NBA Rumors: Five Trade Targets for the Houston Rockets This Summer

In the last few weeks the Rockets have been connected to everyone from Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh to Brad Miller in free agency. While Daryl Morey is certainly a smart general manager, the fact still remains that free agency in general is a crap shoot because of the number of moving parts that need to fall into place for a deal to go down.

For this reason, Morey has chosen to upgrade the team primarily through trades, nabbing defensive dynamo Kyle Lowry and dynamite scorer Kevin Martin in consecutive years.

With more assets and flexibility than they have had since the days of Hakeem Olajuwon, the possibility of the Rockets landing a star in a blockbuster seems higher than ever.

Unfortunately, anything short of a superstar this off-season would be a disappointment. After years of disappointment in the Yao Ming-Tracy McGrady era, the Rockets have turned the page and transitioned into an era without a superstar. While having players like Kevin Martin and Luis Scola is nice, no team in recent years, other than perhaps the Detroit Pistons, has been very successful without a star.

For that reason, it seems like now is the time to cash in all the trade chips and go for it all.

Al Jefferson

In many ways, Al Jefferson is an anti-Morey player. He doesn't play particularly good defense, can be selfish at times, and does little other than score the basketball. While all of this is true, what else is true is that coming off of an injury riddled season, he is fairly undervalued, and Morey loves undervalued players.

While he and Yao may not be the best fits together because neither is particularly quick, his ability to step in and play center if Yao went down, as well as his talent for scoring in the post, would be two fantastic attributes for the team.

And if Morey has the chance to land Jefferson for expiring contracts, why not make the deal? Morey understands that risks must be made to build championship teams, and if Jefferson can reemerge next season as the force he once was, the deal could possibly be a coup.

If he can't reestablish himself as the same player, you're stuck overpaying a guy who will rebound his butt off and still pour in some shots in the post. There are worse things than that, especially if you give up basically nothing for him.

Anthony Randolph

With Ekpe Udoh and Brendan Wright on their roster, the Warriors seem to have their fair share of lanky, athletic forwards who aren't tremendously effective scorers. Oh, and add in Anthony Randolph, the somewhat forgotten man the last few years under Don Nelson, who can't seem to get off the bench too much despite showing Marcus Camby—like potential as a shot-blocking forward.

The Rockets have been repeatedly connected to him over the last couple of seasons and they would seem to be a logical landing place. Randolph would be an excellent partner with Yao, as his ability to block shots from the weak-side and rebound would be much needed as Yao's mobility will likely be limited in his first few months back.

Additionally, while Randolph has been described as well, crazy, having a veteran coach like Rick Adelman to mentor him as well as veterans like Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier could help lead him in the right direction.

Meanwhile, the Warriors could pick up some future draft considerations as they try to rebuild their team in the post-Corey Maggette era (just kidding).

For a team that has thirsted for a player like Anthony Randolph for so long, now that he is reportedly available, the Rockets will at least make an effort to acquire him.

Lamar Odom

After yet another championship season, most of the credit went to Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant as the Lakers beat the Celtics in a decisive game seven. However, an underrated factor in the Lakers' success last year was Lamar Odom's versatility and effectiveness coming off the bench as a foil to Andrew Bynum or Gasol.

However, given the fact that even the Lakers appear to be penny pinching in their own way as Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant's hefty extensions kick in, Lamar Odom could probably be had for the right price because of the three years remaining on his four year, $32 million pact that he signed last offseason.

Vastly underrated in the "big man skills" category because of his slight build, Odom is a tremendous rebounder and a good defender who would add a long, athletic forward to the front line and would be an excellent partner for Yao much like Anthony Randolph.

Additionally, on a team that lacks playmaking skills with two starting guards who score well but do little to make their teammates better, Lamar Odom's playmaking ability at the forward spot would be a welcome addition to the Rockets.

Danny Granger

As it became so abundantly clear last year, the Pacers need a point guard desperately if they want to compete in the future. Fortunately, the Rockets have the luxury of having two starting level point guards under team control and would love to add another wingman who can score and defend like Granger.

Obviously, if the Pacers put Granger on the market, they could do far better than Aaron Brooks (a Granger for Devin Harris and draft considerations trade was recently reported), but the Rockets could sweeten the deal with their cache of young big men.

Additionally, with the Pacers potentially loading up for a big run in free agency in 2011, losing Granger's contract would help them get even further under the cap in their attempts to rebuild after years at the bottom of the standings each year.

While Granger prospered in Indiana as a scoring threat, imagine how well he would perform with Kyle Lowry dishing out passes to him and with Yao Ming potentially drawing double teams in the post (if he can return to form).

Having Kevin Martin and Granger on the wings would form one of the best offensive combinations in the league and would surely help lead the Rockets to a deep run in the playoffs.

Chris Paul

After hearing the reports that Chris Paul would be amenable to a trade, the same thoughts entered every Rockets fans' mind: Why not Houston?

From watching him play the Rockets four times a year, the fan base is well aware of his transcendental effect on the game, putting the Hornets on his back to keep them in the realm of respectability, despite seemingly playing alongside the talent of a recreational league team.

While his statement that he would be open to a trade is by no means a trade request, if the Hornets decided to go in that direction, the Rockets have all the pieces needed to go after him. They possess good young big men in Jordan Hill and Patrick Patterson, expiring contracts like Shane Battier and Jared Jeffries, and draft picks galore after the coup of a trade with New York.

Additionally, if the Hornets attempt to attach a bad contract to Paul in the deal to help their flexibility moving forward, the Rockets will likely have no problem. In the past, they have shown a willingness to accept a bad contract or two in order to receive an asset they want (see Cook, Brian and Jeffries, Jared) and Emeka Okafor would be no different.

It may be a pipe dream, but if anyone were to land Paul, it appears that the Rockets have some of the best makings for a deal.