Rockets rumors: Houston has interest in signing Nick Young

The Houston Rockets, among other teams, have interest in signing former Golden State Warriors guard Nick Young in free agency.

On Wednesday, Shams Charania announced that the Rockets signed James Ennis to a two-year deal. Ennis, who isn’t known for his offense, could be a potential replacement for Luc Mbah a Moute‘s defense.

NBA sources: About six teams continue to express interest in free agent guard Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) and the #Rockets continue to be one of those teams.

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 11, 2018

Now, the Rockets are shifting their focus to the other end of the floor. Houston, among six other teams, has expressed interest in signing Nick Young, according to Mark Berman.

Young won his first NBA championship as a member of the Golden State Warriors last season. The 32-year-old averaged a career low 7.3 points last season. Fortunately, Young’s game isn’t declining, but he did have to fight for substantial minutes on a loaded Warriors team.

With Chris Paul and James Harden running the high pick-and-roll, they’ll attract a lot of defenders. Young is a very good 3-point shooter and he’ll make the defense pay for leaving him open. Swaggy P can also put the ball on the floor and knock down pull-up jumpers. Young, like Gerald Green, can heat up from the perimeter on any given night and he isn’t shy about jacking up shots.

Nick Young isn’t a great defender. His defense is serviceable, but Houston doesn’t expect him to lock down an opposing player.

The Rockets are looking for bargain players

At this point, there aren’t many two-way players like Ariza left on the market. Those remaining two-way players will want a bigger deal than the veteran’s minimum or the mid-level exception that Houston can offer them.

According to a report, the Rockets want to sign Carmelo Anthony after the Thunder waive him. Assuming he takes the mid-level exception, the Rockets will have to fill in the rest of their roster with players like Young and Ennis.

Also, keep in mind that all of these minimum contracts can be packaged in a trade to acquire a really good player. Some Rockets fans feel pessimistic about Houston’s chances going forward after the team missed out on signing LeBron James and Paul George.

Next: Rockets are ‘determined’ to sign Carmelo Anthony

That’s understandable, but this is a process, so fans have to remain patient. Don’t forget that Daryl Morey is the reigning Executive of the Year. He deserves the benefit of the doubt.