Why the Houston Rockets should pursue a buyout market addition

The Houston Rockets are good.

Yup. That's the opener. The Houston Rockets are good!

This is something to celebrate. If you've been living under a Rock(et), the Rockets were bad for quite some time. Watching them win more often than they lose is immeasurably satisfying. The tanking process was arduous, but the organization is now enjoying the fruits of its labor. The Houston Rockets are good:

But they could be better.

They need to scour the buyout market to improve.

Rockets should be prime players in the buyout market

Why should the Rockets get involved in the buyout market? Here's a better question:

Why not?

That's both encouraging and troubling. The Rockets are a paradox.

Let's try to suss it out. The Rockets are not very good at scoring, but they're so good at getting offensive rebounds that their offense production balances out.

That's an interesting approach. It's smashmouth basketball. Nobody should take issue with it, but it's possibly not the most sustainable offensive strategy in the playoffs. The league's best teams won't let the Rockets mercilessly throttle them on the offensive glass.

More broadly, having the 12th-best offense in the NBA isn't a recipe for title contention either. It's acceptable - particularly for an elite defensive team like the Rockets - but it leaves room for improvement.

The trade deadline has passed. The Rockets didn't improve.

That leaves the buyout market. Who should the Rockets pursue?

Rockets need injection of offense from buyout market

We've been over this.

Seth Curry feels like an optimal acquisition. He's shooting an absurd 47.2% from three-point range in 2024-25, and the Rockets are missing three-point shooting above all else.

Josh Richardson could be interesting. He's mostly been injured this year, so it's best to ignore his stats. In theory, Richardson can play the 1, 2, or 3. He's a stout defender who offers a little floor spacing and playmaking as well.

How about Reggie Jackson? Granted, he's shooting a modest 33.8% from deep for the Sixers this year. Jackson's best days are behind him. Still, he should be a more dynamic playmaker than Aaron Holiday. Jackson could at least challenge him for the backup point guard spot.

Bojan Bogdanovic is another guy who's been hurt for most of this season. He could raise the Rockets' ceiling considerably. The last time we saw Bogdanovic healthy, he was the most potent offensive player on this list.

None of these guys are guaranteed to be bought out. Still, there should be a handful of intriguing options. The broader point is that the Rockets need an upgrade. They should be pursuing a veteran who could help them put more points on the board:

That's where they need to improve.