Houston Rockets Potential Trade Partners

April 17, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns guard

(26) passes the ball around Denver Nuggets center

(25) as Nuggets forward

(21) looks on during the second half at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 118-98. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Nuggets

Many would not have predicted the Nuggets to be on this list when the season started.  The Nuggets were an underrated but very solid team last year that many people around the NBA felt that with their quality depth and the reacquiring of guard Aaron Afflalo could potentially challenge for the 8th playoff slot it the West.

But the Western Conference is BRUTAL and the Nuggets, although they have a couple very good players in Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried, still lack a difference making star.  It’s still early but the Nuggets have stumbled out of the gate at 4-7 and thus far are not looking like a team that can make the push for the playoffs and appear to be behind the Suns, Kings and Pelicans, 3 teams trying to crack that top 8, in more than just the standings.

Faried recently signed a huge contract extension and he’s not going anywhere, same could probably be said for Ty Lawson.  Beyond those two, if the Nuggets can’t make the playoffs with this deep roster of good but no great players, then it may be time to take a step back and rethink their approach and acquire some lottery draft picks that could turn into that star that they just don’t currently have.

The Nuggets do NOT have what the Rockets might view as the 3rd star but they do have some bigs that could backup Howard and they have some swing men that could significantly impact the Rockets depth on their bench.

At center the best fit that could interest the Rockets is Timofey Mozgov, a 7’1” 250 center that is a big body in the lane and could backup Howard.  He’s on a relatively team friendly contract due $4.65 ml this year and a club option of $4.95 mil next year.  JaVale McGee is also there but at $11.25 this year and a guaranteed $12 million next year it’s doubtful the Rockets would have interest.

Oct 29, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard

(10) during the game against the Detroit Pistons at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 89-79. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The swingmen of interest could be Afflalo, who could potentially back up the 2 and the 3 for the Rockets and be another 3 and D player that can score from the perimeter and be an additional above average defender.  With James Harden handling the ball more Afflalo could essentially back up the 1 (playing with Harden), the 2 and the 3 at times to get his minutes and clearly be the quality 6th man that the Rockets don’t currently have.

Wilson Chandler would be the other player that could garner some interest from the Rockets.  Chandler is a good defensive wing player and would bring a bit of veteran toughness to the reserve group.  He’s in the last year of his current deal essentially, with a $7.17 team option for next year.

If the Rockets fail to make the big splash, big star that they may covet, a deal that includes Mozgov and either Afflalo or Chandler could be some nice additions to this team’s depth and help significantly in their playoff aspirations.