7 players the Rockets could add on the veterans minimum

7. Marco Belinelli

Marco Bellinelli is a career 37.6 percent 3-point shooter, which is identical to his shooting clip during the 2019-20 season. The 3-point marksman finished the 2019-20 season with the third-best 3-point percentage on the San Antonio Spurs among players with at least 175 attempts, which was impressive for a 34-year-old who was playing in his 13th season.

But let’s be honest here, Bellinelli doesn’t provide much of anything else besides long-range shooting, which isn’t all bad for a Rockets team that finishes near the top of the league in 3-point attempts every year. Not to mention the fact that Bellinelli would be surrounded by James Harden and Russell Westbrook, who would set him up for open shots.

Bellinelli was one of six players to make at least 63 threes during the 2019-20 season while playing less than 1000 minutes (Kyle Korver, Georges Niang, Isaiah Thomas, Luke Kennard, Patrick Patterson), which is further proof of how he can still be relied upon to hit the long-range shot. Bellinelli’s shooting clip would have been the second-best percentage on the Houston Rockets during the 2019-20 season, behind only Ben McLemore, who made 40 percent of his treys.

The Rockets would be wise to devise a contract with Bellinelli like they did with McLemore, who was inked to an unguaranteed deal, which allowed them to have flexibility. Although Bellinelli may seem to have no remaining value in his NBA career, he could come at a fairly inexpensive cost, and would allow the Rockets to have a potentially great long-range shooter at a fairly inexpensive, low-risk contract.

Not to mention the fact that the Italy-native may not have many suitors waiting for his services.

Next: No. 6