Rockets rumors: The player the Rockets nearly acquired for PJ Tucker

Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker has missed each of the Rockets’ last three games, as the team has sought to identify a trade partner that would grant them their asking price. The Rockets are reportedly seeking a young asset that would be able to assist with their rebuild, as they franchise has hit the reset button after trading James Harden.

The Rockets reportedly turned down a first-round draft pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the start of the season, which made sense at the time, as they sought to convince James Harden to stay and were trying to iron out a contract extension with Tucker. The 35-year-old Tucker countered the Rockets’ two-year contract offer, which was reportedly worth $17 million ($10 million guaranteed), with a two-year proposal worth  a fully-guaranteed $24 million.

The player the Houston Rockets nearly acquired for P.J. Tucker

The writing has been on the wall ever since, and we’ve heard of a number of teams being interested in Tucker. One of the teams that had interest was the Brooklyn Nets, who offered 27-year-old guard Spencer Dinwiddie, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (subscription required).

Dinwiddie posted averages of 20.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 2019-20 but his 2020-21 campaign was cut short after three games, due to a torn ACL. If the Nets were going to make a move for Tucker they essentially wouldn’t have had any other players to offer, as they moved Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert in the James Harden trade.

Dinwiddie’s salary could have been moved for Tucker’s in a direct swap, but with the addition of Blake Griffin it makes sense why the Nets would have backed out of the Tucker sweepstakes. Dinwiddie has a player option for the 2021-22 season worth $12.3 million, which he figures to exercise after the ACL injury.

As the trade deadline nears, we’ll likely hear more reports and rumors regarding the Rockets, who are one of the primary sellers on the market.