The Houston Rockets has been a surprise this season. Critics thought that coming into this season, their line-up lacks depth since Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik, and Jeremy Lin were let go without anyone in exchange. Their back-up plan was Trevor Ariza which is having a pretty good season. Seeing how Harden and Howard blended very well and his team sitting atop the Western Conference, Daryl Morey wants to make the chances of the Rockets much higher in winning the 2014 NBA championship.
The Rockets proved that they are indeed a contender going 8-3 on a stretch without All-Star center Dwight Howard. However, they need to address a dearth at power forward due to the injury of Terrence Jones.
According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:
"The Houston Rockets are aggressively pursuing deals to use their $8.4 million trade exception before Dec. 19, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Rival executives say that Houston's front office has been active in searching out deals in recent days and wants an acquisition completed within the 60-day reaggregation window before the Feb. 19 NBA trade deadline. This way, the Rockets could still have an option of moving the player again this season.
In a deal, the Rockets can use any dollar amount up to the $8.4 million to balance out the incoming salary of a player.
Two teams believed that they had deals taking shape with the Rockets, but sense that Houston general manager Daryl Morey is working to find better deals. The Rockets have been pursuing a best-available-player mantra in talks, league sources said, but there appears to be a focus on wings and frontcourt players.
The Rockets acquired the trade exception from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the Jeremy Lin trade in July. Houston has until early July to use the exception, but has told teams that it's treating Dec. 19 as its own deadline to get a deal done."
With Terrence Jones unlikely to return anytime soon, it seems like the Rockets are pushing to acquire Brandon Bass from the Boston Celtics. The forward will be a major boost for them as he is a decent rebounder and an above average mid-range jumper. However, knowing the Rockets offensive play style, which revolves only on lay-ups and three point shots, his offensive arsenal might not be maximized at its fullest. Nevertheless, he will be a great addition to the squad.
While there are no rumors imminent for this transaction, expect the Rockets to utilize that $8.4 million trade exception.
