The Houston Rockets pulled off two of the biggest moves in the NBA over the past year in trading for James Harden and signing Dwight Howard and now the team is preparing for next season, officially sending Thomas Robinson to the Portland Trail Blazers to fit Howard's deal.
The news about Robinson came out before the moratorium was lifted and the deal was needed to get Howard's contract under the cap. Robinson's trade became official on Wednesday and now he is heading to the Trail Blazers for the rights to forward Kostas Papanikolaou and center Marko Todorovic and two second-round picks. The team also is putting the final touches on the trade of Royce White and the rights to Furkan Aldemir to Philadelphia to finish off the cap for Howard.
Robinson was previously the fifth pick in the draft and averaged 4.8 points and 4.5 rebounds last season and now he will start his career over again in Portland. The Rockets got the chance to rid themselves of Royce White and they also signed Reggie Williams after playing four NBA seasons with the Warriors and Bobcats. White has been an issue for the Rockets due to his mental health issues and now he will get the chance to start over in Philly.
The Rockets made a number of moves to get Howard in and now they will put him in a core group that includes Chandler Parsons and Harden, who is developing into a top five player in the league. The Rockets went 45-37 and were one of the highest scoring teams in the league and while there is a chance they will deal Jeremy Lin, it is very unlikely. Omer Asik has also been mentioned in trade talks after he requested a deal after Howard signed.
The team averaged over 105 points per game and while there defense was suspect and gave up over 102 per game, adding Howard will only help with rebounding and shot blocking. Last season Lin averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 assists after signing a three-year deal and while the team likes him, if another deal came along they may listen. Previous rumors had the players fitting with the Detroit Pistons, Trail Blazers and Raptors, while other names like the Lakers and Knicks have also come up.
Asik has turned into a reliable center and forward and while the team isn't look at a trade right now, as deal could come along including both Asik and Lin that they want to take part in. McHale compared Asik and Howard to greats Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson, but Asik clearly doesn't see it that way and as the offseason goes, the talk of a trade may heat up again.
Last season the Rockets made it into the playoffs as the eighth seed and with 45 wins they scored like a 50-win team and after adding Howard, they should improve their record again. The team has a number of young players and there is no reason to think they can't challenge the Clippers, Thunder and Spurs as well as the Grizzlies as the top team in the West after going 45-37 last year.