Houston Rockets welcome Shaun Livingston, Jon Leuer and Jon Brockman

Yesterday Milwaukee Traded Livingston, Leuer, Brockman and the 12th overall pick to Houston for Samuel Dalembert and the 14th pick. Surprisingly the Rockets decided to keep all three of them. These guys have a lot of value for the Rockets. Allow me to introduce them to you.

Shaun Livingston

Position: Point Guard

Age: 27

Height: 6’7

Weight: 175

Highlights: http://youtu.be/e01sBZuZhfc

Livingston has been through a lot since becoming a professional basketball player 7 years ago. Multiple knee injuries, tears, missing games, you name it. Due to his knee injuries he never lived up to the hype. He was supposed to be the next big thing at point guard until all of his injuries changed that. With all that said, Shaun is a great backup point guard. Last season he averaged 5.5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 19 minutes a game off the bench. Most importantly the last two years he has been 100% healthy. A good backup point guard is crucial to have. When Dragic takes a breather Livingston will have control of the team. The way he runs a team is very underrated in my opinion. He handles the ball so well, He can get wherever he wants, makes the right play almost everytime, a great slasher and can throw it down at times as well. His length an athletic ability trouble most point guards. He towers over everyone he goes against at 6’7. The only thing that concerns me is his speed. He won’t be able to keep up with the faster point guards on the defensive end. The Rockets will have to make adjustments when he is in. Possibly put Courtney Lee or someone else on the point guard and switch him to the two guard on the defensive end. All in all i think this is a underrated pickup and Livingston will serve well off the bench.

Jon Leuer

Position: Forward/Tweener

Age: 23

Height: 6’10

Weight: 228

Highlights: http://youtu.be/npjVESMUrsc

Leuer has a ton of athletic ability. He can play either forward spot. I’m not sure which spot he will play for the Rockets, but with Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson and Donatas Motiejunas still on the team he could be stepping in to take Chase Budinger’s spot. He’s a great all around scorer. He can knock down jumpers, post you up, dunk on you, slash to the basket and drive past you. He struggled from deep last year in Milawukee but i expect for that to change as his career goes on. At Wisconsin he was great from deep. He struggled a bit rebounding in the NBA and needs to work on his defense the most. Last season he averaged 4.7 points on 50% shooting and 2.7 rebounds in just 12 minutes a game. He will fight for a rotation spot with possibly Marcus Morris. He has the skills to be a good player in this league, just needs to breakout.

Jon Brockman

Position: Power forward

Age: 25

Height: 6’7

Weight: 255

Highlights: http://youtu.be/s_GCM5dk5UA

I honestly don’t see where Brockman fits in with the Rockets. He’s a less talented Leuer in my opinion. He’s not as good as any forward already on the Rockets roster. In fact, there are players in Rio Grande Valley that i think deserve a shot over Brockman. He’s one of those players that had a great career in college but won’t amount to much in the NBA. Last season in 35 games he averaged just 1 point and 2 rebounds in 6 minutes a game. He has great athletic ability for his size. A good dunker, but struggles with his shot, on defense and has limited abilities posting up. I expected Brockman to be released when i heard the deal was made. I don’t expect him to stick around long. Maybe he can change my mind, but i don’t see that happening. Consider this your motivation Brockman, get to work. Good luck.

All in all this trade was great for the Rockets. They dumped Dalembert’s salary onto the Bucks and picked up a solid rotation player in Livingston and a kid with a lot of potential in Leuer, not to mention they jumped two spots in the draft to #12. Tyler Zeller could be sitting their at 12, and if he is the Rockets should take him.