The Houston Rockets couldn’t pick up where they left off last season and struggled to start the 2018-2019 season. They are the second-best team in the league last season and finished with the best record in the NBA. They are one win away in defeating the Golden State Warriors and Chris Paul’s injury hurts them badly. Now let’s move on and look at the situation today. The Rockets didn’t have a great start because of some problems with their roster. They lost two of their best perimeter defenders because of Chris Paul and Clint Capela’s contract. They can’t afford to retain Trevor Ariza and that’s a huge lost. The Rockets are now sitting at the 12th seed in the Western Conference with a record of 10-11. It’s too early to say but they should now be thinking on making a move or some roster adjustments. I knew it, people say that Melo is the problem but when you look at the Rockets after cutting Melo, they’re still the same and still struggling.
Now, I have a list of some players that might help the Rockets and give them some great boost.
Kevin Love
Kevin Love recently signed a huge contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers but we all know that the Cavs isn’t going anywhere this season and Kevin’s time with the Cavs is going to be wasted. Love needs to get out of Cleveland and find teams that could definitely used his talent and help compete for a championship. The Cavs also is in taking mode and Kevin wouldn’t love that. I think the Houston Rockets is one of the best destinations for him. Love can provide some boost in Houston’s outside shooting and a real boost in the painted area. When Harden and Paul are on the bench, there is no real threat offensively from the Rockets. Their offense only goes through Harden and Paul. Having Kevin Love would give them a third option.
Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic has been outstanding to start the season averaging 20.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a game with a Player Efficiency Rating of 27.09. He’s also one of the main reasons why the Orlando Magic is in a great position now in the Eastern Conference having a record of 11-12 standing as the 8th seed in the East. Vucevic has only this season remaining in his contract and he will surely demand a lot of money in free agency so the Magic might think about of trading him. The Rockets could give up PJ Tucker to get Vucevic.
Wesley Matthews
Wesley Matthews is a kind of a player the Rockets are craving for. He is a solid 3-and-D guy who can fill the void that Ariza left. Matthews can guard multiple positions and can give them a hard time even some superstar caliber of talent. He’s so competitive and will not give even an inch defensively. And his three-point shooting is reliable. Eric Gordon on the other hand, is not playing very well for the Rockets this season and the Rockets are badly missing some consistency in their outside shooting and defense. The Rockets could trade for him and sacrifice some of their future draft picks.
Comments