Houston Rockets: Is Now The Time To Pursue Ben McLemore?

It’s that time of the year Houston Rockets fans and you know what I’m talking about.

Yep, you guessed it, the NBA’s highly-anticipated trade deadline.

As we know, for the most part, nothing interesting usually happens until right up until the deadline.

This year was a bit different, with the Toronto Raptors already making a deal for Serge Ibaka with the Orlando Magic in exchange for Terrence Ross and the Raptors 2017 first-round pick.

So far, that’s all to write about but when will it be our turn?

Coincidentally, we are just days away from the NBA trade deadline which will be Thursday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. CST.

And there needs to be a player that should be connected with the Houston Rockets.

Who am I talking about?

I’m talking about Ben McLemore.

I’d consider him one of our dark-horse candidates to pursue if the Sacramento KIngs are considering dealing him either now or in the near future.

He is one of the promising younger talents in the Association and I think he’d be a nice fit on this Rockets’ roster.

Although his development has been stunted a bit as he does play for a franchise that still is trying to find its way back to greatness, he has come into his own through natural progression.

You can also partially credit Dave Joerger for finding a way to utilize his strengths as well.

He has come into his own as of late and this results in his value increasing a bit.

He’s a solid ball-handler who can shoot well but he does need to work on distributing the ball better.

They may not necessarily be his fault because of the team he’s on but I think he can be a quality NBA player, especially if the Rockets development staff gets their hands on him.

But in the interim, he’d be a great fit in our guard rotation to give James Harden and Patrick Beverley rest when needed.

He’s a natural “2” guard but I think with Mike D’Antoni‘s system, he’d still mesh just fine.

And now with Eric Gordon and Bev’s health up in the air as of late, we need a reliable, backup point guard.

Next: Rockets Interested In Mario Chalmers And Jarrett Jack

So how much will McLemore cost?

The former first-round pick is currently on the back end of his four-year, $13.1 million deal and he will enter restricted free agent status at the end of this season.

He will make about $4 million this year.

Expiring, cheap contracts are definitely ones that Daryl Morey loves and this may be one that’s appetizing to him.

Chris Haynes of ESPN.com wrote earlier in the season that the Kings are unlikely to sign him to a rookie extension so his pursuit of financial happiness may be better served elsewhere.

That place is definitely in H-Town.

If Morey were to somehow pull of a miracle by landing him before the trade deadline, I’m sure it’s going to cost our first-round pick this season and K.J. McDaniels to which I think is totally worth it.

But we’ll likely be better served in going after him in the off season.

We’ll see but I’m hoping the Rockets can pull a deal off soon!

McLemore, 24, is averaging 6.6 points while shooting 41.2 percent from the field, 37 percent from three and 77.5 percent from the charity stripe through 42 games (21 starts) in 2016-17.

Go Rockets.

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