Houston Rockets Potential Trade Partners

Sep 29, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard

(left), guard

(center) and guard

pose for a portrait during media day at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Phoenix Suns

The Suns are a team that are not likely to make the kind of move the Rockets would be wanting or waiting for until much closer to the trade deadline.  They are off to a decent start at 7-5 and are currently 9th in the western conference.  But the Suns were a team last year that missed the playoffs after playing beyond what people expected of them.

The question headed into the season was could the Suns vault past the Grizzlies or the Mavericks to grab the 8th playoff spot perhaps.  However a few things have happened to complicate this for them.  The Oklahoma City Thunder, have suffered injuries to their best two players Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have not surprisingly gotten off to a very rough start and currently sit last place in the west.  However, once they get those two players back, many expect them to get back into playoff contention and grab a spot even if it’s much lower than originally expected.  This could will bump some teams currently sitting in the top 8 out.

Combine these two teams with the Sacramento Kings, who have 2 of the top 30 or so players in the league in DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, and the improved New Orleans Pelicans, with budding star Anthony Davis, either of which could be the unexpected playoff contender than the Suns were last year, makes things even more difficult for the Suns.  At this point it’s not even clear which team is better among the three.

Oct 31, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard

(1) drives the ball in traffic against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

The Suns situation is significant because as we have discussed here at House of Houston previously, they have a player that will likely be a free agent this off-season and whom the Rockets covet.  Former Rocket Goran Dragic, as stated recently will opt out of his player option at the end of the year and become a free agent and is expected to test the market.

The Suns have an extremely crowded back court with Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas.  Thomas and Bledsoe are signed to long term deals, making them less likely to be moved.  Currently they are all playing nice (example in the photo above) and seemingly not concerned with who scores or plays more or in crunch time on a given night.  The Suns try to slide Dragic to the 2 on occasion, but that eats into the minutes for Gerald Green who was also a very significant player for them last year as well.

This friendly sharing of minutes and points is not likely to last when they hit a slump during the season or when the players realize how this can affect their numbers, minutes and ultimately their wallets in future contracts.  The selfless sharing has worked well for the San Antonio Spurs, but largely because they’ve won championships and winning cures all including most egos.  It’s a lot more difficult to pull off when you are a team just trying to make the playoffs.

The bloom is apparently already off the rose in Phoenix as far as Dragic is concerned with some recent comments from his camp about the crowded back court and his impending free agency.  This could be enough to compel the Suns to make a move at the trade deadline instead of waiting, if they get the right offer.

Dragic would give the Rockets an upgrade at the point guard spot and improve the depth presumably with Beverley coming off the bench.  The BIG factor that Dragic would bring is to give the Rockets a second player, other than James Harden, who can create for himself and others, something that thus far only Harden has done and Isaiah Canaan to a much lesser extent.

Dragic can also coexist with Harden, playing off the ball and has an excellent 3-point shot.  It’s the perfect marriage for this team when you add the fact he has familiarity with the organization and has proven to be a good teammate and chemistry guy.

So as the Suns approach the trade deadline they will need to make a decision, do they trade Dragic or to they take the risk that they miss the playoffs again and still lose him in the off-season with nothing in return?  Or will they utilize one of their best players in trade to try to improve their front court to have more team balance?