Houston Rockets rumors: They are one of the favorites for Andre Iguodala

There are rumors that the Houston Rockets are one of the two teams strongly pursuing the former NBA Finals MVP to try to get him aboard. Will they be able to pull off the deal, or will it stay at a standstill?

The Houston Rockets are rumored working hard to improve their squad this summer. The biggest move of the offseason came late last week when they surprised the NBA world by trading for superstar Russell Westbrook, pairing him with James Harden and shipping Chris Paul off to the OKC Thunder.

Since then, they’ve made two more additions to the roster. They added the long-time veteran center Tyson Chandler, who will be a great backup to Clint Capela and can bring rim protection and rebounding, something desperately needed by the Rockets. They also took a chance on former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, giving him a non-guaranteed deal where he’ll get a chance to prove himself in training camp.

Since then, though, the Rockets have been heavily rumored to be interested in Andre Iguodala for most of the offseason since he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. He would be a great defensive add to the team and he brings some serious championship experience. Shams Charania of The Athletic came through this morning with an update on that situation, saying that the Rockets and the Clippers are currently the two teams that are in talks with the Grizz.

"The two teams strongly pursuing Iguodala still are the #Rockets and the #Clippers."

Our Insider @ShamsCharania with the latest on Andre Iguodala as interest and trade talks continue to heat up. pic.twitter.com/ZksB7p95lj

— Stadium (@Stadium) July 15, 2019

The hold-up

The Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers being favorites should come at no surprise. Both teams have been extremely aggressive this summer in trying to add talent to thee squads and both teams will likely be in the top-4 of the Western Conference next season.

In that video by Shams, he says that the main hold-up is coming at the end of the Grizzlies, who want more compensation for Iguodala. They have all the power to demand some draft/player compensation, but both teams seem hesitant.

The Rockets may continue to not want to go too deep into the luxury tax. This doesn’t make sense to me, though, as Fertitta has previously spoken about being willing to do that this season. For a player like Iggy, it’s worth it. The Clippers are hesitant because they don’t want to give us Moe Harkless, a valid concern. I could see this either being resolved by a buyout from Memphis or even taking him into next season.

There is some belief within league circles that the Grizzlies are prepared to take Andre Iguodala into the season unless they receive a trade offer featuring a future first-round pick

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 12, 2019

If there is a buyout, though, I expect the Rockets to continue to be super aggressive. They can offer whatever money they have left and probably a bigger role than he would have with the Clippers. Iggy would be one of the first people off the bench for Houston and still has the ability to defend at a high level.

It’ll be exciting to watch this develop during the offseason. We could likely see it go on for the next couple months as the Houston Rockets try to strengthen their roster for the crazy upcoming year.