Even with a fully healthy team, for the fourth time in five years, the Houston Rockets’ season came to an end in the NBA playoffs thanks to the Golden State Warriors.
Heading into the offseason, the Rockets have no NBA draft picks to offer, no cap space to work with and two very heavy contracts belonging to James Harden and Chris Paul.
Yet, there is still the possibility the front office can make some moves, make some trades and snag some worthwhile free agents this summer.
RocketsWire is exploring and breaking down those free agents, and what they can offer to the team.
Al-Farouq Aminu
Aminu has been an integral part of Portland’s defense since he became a fixture in the Trail Blazers starting lineup when he joined the team back in 2015-16. The 6-foot-9 forward has the ability to cover opponents who drive or prefer to work from behind the arc — or both.
The Rockets can always afford to bolster their defensive presence, especially when game planning for the Golden State Warriors, who continue to be everyone’s roadblock in the Western Conference.
Aminu’s not going to provide much on the scoring side: He averaged 9.5 points per game during his four years with Portland and only took 8.1 shots per game (43.3 field goal percentage). But not every free-agent signing is going to be a big-time scorer.
With Iman Shumpert now a free agent, adding a defensive wing that also has more length (Shumpert is 6-foot-5) might be one of the more important moves the Rockets make in the off-season. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s known as a team-first player.
It didn’t take a ton of money — relative to the NBA, of course — for Aminu to sign in Portland (four years, $30 million). It’s hard to imagine he’ll ask for much more if Houston comes calling. Do you think he’d be a fit?
