Houston Rockets: Roster Cuts To Eventually Come

Apr 1, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Charlotte Bobcats forward Reggie Williams (55) during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 131-102. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

With the announcement of Aaron Brooks officially re-signing with the Houston Rockets on Friday, and the signing of free agent Reggie Williams finalized, the Rockets currently have 16 players on the roster.  General Manager Daryl Morey plans to add to that as the Rockets are highly interested in free agent center Marcus Camby and swingman Mike Miller as well.

Though Miller is considered a long shot, Camby’s agent said the Rockets would be among the “front-runners” to re-sign Camby, a Pearland resident, who finished the second half of the 2011-12 season in Houston.

“If Marcus clears waivers as we expect on Sunday, the Rockets would be at the top of his list,” Rick Kaplan said. “He loved his time there. He wanted to stay, but they went another direction. Obviously, they would be a leading contender. … At this stage of his career, I can see scenarios where he can play or be a mentor and he would like to play at home.”

Should Camby come on board, the Rockets will have to cut 2 players before the season begins.  Last week, Houston waived James Anderson and Tim Ohlbrecht, while signing 3 players off their summer league team: second-round pick Isaiah Canaan, and rookie free agents Robert Covington and B.J. Young.

Canaan did not play in summer league due to an injury, but had a successful 4-year career at Murray State where he averaged 15.5 points, 2.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds.  With the signing of Brooks, Canaan becomes the 4th point guard, and can very well begin the season in the D-League.

Covington, a 6-9 swingman, was impressive during his summer league outing, averaging 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.40 steals in five games (two starts). Young, a 6-3 guard, averaged 11.8 points on 16-of-31 (.516) shooting from the field over his four summer league games.

But the Rockets plan is to get older, not younger for next season, so the youngsters may very well be the first to go.

Aaron Brooks Glad To Be Back

A crowded backcourt is nothing new for Brooks, as he first came to the Rockets as the 5th point guard on the depth chart in 2007. But that had nothing to do with his decision of returning to Houston; instead, he decided to re-up because of his affinity for and familiarity with the franchise.

“I’ve been here before,” said Brooks, 28. “It’s a good team. I like the coaching staff. I’m familiar with the place. My kids (MiKah, 7, Khobi, 2, and Khylie, 2) are tired of moving around. They want to go somewhere familiar. That played a factor. My daughter chose Houston over a lot of other places.”

Good to be back…. #RedNation x3

— Aaron Brooks (@Thirty2zero) July 19, 2013