Houston Rockets Trade Rumors Update #3
By Yoni Pollak
The NBA trade deadline is just over two weeks away and the Houston Rockets will be mentioned many times over the next 15+ days. We have recapped the latest rumors a few weeks ago, and other times as well. As you see in the title, this is our third update, and there’s likely to be a few more until the February 20th deadline.
Earlier last week, Jared Zwerling (Bleacher Report) said that teams may be shying away from trading with the Rockets for three reasons.
- Lin and Asik have large contracts next season, scaring away potential customers.
- Other GMs don’t like the fact that Rockets negotiations have been so public lately, and they’re turned off by potential negotiations being making it to the press.
- Payback for winning the Dwight Howard sweepstakes.
One NBA Agent said:
"“Teams want Houston to sit there and suffer because they weren’t in the Dwight Howard sweepstakes and because (there was some boasting) from the Rockets (within league circles) about how they were going to win now that they’ve got Dwight. So (teams are) like, ‘We’re not going to help you out. Let Houston sit there and lose in the first round or the second round.’ Teams are like that at this point, and it’s motivated because of (Howard).”"
Another agent said:
"“They have arrogance in Houston. So that plays a part in how things are not progressing.”"
I’m calling BS on all these reasons. If a team wants a certain player, they’re not going to not make a trade because of any of those reasons. That’s just dumb. I understand Asik or Lin’s value may be a bit lower to another team because of their contract, but if you believe the player improves your team then you are going to make the move.
If I had to give a reason why teams won’t trade with Houston, well, it’s simple. It’s because Daryl Morey has absolutely destroyed the opposing team on most of the deals he has made. He comes out the winner way more often than not. It boggles my mind that teams still trade with Morey. I’d use other nouns and adjectives to describe Morey and his trade wizardry, but I’ll keep those off the internet and to myself for the time being.
In a Q&A session with season ticket holders in late January, Daryl Morey told fans to expect Omer Asik to stay with the Rockets past the deadline.
"“We pushed to trade Omer in December. We felt we had to make a fair and aggressive effort to do that. Obviously, he’d prefer to be a starter. At this point, Omer is very likely going to be here until the end of his contract at the end of next season, not this season. The window to trade him was [in December], and teams weren’t aggressive enough to get him, so we’re excited about him being a part of our future.”"
While it’s certainly possible the Rockets will hold onto Asik, I wouldn’t totally buy this quote quite yet. Morey has yet to receive the offer he’d like for Asik, but teams are starting to figure out where they stand in the playoff race. You never know, but a team like the Charlotte Bobcats or others may come storming in for the defensive-minded center to help them with a playoff run. As they say, “deadlines spur action” and that’s what Morey will be hoping for come February 20th.
Marc J. Spears (Yahoo Sports) reported that the Rockets have dangled Francisco Garcia in trade talks lately. Garcia was a huge part of the Rockets run late in the season, but hasn’t had a great season up-to-date. Garcia is averaging 5.8 ppg on just 34.2% shooting from beyond the arc, a number the Rockets expected to be much higher. If Garcia can’t hit the three, his value on the team diminishes as the Rockets look to fill out their rotation with other shooters.
The rumors will pick up quickly with the deadline approaching. As mentioned in the previous update, Daryl Morey has yet to let a trade deadline go by without making a move in his first six years as a GM.
My bet: The Rockets acquire a guy that has yet to be rumored as a Rockets target. Or they should just do as I said.