Should Houston Rockets Search out a Blockbuster Move by NBA Trade Deadline?
Every Houston Rockets fan knows that general manager Daryl Morey likes to make moves. "Dork Elvis" has pulled the trigger on a deadline deal at the last seven deadlines, and there's a good chance in a couple months he makes it eight.
The Rockets made a splash last Friday with a three-team trade, bringing in guards Corey Brewer and Alexey Shved from Minnesota and Philadelphia, respectively. Houston has had its eye on Brewer for a while now, even before his 51-point outburst against the team last season.
The 28-year-old out of the University of Florida can defend on the wings and give James Harden and Trevor Ariza some more breathers. He leads the league in steals per game, but along with Brewer, Shved can also handle some of those minutes at guard. The Russian guard can create his own scoring within the second unit and slash to the basket efficiently. Together, these two guys add some much-needed depth on the wings for the Rockets.
However, it is important to point out that Morey made the swaps before December 19, which means he can still ship off his new acquisitions by the February deadline. In other words, the chances of a blockbuster move are still very much alive.
The plot thickened on Monday when the Detroit Pistons waived veteran forward Josh Smith. The Rockets have had interest in J-Smoove for some time, and according to Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo, they have emerged as the front-runners. Other interested teams include the Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers, among others.
If you add Smith to the mix, after already throwing in Brewer and Shved, the Rockets have addressed one of their biggest concerns. Houston has the lowest scoring bench in the NBA, but with its new talent, it will have some proven role players to fill in the gaps.
The goal of this summer was to bring in a third star, but it didn't happen. Carmelo Anthony decided not to jump ship in New York, Chris Bosh stayed put in South Beach with the Miami Heat and Kyle Lowry maintained his lead role with the Toronto Raptors up north.
Josh Smith has taken part in what has been a disastrous season for the Pistons. They are among the worst teams in the weaker Eastern Conference and went through a miserable 13-game losing streak. Stan Van Gundy could take no more and decided it would be best to eat up $35 million to get Smith out of his locker room.
Yet Smith instantly has become the best free agent on the market, and teams leaguewide have taken notice. The Rockets are believed to have the best shot at the J-Smoove sweepstakes, and the reward would be an additional veteran in a contending lineup. Is he their third star? There are arguments to be made about whether his attitude and style of play will fit in to the Morey Academy of Basketball Efficiency in Houston, but that's for another time. If he can buy in to the system in Houston, he would be a great fit on both ends of the floor with his size and athleticism, but he would be a role player, not a star.
We haven't even had the chance to see this team play together much yet, with or without Smith. There will be a little less than two months for Houston to try and develop chemistry before Morey must decide whether to blow it up or not.
Despite a great 19-6 start through its first 25 games, Houston decided to shake things up with a couple of trades and a potential signing as well. Even though the team has stuck around the top tier out West, Morey figured it needed an extra boost to contend come April.
The team has played admirably to start off the 2014-15 season. James Harden's MVP campaign tour continues, as he lifted Houston to an impressive 8-4 record with Dwight Howard on the sidelines. The bench players got some valuable experience while the Rockets suffered several injuries, and the team had developed great chemistry together.
It was tough to see the roster disassembled despite its early success. Although Troy Daniels and Francisco Garcia will be missed, the Rockets definitely are improved with their added wing depth of Brewer and Shved. These moves could just be the first dominoes to fall.
They didn't get Rajon Rondo, but Goran Dragic rumors, via Ken Berger of CBS Sports, are still abuzz, in addition to all the Josh Smith news. Who knows what else is up Morey's sleeve?
Whether the Rockets wind up signing Smith or not, they have a big decision on their hands come mid-February. Clearly, Morey has already moved past the team's early chemistry despite several key injuries. He is making moves like he does every season, always trying to improve both in the short term and long term. If I were a betting man, I'd say this is not the final roster the Rockets will take into the playoffs.
Should they make a blockbuster trade? I think it depends on how well the team is playing together and if it can compete with the other Western playoff teams the next two months. Do I think Morey cares about that? No. He will be wheeling and dealing in February like he does every year.
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