Houston to trade Martin and one or more of their first-round picks in order to end up with a top lottery selection.

This way, they could take one of the better players available and use next season as a sort of rebuilding year, just to figure out how to use their rookie(s).

The way I see it, there's nothing for the team to lose from this trade.  They'll dump some salary in Martin and lose a potential clubhouse cancer.  As good as Martin is, he's just a scorer and isn't a fan of McHale trying to turn him into a more complete guard.

If this trade happens, Houston could go from being a squad that just missed to one that's possibly can't miss.