Houston Rockets: 5 buy-low candidates the Rockets should target

With the NBA trade deadline looming the Houston Rockets appear to be one of the few sellers with this season’s expanded playoff creating the illusion that more teams than ever are in the hunt. Most of the attention paid to the Rockets has been over players that they’ll ship out but for the Rockets’ rebuild to be successful they’ll also need to find the right players to bring in.

The Rockets shouldn’t stunt their long-term ambitions to build a better team for today but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t actively look to improve their roster. A team in the Rockets’ position has the luxury of being patient and taking a few risks with their roster.

The Houston Rockets bought-low and were rewarded

Christian Wood was an unknown before last season and he only briefly flashed his potential in a small run at the end of the season for the Detroit Pistons. The Rockets were able to land him for three-years and $41 million because the rest of the league didn’t value him that highly.

The Rockets took a risk on a player and it paid off. They bought low and now they’re set to reap the reward for the next three seasons at an incredible discount. These types of moves can go south in a hurry but when the ship is already sinking it doesn’t really matter if you take on a little extra deadweight.

The trade deadline is the perfect time for the Rockets to set their sights on players who, for whatever reason, have seen their stock drop in recent years. Whether it’s a falloff in production, an outsized contract, or a player’s age, the Rockets need to be targeting buy-low candidates.

The Rockets want to get back to contention as soon as possible and being aggressive while shrewd in their pursuit of reclamation projects will only accelerate their timeline. These are five buy-low candidates the Rockets should target and alter the fortunes of the franchise.

Next: #5