Could the Rockets actually keep Eric Gordon?

Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon is generating a lot of buzz around the league with less than three weeks until the NBA Trade Deadline on February 10.

According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, the Rockets have received several offers for Gordon, but the team has declined all of them so far.

Gordon, 33, is having the best shooting season of his career, making over 50 percent of his shots and 45 percent of his three-point shots, good for second in the league behind his former teammate, P.J. Tucker.

Tucker was one of the team’s primary trade assets last season at the deadline, and the Rockets shipped him to the Milwaukee Bucks. However, the team was more urgent to deal Tucker because his contract expired at season’s end and he expressed frustration in Houston.

The same cannot be said about Gordon.

Gordon’s contract expires after the 2022-23 season, meaning the Rockets have another year to trade him if it doesn’t work out this year. They also value Gordon’s presence as a veteran leader on a young squad and appreciate how professional he has been during the struggle of the past two seasons.

There are cons to keeping Gordon, as it’s unsure whether he will ever have a greater peak in value than where he’s at now, playing the most efficient basketball of his career. And he also takes some playing time away from some of the younger players. But because there are enough pros to keeping him, it makes things a little tricky.

The Rockets might also be using this as leverage around the league to help drive his price up. The team has said in the past that they are looking for a first-round pick in return. The timing of this report is right around the time when teams truly begin to negotiate their way through the deadline, so this could be a move to get the Rockets the maximum of what they are looking for.

Red Nation, what do you think the Rockets will do with EG? Chime off in the comments below!