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Trade Options as Deadline Approaches

I won't bore you with facts.If you've been a Rockets fan for more than.... 2 months, you know Daryl Morey's reputation of having a happy trigger finger. I know, you know... Even Jonathan Feigen knows. He's going to make a deal.

The question is: For whom?

Morey's deals usually don't move the ESPN hype needle and are generally overlooked by the national media, but knowing how Morey operates, if he gets a chance to pull the trigger to improve the team, he will waste no time in doing so.

This year is tricky, though. With plenty of space, the youngest roster in the NBA, and when the biggest names possibly available who are not Free Agents next year are Zach Randolph (too old?), Pau (No.), and Granger (injuries), the Rockets might be inclined to wait until Free Agency this year to acquire the player who betters their team, but if they want to increase their leverage in a signing... Like I said, Morey will do it sooner rather than later if it means upgrading the team.

The next question is: Is it worth it?

I could get hate comments on this one, but I will stand by this statement: "Goodbye, Chandler Parsons..." I don't mean I want him to go... Quite the contrary. I would like him to stay, but any trade for a notable starter will have to net Parsons for the other team. Marcus Morris would then have to slide in at the 3 and continue his inconsistent, Jekyll-and-Hyde ways, but one could argue that if the Rockets can secure a rebounding 4 (preferably stretch) who can take some of the 4th quarter scoring load off James Harden, then Morey does it, sooner rather than later.

Here's possible options:

Paul Millsap scares me, but he shouldn't- It's the Boozer effect, him coming out of Utah, that makes me wary, but it shouldn't, because they are two distinctly different players. Millsap would provide the Rockets with exactly what they need, a rebounding stretch 4 who can score and play better defense than Patrick Patterson. The only issue is that, word out of Utah, that if Utah makes any trade, that they would only do so for a front line NBA PG. That means, "Goodbye, Jeremy Lin..." and with no legit options behind him, it might be hard to do a deal.

That leads to...

Al Jefferson, another option out of Utah. He is more of scorer than Millsap and a better rebounder. He is also a player who gets most of his points when the game is on the line, something the Rockets desperately need. He is a Yao Ming type player... Except that he's only 6'10'' and less mobile than Millsap, although he can still guard 4's well. Again, trading Lin would probably have to happen to get Big Al this year.

Josh Smith has been linked to Houston for years, so much that I've grown tired of them. He still would be a decent fit, although his jumper is his Achilles' heel, an aspect of his game that is going to be accentuating if he comes to Houston. Even then, his rebounding and defensive statistics are definitely worth his flaws. Him and Asik would be a devastating defensive line-up, plus Smith would be the better of the best up-tempo option for the Rockets. McHale would have a fun time fighting with JSmoove to post up.

And when you mention JSmoove nowadays, it brings up:

Dwight Howard. No. Not tackling that one.

All of these players will probably get a max contract on the open market. Whether they accept it or not is another question. Who's worth the max? Is anyone worth giving up either Parsons or rooks? Or is Morey going to trade Toney Douglas straight up for a future all-star?

You never know with Daryl Morey.

No cursing in title. No pirated material, such as links to online game streams. Do not cut/paste entire sections of content from other websites. Thanks.

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