3 Players the Houston Rockets should target in a trade

The Houston Rockets have gotten off to an uneven start so far this season. After a 14-7 start and with multiple injuries, the Rockets may start to look outside the organization for help.

The Houston Rockets are one of the teams that are always active during the trade season. Daryl Morey will be actively seeking help on the wing to help solidify the depth behind Danuel House and eventually Eric Gordon. Also, P.J. Tucker cannot continue to play 35 to 40 minutes a game. The trade deadline is not until February but the Rockets will be looking for help sooner rather than later.

Here are a few names Morey and the Rockets should have their eyes on if they’d like to shake things up this season.

Andre Iguodala

The Rockets have long sought out the veteran small forward going all the way back to his 76ers days. A few years ag,o Andre Iguodala supposedly came close to signing with the Rockets as a free agent before receiving a huge offer from the Warriors to return. This year, Iguodala is on the Memphis Grizzlies but has not played a single minute so far. The forward has made it clear he does not want to play for the rebuilding Grizzlies and is awaiting a buyout or trade.

Iguodala, even at the back-end of his career, can still provide above-average to elite defense and has the ability to play multiple positions. Last year, Iguodala shot 33.1 percent from the free-throw line while averaging over 12 points a game to go along with five rebounds. The Rockets are among a handful of teams who have been trying to pry him away from the Grizzlies since the offseason.

Jae Crowder

Jae Crowder is a new-age power forward that can play at small forward or in a small-ball lineup at power forward. The 6-6 combo forward has been around for a while, playing for the Utah Jazz before landing on the Memphis Grizzlies in the Mike Conley trade. Crowder is averaging 10.8 points per game in 31 minutes for Memphis.

Crowder has never been a knockdown shooter from downtown, but he would give the Rockets flexibility on the wing. The only downside to trading for Crowder is the $8 million in salary that the Rockets would have to match since they are currently over the salary cap.

Alec Burks

Alec Burks is having the best season of his career while playing for the Golden State Warriors, averaging over 15 points a game while shooting 34.9 percent from deep. At 6-6, Alec Burks could also fill in at the shooting guard position or at the small forward spot. His salary is only 2.3 million this year, so fitting him into a trade would not be that difficult. In fact, on his Hoop Collective podcast last month, ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst stated Burks was the most likely to be traded on the Warriors.

With the Warriors obviously tanking this year, they would be motivated to move Burks for a possible 2nd round pick. The Rocket bench has been bad for most of the year and adding another scorer might help solve some of these issues.

The Rockets believe this is the year they can finally get over the hump. With the Warriors dynasty dead for the time being and the league now wide-open, this might be the best year to win their first title in almost 25 years.

The Rockets know they still have holes to fill, and the trade market might be their best bet to resolve some of these issues.