4 players the Rockets should move at the deadline

1. Houston Rockets guard Ben McLemore

Six years after being selected with the seventh pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, Ben McLemore nearly found himself out of the league. McLemore struggled to find his niche with the dysfunctional Sacramento Kings, as he averaged 9 points while shooting just 35.4 percent from deep through five seasons.

McLemore was limited to just 3.5 attempts from 3-point attempts during his tenure in Sacramento and was eventually traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, who decided against holding on to him, as they released him just seven months after acquiring him. McLemore was given an invite to Houston Rockets training camp and never looked back, making the most of his opportunity.

The 27-year-old guard averaged 10.1 points, while making 40 percent of his threes, which led the team. McLemore finished the 2019-20 season with 181 threes, which ranked 13th in the league. What’s more impressive about that statistic is that McLemore had the second-fewest minutes among the players that finished ahead of him in that category.

McLemore has followed up his bounce back 2019-20 campaign with an even more impressive showing this season, as he’s making 43.2 percent from long-range, which is a career-best, on 4.4 attempts per game. All in all, McLemore is averaging 7.5 points on 18.9 minutes per game.

McLemore’s shooting clip ranks 32nd this season but he has the second-fewest minutes of anyone who ranks ahead of him in that category. McLemore figures to have tremendous value, as every team has a need for shooters and he’s on an expiring deal, meaning said team would have flexibility on whether to keep him or let him walk should they decide to.