Marquese Chriss requests trade

Houston Rockets big man Marquese Chriss wants to either receive more playing time in H-town or be traded to a team with more opportunity, according to multiple reports, including Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Chriss came to town on August 31 along with Brandon Knight in a trade for Ryan Anderson, and the Rockets hoped that they had another athletic, rim-running big man to groom behind Clint Capela.

It just hasn’t worked out for the 21-year-old Chriss, who’s flashed both that preternatural athleticism and the low basketball IQ he’s also notorious for, and the writing was put on the wall for Chriss’ chances to get action this year when the team signed Kenneth Faried.

As such, Chriss’ agent, Aaron Goodwin, would like his client sent somewhere he can develop, saying this to Yahoo:

“Marquese didn’t ask to be traded to Houston. 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.”

With the Rockets chasing a title in a short window of Chris Paul’s effectiveness, they’re more focused on winning now than finding time for Chriss, who’s appeared in just 15 games this year, averaging 1.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per contest.

In fact, they’ve likely tried to trade him already this season, but the market for the 6’10” forward isn’t exactly thought to be robust. If they can get something for him, you can be sure Daryl Morey will, because if the Rockets are going to develop a young big, it’s going to be Isaiah Hartenstein, who’s been spending time in Rio Grande Vaelly to ensure he gets to learn on the court.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, hopefully the Rockets can turn Chriss into a usable piece, because the current situation hasn’t been beneficial to either party. He’s still young enough that he could still turn his career around somewhere, but that’s probably not going to be in Houston.