Houston Rockets: The fit of Marquese Chriss on the team

The Houston Rockets were finally able to get rid of the big contract of Ryan Anderson. In return, they got a couple of interesting players, including a former lottery pick.

The Houston Rockets have been trying for over a year now to trade the $20 million a year contract of Ryan Anderson. They finally achieved that late last night after agreeing to a deal with the Phoenix Suns.

In return, they were actually able to get a pretty decent package. They received Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight, two players that have a chance to crack the rotation of the team.

Houston has traded Ryan Anderson and De'Anthony Melton to Phoenix for Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight, league source tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 31, 2018

In this post, we’re going to look at how Marquese Chriss, in particular, fits with the Rockets and how he could find playing time with the team that finished with the best record in the league last season.

The stats

Marquese Chriss has had an interesting start to his NBA career. He’s had flashes of greatness that caused him to be picked 9th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, he’s had work ethic issues that come with playing for a bad team in Phoenix.

In his first two years, he’s averaged 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds a game while shooting 44% overall and 31% from deep. Chriss has shown the ability to hit the 3-ball at times, but had a down year in 2017-18, shooting 29.5%. He’s down this while playing power forward for the young Suns.

How he fits in Houston

The Rockets will likely use Marquese Chriss in a different way than Phoenix. He has some athleticism that can’t be taught and a 3-point shot that can be developed.

I envision Houston using him as a small-ball center, and a good one at that. He is 6’10 and, when focused, can play defense. He is another weapon that can thrive with the help of Hall of Fame playmakers James Harden and Chris Paul. Imagine the highlight real alley-oops that they could connect on this season!

If he cracks the rotation, Chriss could find a bit more motivation than being on a team destined for the lottery each year. He can learn from Clint Capela, who is actually the same height as Marquese. His best game last season, arguably, came against the Golden State Warriors (22p, 9r, 1/2 from 3). That’s the team where he could be most useful against in that stretch five role, let’s hope he excels in Houston.

Chriss is young and still has a chance to develop and grow as a player. He’s in the perfect position to learn and succeed with one of the best teams in the league.