NBA Trade Speculation: 5 Trades To Bring a Center to Houston Rockets

The poor Houston Rockets. After the Portland Trail Blazers, they have been the least lucky team of the last half-decade.

The Yao Ming-Tracy McGrady dynasty never happened because of injuries.

They have been looking to add a star player and/or starting center for several years now, with no luck.

Pau and Marc Gasol, Nene, DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler were the latest round of big men they missed out on.

If they want to avoid going into a rebuilding phase, the Rockets will have to look at the trade market for a new center not named Hasheem Thabeet.

Emeka Okafor

On paper, the Rockets and Hornets look like perfect trade partners. Of course, getting screwed last time they dealt with the NBA-owned Hornets might not encourage the Rockets.

Nonetheless, the Hornets have two starting-caliber centers that don't look to be long-term fits, while Houston has a bevy of young talent.

Proposed Trade

Houston receives: C Emeka Okafor and F Trevor Ariza

New Orleans receives: C Hasheem Thabeet, G Goran Dragic, F Patrick Patterson, G/F Terrence Williams, a 2012 first-round pick (NY) and a future second-round pick

Houston gets a very solid starting center in Okafor. They also get Trevor Ariza, whom they used to value pretty highly. Ariza would fill the hole left by Shane Battier.

They do give away some nice talent, but most of the players they give up are at positions that Houston is already deep in.

The Hornets get some nice rebuilding pieces (with Thabeet thrown in with his expiring contract). They now have a very nice core to start the rebuild with, and also would have three first-round picks next year.

They would also save millions, making them more attractive for a potential buyer.

Chris Kaman

Similar to Okafor, Kaman doesn't appear to be in the Hornets' long-term plans. He was included in the Chris Paul trade primarily for his expiring contract. He will likely be lost in free agency next year; the Hornets might as well flip him for some more assets.

He cannot be traded with other players for two months.

Proposed Trade

Houston receives: C Chris Kaman

New Orleans receives: Thabeet, Dragic, Williams and a future second-round pick

Kaman nets less than Okafor because of his injury concerns. He is less of a long-term commitment with his expiring contract, but his impending free agency is also a risk.

Still, the addition of Kaman would put the Rockets very much in contention for the playoffs if he remains healthy.

Again, New Orleans receives some nice complementary rebuilding pieces.

Al Jefferson

It is really hard for me to figure out Jefferson's trade value. Depending on who you ask, he's a terrible contract and Utah would be lucky to get expiring contracts, or it would take a very good package to get him.

I figure it is probably in between somewhere.

Proposed Trade

Houston receives: C/F Al Jefferson and G Raja Bell

Utah receives: Thabeet, G Courtney Lee, G Johnny Flynn and two future second-round picks

Al Jefferson has taken a lot of flak for his teams' poor records in the past and for poor defense. He really hasn't been in good situations though. As for his defense, he is at least a good shot-blocker.

Jefferson would at least give the Rockets a nice post scorer at the center position and would be their best player there since a healthy Yao. He would add to Houston's high-scoring offense.

Kevin McHale traded for Jefferson once as a GM, and might be a good coach for Big Al.

Bell adds veteran savvy and defense.

The Jazz clear up playing time for their young bigs, and add some much-needed young backcourt talent. They also save a lot of money.

This trade helps them move their rebuild along more quickly, which they need to do.

Bonus: Utah's Memo Okur could be a secondary trade target for the Rockets.

Robin Lopez

This is definitely the smallest trade on here.

Proposed Trade:

Houston receives: C Robin Lopez

Phoenix receives: Williams and a future 2nd round pick

Lopez isn't exactly a franchise cornerstone, but he has played well in the past. He would be an immediate upgrade over Houston's current center lineup. He also has experience playing in an uptempo system.

Houston gives up Williams, who likely wouldn't get much playing time anyway, in the deal.

Phoenix can afford to lose a big-man, and Lopez seems likely to be the odd-man out. In Williams, Phoenix gets a talented player who has been held back by his maturity problems.

Williams will be under the wing of veterans Grant Hill and Steve Nash. His athleticism and talent could lead to a breakout season playing alongside Nash on a run-n-gun Suns team. 

Courtney Lee, Johnny Flynn, or others could be substituted in this trade as well.

Dwight Howard

Why not throw one reach-for-the-stars trade in here?!

Proposed Trade

Houston receives: C Dwight Howard, F Hedo Turkoglu, G/F Quentin Richardson, G Chris Duhon

Minnesota receives: G Kevin Martin

Orlando receives: (from Minnesota) forwards Anthony Randolph and Michael Beasley, G Wayne Ellington, a future second-round pick, (from Houston) centers Hasheem Thabeet and Jordan Hill, forwards Patrick Patterson and Chase Budinger, guard Goran Dragic, 2012 first-round pick (NY), a future first-round pick and cash

This is a crazy trade with so many players involved. You could change it up in various ways, including having a different third team rather than Minnesota.

For Houston, the benefit is obviously getting Howard, even if it means giving up half their veteran players and taking on bad contracts. I'm sure they'd do it in a heartbeat.

Minnesota gets a very good starting shooting guard, which they lack. They do so while clearing up their logjam at forward.

Orlando is clearly the team that would hesitate to do this deal. If they decide they need to trade Howard, they might decide to look to see if they can get something better than what New Jersey and L.A. offer.

This deal would get them lots of young talent and cap savings, although they would probably have to do further trades to clear positional redundancy.

Even with changes, this deal is clearly a long shot, but Houston fans do live in a large market so they can always hope for a star like Howard.