The unofficial start of the NBA trade season (December 15) has passed, and to nobody’s surprise, the Rockets have not made any moves. However, with the season being anything but smooth so far, with losses to the Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and L.A. Clippers being just a few examples of how they have shown that they can let their foot off the accelerator and play down to the level of competition against teams that are not as skilled as them. However, Houston also has wins versus the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, and took the Oklahoma City Thunder to double overtime on opening night.
Additonally, with Fred Vanvleet’s injury in September, it was predicted Houston would struggle at the point guard position even with Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson.
However, just like everyone else, Houston had to wait until the removal of the moratorium on December 15, when players who just signed extensions or new contracts were able to be moved. This did also benefit Houston as management would be able to see how the season started.
Now, with the trade deadline a little over a month away (February 5) many wonder whether Houston will do anything leading up to the deadline, as it will be their last chance to make any moves until the conclusion of the season, but it looks like fans got their answer as Jake Fischer of the Stein Line claims that Houston’s executives will not be acting until nearer the end of January if at all.
“Houston is another team in the West’s top six that could use a backcourt boost in the wake of Fred VanVleet’s season-ending knee injury sustained in September, and also obviously ranks as one of [Chris] Paul’s former employers. Yet sources say that the Rockets aren’t really weighing changes to their team at the moment and don’t anticipate doing so until closer to the end of January, thanks to the very limited breathing space they have (roughly $1.2 million) beneath the first apron.”
This, however, doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, as Fischer has regularly covered this topic; this week, he revealed that Houston has recently become rather impressed with Reed Sheppard, which may play a role in their trade intentions for this season. The only real player who would match salary is Fred Vanvleet, but with his no-trade clause, that seems extremely unlikely.
What do you all think? Should Houston make a move, or stay as is?