Is Arrogance The Reason That The Houston Rockets Can’t Make A Trade?

Jan 29, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale argues a call with the referees during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The Rockets defeated the Mavericks 117-115. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Even though the trade deadline is less than 3 weeks away, the Houston Rockets have been no stranger to trade rumors so far this season. Daryl Morey will most likely look to make a deal that will upgrade the team before the Feb. 20 mark, but the market has been quiet so far for the Rockets.

This all goes back to the window in December when Morey made a public auction for teams to send their best bids for center Omer Asik before Dec. 19, only to eventually not make a deal. Now with the Rockets looking to shore up some depth for a potential playoff run, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report stated three reasons coming from NBA agents close to the team of why it has and will be difficult for Morey to make a deal. The first was the fact that the two biggest trading chips, Asik and Jeremy Lin, are both set to make $15 million for next season, despite only $8 million in cap hit, while the other two reasons dealt with disdain and refusal to help out the organization from other GMs:

“Another reason not in the Rockets’ favor could be that some GMs who don’t want to work in the public eye have been turned off by the team being open about Asik’s availability and the prospect of negotiations making it to the press.

The third factor: The reluctance to deal with Houston could be payback to the Rockets from the Dwight Howard free-agency saga last summer. Two NBA agents close to the team offered their perspectives.

One said, “Teams want Houston to sit there and suffer because they weren’t in the Dwight Howard sweepstakes and because [there was some boasting] from the Rockets [within league circles] about how they were going to win now that they’ve got Dwight. So [teams are] like, ‘We’re not going to help you out. Let Houston sit there and lose in the first round or the second round.’ Teams are like that at this point, and it’s motivated because of [Howard].”

Another said, “They have arrogance in Houston. So that plays a part in how things are not progressing.”

The Rockets won’t be in bad shape if a deal is not made; although ideally, a good wing player who can knock down 3’s off the bench would be a piece Morey is looking for. Getting Asik back as the backup center would almost work out as making a trade without giving anything away, as he has missed the past 2 months.