Houston Rockets: The Marquese Chriss trade demands are preposterous

The Houston Rockets have a situation on their hands with center Marquese Chriss requesting to be traded. Will the team do so by deadline? Let’s look.

The Houston Rockets have exactly one week to go before the NBA’s trade deadline which will come hard and fast at next Thursday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. CST. We all know that Daryl Morey is going to be active in talks right up until the deadline but with the team strapped for cash and very little flexibility, can he get a deal done?

If anybody can complete that task, it’s definitely Morey as he’s been able to pull all kinds of magic tricks to keep this team competitive, especially at this time of the year. But sometimes that magic runs out and one has to face the reality of him likely being locked with this current roster for the rest of the season.

I’m positive it’s paining him knowing that the aforementioned notion is correct but there’s no problem making a valiant try in ensuring that something is done to improve this roster.

But Morey has an emerging problem on his hands.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports — I’m wondering what happened to his ESPN gig — center Marquese Chriss wants out of Houston and would prefer a trade to make that happen.

Chriss’ representation, Aaron Goodwin spoke frankly to Haynes in regard to Chriss’ displeasure with the Houston Rockets and here’s what he said:

"“Marquese didn’t ask to be traded to Houston,” Goodwin said. “The Rockets are a great organization and the kid has done everything they’ve asked of him to get on the floor. If it’s not going to happen there, we just want him to be treated fairly.”"

Now here’s the problem I have with this quote. It’s quite rare that a player under contract gets a team to acquiesce to trade demands, let alone be able to pick their destination. The last dynamic player I recall that happening to is Chris Paul and he’s a lock to be a Hall of Famer when it’s all said and done.

Chriss is still yet unproven despite the level of experience he has in this league. He has a ton of potential but none of us have seen it just yet.

We all know how Mike D’Antoni prefers to stick with veterans in his rotation but with Chriss, he could’ve been an exception to that rule. He’s a 6-foot-10 big man that has the ability to shoot three-pointers, block shots and play some defense. What’s there not to like?

Haynes also pointed out in his write-up that Chriss was the third-youngest player in NBA history to record 100 steals, 100 three-pointers and 100 blocks at the age of 20.

And by the way, Chriss ended up shooting an abysmal 29.5 percent from behind-the-arc last season so it goes to show that he can’t accurately hit three-pointers at a high volume which is paramount in this system.

And it’s notwithstanding the fact that his defensive rating has dipped from 108.1 in 2017-18 to 111.8 this season.

When one is playing for a team like the Phoenix Suns at the time he was there, a guy like him would be able to pad his stat sheet because the mindset of the team was not a winning one and it was a free for all.

With he being acquired by Houston, he comes to a established structure where the pick-and-roll with effective defensive switches is the hallmark of being successful as a team member of the Houston Rockets.

Although Morey expressed that the aforementioned attribute would be an asset as part of trade that sent Ryan Anderson and this season’s second-rounder in De’Anthony Melton to the Suns along with Brandon Knight, it has worked far less than desired.

He doesn’t look like a great fit out there — likely based on his performance in practice too — and

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has been stashed deep on the bench, likely to ensure his value doesn’t take any more of a hit than it already has.

I don’t think Morey had envisioned that he’d have Chriss and Knight this late into the season as he thought he’d be able to flip them for something better. But the reality is, he’s likely stuck with them. It would’ve been nice to package them with Carmelo Anthony to St. Elsewhere but the fact of the matter is if there’s a market for these guys? Likely not.

Chriss should be understandably upset that he’s averaging a career-low 6.8 minutes per game but can we assert that he’s doing everything that’s be asked of D’Antoni? Or does he feel that he’s still in the Valley of the Sun and able to do whatever the hell he wants?

I can’t make that assertion for sure but that’s not how it works and it’s important to note that this man was the 8th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. So it’s mind-boggling that Chriss is going through these motions as he is in his third seasonal campaign, which hasn’t amounted to much.

That’s why I feel his trade demand is preposterous.

Chriss will earn $3.2 million this season so the prorated amount of money a team would take on if he were to be traded would be approximately $1.6M. His $4.1 million 4th-year option was nixed as part of the deal so Chriss will become a free agent regardless of where he ends up in 2018-19.

He has a portable contract but it’s going to take some serious maneuvering to ensure the Houston Rockets get what they want — a cost-effective defensive forward who can shoot threes, rebound and block some shots.

We’ll have to see about that one.

dark. Next. Rockets: Three frontcourt players to target before the deadline

Chriss, 21, is averaging 1.9 points and 1.8 rebounds with a shooting line of .333/.067/.857 through 15 games this season.

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