Houston Rockets: Why the team will not be buyers at the trade deadline

The NBA trade deadline for the Houston Rockets continues to inch closer and this year will be quite peculiar as far as what this team plans to do with limited assets to move at the deadline. The Los Angeles Clippers also own their 2018 first-round pick this year so what will likely happen?

The Houston Rockets are near the top of the Western Conference, currently possessing a close-to-sterling 34-12 record. Only the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics have a better record than this team and that’s remarkable considering the injuries have had some effect on this team.

To break it down for you, our guys that we count on the most have missed a combined 36 games this season thus far. Chris Paul (17), Luc Mbah a Moute (17), James Harden (7) and Clint Capela (5) inadvertently contributed to that large chunk of games missed. But because the team is so deep at just about every position, the impact was minimal to the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets went 10-7 without Paul and 4-3 without Harden so it was the role players such as Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, Nene Hilario and late-add Gerald Green all being the mighty warriors to help hold the fort down while the captains of the ship were out nursing their battle wounds.

It worked out perfectly to where neither Harden nor Paul — our biggest contributors of course — were out at the same time. That would be somewhat catastrophic as a nice chunk of the offense is wielded among those two dynamic guards.

But back to the trade deadline. The Houston Rockets have committed $116 million to salary obligations this season which is $15 million over the league-mandated salary cap. They’re just $3 million away from the luxury tax line which severely limits the amount of movement that the team can make. Any trade that must be made will require the team to unload salary to ensure that the money going out and back in is even.

As mentioned, the Rockets don’t have their 1st round pick this season to dangle for a deal. Although DeAndre Jordan has been connected to the team in regard to his desire to make H-Town a landing spot, such a deal would be incredibly complex and would be unrealistic considering what likely the Los Angeles Clippers want in return. It’s not happening ya’ll.

I did propose last week that the Rockets should make a run for guard Rodney Hood but such a deal also would be difficult considering what the Jazz would likely want in return. It’s great to have

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extra depth — especially with a shooter like him — but with D’Antoni’s strong affinity for his tight rotations, it’d be hard to find him some minutes and I’m sure other teams with more assets could get him what he wants.

The only appeal that we’d have to such a guy would he could be playing with Paul and Harden and on a team that is built to be a contender. The Rockets own the 2019 first-round pick but the Ted Stephien rule prevents trading picks in back-to-back seasons so that makes the 2020 first-rounder the next option. That’s just too far in advance for a selling point and would rather be more throw-in to complete a deal versus being one of the featured assets.

You can never doubt that Daryl Morey is always trying to figure out a way to make a deal but I think this team will be watching from the sidelines and not be buyers at this trade deadline. Besides, the chemistry among the team members is excellent and there’s no need to alter it. I’m not a fan of making a move just to do it, it’s got to be one that is going to improve this team. I know that’s the obvious what I’m saying but it’s an important mantra to follow.

Next: Why Gerald Green could be slipping out of the rotation

Let’s just stand pat and watch these guys continue to rack up the wins. I think most of you wouldn’t object to that notion. You can bet your bottom dollar on that.

Go Rockets.

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