The Houston Rockets came into the offseason with one major goal in mind and after accomplishing that by signing Dwight Howard, the next job for general manager Daryl Morey is to finish filling out the roster and after adding a number of solid names, the team added another with free agent Ronnie Brewer.
The Rockets have championship on their minds after signing Howard, who joins a talented roster that includes budding superstar James Harden as well as Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin at point guard. Adding Brewer to the bench gives the Rockets more depth and puts another solid player among a group that could be one of the best in the league. According to ESPN.com, sources said that Brewer is the latest addition to the Rockets and reported it would be a two-year deal that is partially guaranteed.
Brewer spent time with the New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, but he barely played when the team went up against the Rockets in the first round and he averaged three points and two rounds last season. Brewer is considered an excellent defender and he will provide solid relief off the bench for head coach Kevin McHale. The Rockets have size on the bench with Marcus Camby, Omer Asik and Terrence Jones and the bench looks very deep after adding Brewer, which could be a strength in the playoffs.
Some of the other bench options that could come in handy throughout the season includes Patrick Beverley, who played very well in the playoffs when Jeremy Lin was injured, as well as Aaron Brooks and Omri Casspi. Chandler Parsons proved last season he deserves to be a starter and Lin showed solid development as well in the first year of his contract. Camby is getting up there in age, but after signing for the veterans minimum, he will be an affordable option off the bench after playing with the Knicks last season.
Camby was originally acquired by the Toronto Raptors in the Andrea Bargnani deal with the New York Knicks, but he never wanted to stay with the team and Masai Ujiri helped him out by buying out his contract. Camby played in just 24 games last season averaged under two points per game and he signed with the Rockets earlier in the summer to backup Dwight Howard. The frontcourt for the Rockets could be the best in the NBA with Omer Asik behind him as well, as he averaged a double-double last season in 82 games played.
While Asik reportedly wanted a trade after Howard was acquired, McHale has said that the team plans to keep him and that they may experiment with Howard at power forward with Asik at center and vice versa. The Rockets made it in with the number eight seed in the playoffs last season and this year they expect to be in the top half of the West.