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.
Ed Davis
The former 13th overall pick could immediately make an impact with the Rockets for a small amount of money.
The 6’10” big man signed with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent in July after a three-year stint in Portland — brought quite a lot to a team that surprisingly made the NBA playoffs this season.
Davis would immediately make an offensive impact in Houston due to his strong ability to post-up and score in the paint. It could be a dunk or an alley-oop, but he is always right there at the basket.
Davis is also a great offensive rebounder and can make keen passes (for a big man) when drawing in defenders. The Rockets may be known as being a three-point shooting team, but having a force in the paint would be a big deal for them, and give both Harden and Paul a new weapon to work with inside.
But it isn’t the offensive end where he would make the biggest difference in Houston: It’s his ability to be a great defender in the paint. The Rockets struggled against the Warriors’ Draymond Green, and Davis also does well when matched up with big men.
Further good news is that Davis didn’t have a huge paycheck last season with Brooklyn, and will probably be content being known as one of the league’s best back up centers — regardless of where he ends up.
Houston didn’t have much success playing Kenneth Faried and Nene in the playoffs to back up Clint Capela, who also had a poor performance against the Warriors.
