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The Houston Rockets who were once as low as the eleventh position in the West, are currently standing at the fifth seed in the Western Conference. They are fueled by the genius of the defending MVP, James Harden who has gone to create history with 30 plus points in 30 straight games. Chris Paul and Eric Gordan are back from injuries and are adding to the hustle.
Clint Capela who has already been out for more than 15 games with a thumb injury, is expected to come back late in the season. The Rockets managed to make some good moves before the February trade- deadline. In the aftermath of the situation, they have managed to put together a potential conference winning roster and have shed a lot of unwanted contracts to save a lot of dollars in tax.
In the preseason they were able to re-sign guard Chris Paul and center Clint Capela but parted ways with veterans Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute. They also signed ten-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony and Michael Carter-Williams to boost their offensive sting which went terrible according to Rockets' ways of basketball.
#1 Noticeable moves before the trade deadline
They cut-off Carter-Williams and Carmelo Anthony as they were traded to the Chicago Bulls, who later waived both of them. They traded guard Brandon Knight and center Marquese Chriss to Cleveland last week in a three-team deal that landed them guard Iman Shumpert. They lost a 2019 first-round pick in the aftermath of these complex transactions.
In January, the Rockets signed free-agent Kenneth Faried after he was released from the Brooklyn Nets. He has averaged 15.9 points and 10.3 rebounds over his first 12 games as a Rocket. He has definitely made his space on the Rockets roster and will play as the backup center once Capela returns to action.
#2 Players that Rockets missed to capture
Enes Kanter
Kanter became a free-agent after he was released by the New York Knicks. The center then signed with the Portland Trailblazers as a restricted free-agent. Kanter's role was decreased in the weeks as the deadline was closing in and he voiced with the displeasure with the situation.
He was eyed by major teams in the league including the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. A veteran center who can shoot well and with eight seasons of experience and an average of 11.9 points and 7.6 rebounds would have helped the Rockets in their championship campaign.
J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers and J.R. Smith are destined to part ways, sooner or in the next season, but they have failed to do so before the deadline. Smith hasn't stepped in the Cavs jersey for obver two months after the team agreed to trade him away. It will be interesting to see if Smith accepts a buyout while he has a contract worth $14.7 million for the current season.
While the Rockets are suffering from the injury bug, four of their five starters have suffered injuries this season, J.R. Smith would have been a viable option to fill in minutes and producing some productive totals. With various teams who will have Smith on the radar, it will be interesting if Rockets show interest in him and take him through the buyout.
#3 The Players whom the Rockets should have added
Kelly Oubre Jr., Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards, in order to revamp their playoff dreams, were willing to put even their most valuable assets (John Wall and Bradley Beal) on the trade desk. Unquestionably, Kelly Oubre Jr. had to be one of them.
The Rockets had their eyes on the forward but were busy clearing major contracts and roster space. The Wizards, however, made the move and brought home Trevor Ariza in exchange for Oubre Jr. and Austin Rivers.
Oubre Jr. came aboard with the Wizards in 2015 and had averaged 8.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 252 games since then. He was averaging 12.9 points and 4.4 rebounds through 29 games this season. He could have been a good replacement to Clint Capela and could have shared a good amount of minutes with Gerald Green and P.J. Tucker.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
KCP as a role player is an amazing 3-and-D player and a good defender to have on a team. He has hit 37.9 percent of his 3-pointers over the last two seasons in Los Angeles and could have been a great fit for the Rockets offense. With his $12 million contract with the Lakers this season, Houston as a destination was a good one but he was on the trade radar in the Anthony Davis- Lakers situation.
The Rockets still have the chance to sign the restricted free-agents and payers on the buyout market. As their injured players are returning to action, they definitely have a promising future and will look to dethrone the Warriors this time, a chance which slipped out of their hands by a single game last season.
