Rockets Trade Rumors Tracker: Latest Updates Ahead of 2015 NBA Trade Deadline
The Houston Rockets are battling for playoff positioning while uncertainty hangs above one of their best players. Dwight Howard is currently sidelined with a knee injury that could keep him out for two months, which made the team's trade-deadline shopping a little more interesting.
If Howard is completely healthy come playoff time, the Rockets will be a threat in the loaded Western Conference. There are still some question marks, though. General manager Daryl Morey recently responded to a question on social media about the main focus at this stage of building a roster:
The mystery was whether he would be active leading up to the deadline or plans to stand pat with the hope that Howard can return at full strength.
Continue for updates.
Rockets Acquire Prigioni from Knicks
Thursday, Feb. 19
Ian Begley of ESPN reported that Houston traded for Pablo Prigioni from New York for two second-round picks and Alexey Shved.
Dragic Traded to Heat
Thursday, Feb. 19
Marc Stein of ESPN first reported that Goran Dragic was being traded to the Miami Heat, a player the Rockets were pursuing before the deadline.
On Feb. 18, Stein reported that the Rockets aren't quite ready to bow out on Dragic just yet.
Dragic spent a season and a half in Houston in between stints with the Phoenix Suns. His one full year with the Rockets is when he really started to turn the corner as an NBA player. He's carried that into a trio of good campaigns following his return to the Suns.
Rockets Interested in Lopez
Thursday, Feb. 12
On Jan. 16 Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported after the first wave of talks ended that the Nets were still looking to move the center. He noted the Rockets and Miami Heat were possible destinations after talks with the Oklahoma City Thunder fell short:
"Nevertheless, discussions could begin again with a simple alteration of an offer, and the Nets' desire to move Lopez soon remains unchanged.
The Houston Rockets were also probing the Nets on Lopez too, league sources said. The Miami Heat have also remained connected to discussions on Lopez, sources said.
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Lopez has played a more varied role for Brooklyn this season. He's come off the bench 20 times in 42 games, and his minutes are down by a handful per game. The 26-year-old Stanford product is still averaging 15 points and six rebounds.
He would seem like a nice fit alongside Howard, a terrific rebounder. That's an area where Lopez has never excelled despite his size. Whether the Nets would be willing to move him in more of a salary-dump trade without getting a marquee player in return is unclear, though.
Rockets Gauging Interest in Terry
Thursday, Feb. 12
Terry is having a down season in Houston, and his contract is set to expire at season's end. That makes him an obvious trade option with the deadline on the horizon. The veteran is averaging just four points on 37 percent shooting in five February games.
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders notes expiring contracts aren't the highly coveted commodities they once were, but they can still help create a deal. The Rockets are testing the waters to see if that could be the case with the combo guard:
"League sources say they have been dangling Jason Terry's $5,850,313 expiring contract in trade talks, and it seems they're open to packaging it with picks or prospects in order to complete a deal. Expiring contracts aren't as valuable in today's NBA, but certain teams do have interest in ending or non-guaranteed deals.
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He also speculates Houston could move Terry to a team like the New York Knicks. They are looking to clear cap space during the rebuild and could offer a player like Jose Calderon. At the very least, it makes sense on the surface.
Terry has played the role of spark plug off the bench extremely well throughout his career. His performance has dropped off over the past few years, however. If the Rockets are able to get a piece who could help their playoff run, he may be on the move.
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