Merry Christmas Houston Rockets Fans!

The Houston Rockets capped off a wild week of moves culminating with the signing of recently released former All-Star Josh Smith.  True Rockets fans and fans of GM Daryl Morey know that he is never sitting still on making moves.

Morey spent years trying to get trying to get into position to get the team a star player to build around once Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming faded with injuries and were traded or retired.  Once he got the pieces together and the opportunity presented itself, he nabbed James Harden.

Getting James Harden subsequently led to signing Dwight Howard as Howard was looking for a spot to reclaim his career and play for a team that can contend.  Forming that one-two punch took a lot of moves and some good fortune to be sure.  But was it luck?  Or was it getting the team prepared to pounce when the opportunities arose?

Headed into this season, so much was made of losing Chandler Parsons with nothing in return.  It was a tough decision and one that many fans at the time did not like.  Yet the team has shown a new identity with Trevor Ariza at the 3 instead of Parsons and renewed focus and defensive effort from stars Dwight Howard and James Harden.  All of a sudden the Rockets are one of the better defensive teams in the league.

Their record of 20-7 has the Rockets currently sitting relatively comfortably in the 4th spot in the Western Conference and only a half a game behind Memphis, who they play on Friday, for the 3rd spot.  So was Morey going stand pat?  We all knew what the answer to that question was going to be before it was even asked it.

Dec 3, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward

(13) against the Philadelphia 76ers at Target Center. The 76ers defeated the Timberwolves 85-77. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Morey started making moves last week and we detailed why he wanted those moves before the December 19^th self-imposed deadline here at House of Houston.  Morey sent Troy Daniels and a couple future 2nd round picks in a 3-team trade that brought veteran swingman Corey Brewer from the Timberwolves and Alexey Shved from the Sixers.  In the process the Rockets had to release fan and team-favorite Francisco Garcia to make room.

Daniels was a slick shooting guard that the Rockets had high hopes for.  But he was a one-dimensional player and when his shooting slipped, as it did for much of this season, he didn’t have a role on this team.  The role that Daniels was supposed to have “3-point shooter off the bench” is currently being filled by Jason Terry.  So Daniels was expendable.

Cisco on the other hand was expendable despite how much the fans and his teammates liked him.  His contract was such that it was relatively painless to release him and frankly he had started to look “old” on the defensive end in particular.  Still we would not be surprised to see him in a Rockets uniform again at some point if injuries arise or in a suit on the bench in the future in some coaching capacity.

The 2nd round picks that the Rockets gave up to make these moves were all middle to late projected 2nd round picks, the kind of picks that the Rockets simply buy for cash during a draft if they see a player they want and a cash strapped team is willing to sell, so they really weren’t much of a loss.

Dec 19, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Toronto Raptors center

(17) dunks the ball as Detroit Pistons forward

(6) defends during the first quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

This week Rockets fans were treated to a gift courtesy of the Detroit Pistons.  We should all say “thank you”.  The Pistons surprisingly released former All-Star Josh Smith after failing to trade him and floundering once again in the Eastern Conference to the tune of 5-23.

The Rockets had the inside track on Smith, because he is one of Dwight Howard’s best friends.  The two grew up in Atlanta, played on the same AAU team and it was reported that Howard was Smith’s best man at his wedding.  The Rockets also had inside track due to the fact they could offer him a starting spot and an extra $2 million that many teams could not.

Smith was a bad fit in Detroit who tried to play him at the 3, which he is not.  Smith’s contract also has him overpaid at $13.5 million making him almost impossible to trade.  The good news is, Detroit will be paying that money, not the Rockets.  The Rockets got Smith on a team friendly roughly $2 million dollar deal using the bi-annual exception that they saved this off-season specifically for opportunities such as this.

To make room for Smith, the Rockets must cut or trade a player currently on their roster as they are at 15.  ESPN’s Marc Stein reported yesterday that the Rockets are shopping everyone on the lower 3rd of their roster, mentioning Isaiah Canaan, Nick Johnson, Clint Capela, Tarik Black and Joey Dorsey.

I believe it’s safe to say that Canaan, Johnson and Capela will only get dealt if a team is willing to give a mid to upper half projected 1st round pick.  That is likely where the Rockets value them.  Black could be cut as he only has a small guarantee but has played too well and would be immediately claimed.

Odd man out, barring someone offering something of significance for the other 4 should be Joey Dorsey, although I believe the Rockets will trade him even if they have to sweeten the deal, as it will allow them to stay under the tax threshold.

So where does this leave the Rockets and how to these new guys fit?  Click NEXT